Nationals Farm Authority

The Washington Nationals today announced that they have signed a two-year Player Development Contract with the Columbus Clippers of the Triple-A International League.  Nationals President Stan Kasten made the announcement.

“We are very excited to be affiliating with the Columbus Clippers,” said Kasten. “The Clippers’ long-standing history as one of the best Triple-A operations in the country, together with the City of Columbus’ reputation as one of America’s finest cities, makes Ohio’s capital city a perfect partner for our team from the nation’s capitol. The Clippers now become the key players in our new program which focuses on a reinvigorated player development system.”

The Columbus Clippers entered the International League in 1955 and currently play in 15,000-seat Cooper Stadium, which is named after former International League Commissioner Harold M. Cooper, the instrumental figure in landing Columbus ’ IL franchise in 1955.  The Clippers currently reside in the International League’s four-team West Division along with Indianapolis , Louisville and Toledo . 

The Columbus Clippers are recognized as one of the most successful franchises in the history of Triple-A baseball and are unique as a publicly-owned professional sports team. The Clippers are owned by Franklin County . The club recently completed its 30th season of managing and operating the team and Cooper Stadium, as well as its 28-year working relationship with the New York Yankees.  The Clippers are currently scheduled to move into a new ballpark, Huntington Park , in downtown Columbus in 2008.

Hall-of-Famer Willie Stargell, Dave Righetti, Don Mattingly, Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter, as well as the Nationals’ own Alfonso Soriano (1999-2000) and Nick Johnson (2001-2003), are among those who have enjoyed stints playing in Columbus during their minor-league careers.

The Nationals now have official agreements with all but their Short Season afilliate (Vermont in 2006). There are a few options available in the New York/Penn League that are closer than Vermont [State College (STL in 2006), Williamsport (PIT in 2006), Batavia (PHI in 2006), and Jamestown (FLA in 2006)].

However, another option is the Pulaski in the Appalachian League. The Toronto Blue Jays recently said they will not be returning to Pulaski in 2007. The Nationals could give up their SS Vermont team and purchase Pulaski for another Rookie level team (one in GCL, one in Appy). This isn’t unheard of, Atlanta (Appy/GCL), Cincy (Pioneer/GCL), Anaheim (Pioneer/AZ), Minnesota (Appy/GCL), Milwaukee (Pioneer/AZ), and Los Angeles (Pioneer/GCL) do the same thing.