When it becomes official, Diamond Baseball Holdings will own three-quarters of the White Sox's minor league affiliates.
The Charlotte Knights, who had been owned by Don Beaver and Bill Allen since 1997, announced on Tuesday an agreement to sell the franchise to DBH. They'll follow the Birmingham Barons and the Winston-Salem Dash as the third White Sox affiliate to join DBH's portfolio, and the 35th overall.
The Charlotte Knights announced today that the team has entered into an agreement to sell the franchise to Diamond Baseball Holdings (DBH), a company that owns and operates select Minor League Baseball (MiLB) teams affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB). DBH will also take control of Truist Field and the Paper Mill Pub as part of the sale. The Knights, who will remain the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, will continue to operate under the existing front office staff and current leadership of Chief Operating Officer, Dan Rajkowski. [...]
“I think this is a wonderful transition from Beaver Sports to Diamond Baseball Holdings,” Rajkowski said. “DBH leads some of the most successful and innovative Minor League Baseball franchises in America with a reputation for investing in those communities. My staff and I look forward to working with DBH to continue the great legacy of baseball in Charlotte.”
I've been following this development with equal parts interest and suspicion. Nothing backed by private equity ever seems to end well for the consumer, but if you can set that aside, DBH's initial efforts at stewardship have been met with rave reviews across most markets, if not all of them, due to deeper pockets and an ability to negotiate better deals for equipment and entertainment. With Kannapolis the only remaining holdout -- and who knows, maybe that sale is only a matter of time -- we'll be getting an up-close look at whether any strings are attached over the remainder of the 10-year player development licenses.
Charlotte 4, Norfolk 2 (10 innings)
- Oscar Colás went 3-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.
- Colson Montgomery was 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts, and stole a base.
- Bryan Ramos returned to the lineup, but went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- Zach DeLoach wore the golden sombrero.
- Sean Burke: 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 2 K, 38 of 73 pitches for strikes.
Birmingham 9, Tennessee 3
- Jacob Gonzalez went 0-for-5.
- Brooks Baldwin doubled and struck out thrice.
- Tim Elko went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Edgar Quero, 0-for-4.
- Wilfred Veras went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
- Emergency outfielder Matt Hogan had a game to remember: 4-for-4 with a homer, double, stolen base and five RBIs.
- Jairo Iriarte: 6 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 52 of 87 pitches for strikes, and also two balks.
Highlights:
*Hogan also made this catch:
Rome 10, Winston-Salem 4
- Samuel Zavala went 1-for-4 with a walk and two strikeouts.
- Loidel Chapelli was 0-for-4 with a walk.
- DJ Gladney, 3-for-5 with two doubles and a strikeout.
- Ryan Galanie was 1-for-4 with two strikeouts and an HBP.
- Calvin Harris was 0-for-4 with a walk.
- Wes Kath, 1-for-4 with two strikeouts.
Columbia 7, Kannapolis 5
- Rikuu Nishida went 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- George Wolkow singled twice, walked and struck out.
- Ryan Burrowes was 1-for-4.
ACL White Sox 5, ACL Giants 3
- Abraham Nunez went 1-for-4 with a strikeout, and was picked off/caught stealing.
- Adrian Gil went 1-for-3 with a strikeout and an HBP.
- Stiven Flores singled, walked, struck out and hit a sac fly.
- Javier Mogollon walked twice and struck out twice.
- Davis Martin: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 6 K
- Corey Knebel: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
- Christian Oppor: 3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
DSL Giants Black 10, DSL White Sox 9
- Christian Gonzalez went 0-for-3 with a walk, got plunked, and was caught stealing for the fifth time this year.
- Jurdrick Profar went 2-for-5 with two strikeouts
- Eduardo Herrera was 2-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
- Jesus Premoli, 1-for-5 with a K.
- Angel Bello: 1.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP, 2 WP
