There’s a whole lot of dreaming going on in Bradenton, Fla. this week, and all along the MiLB (Minor League Baseball) trail.
Major League wannabes have three rungs of classifications to hurdle. Many of those assigned to Triple-A affiliates are just one injury or one trade away from having their ticket punched to the MLB. At Double-A, organizational players prove whether they’re worthy for a continued long look from a club’s developmental administrators for possible promotion. Others at Double-A are weeded out, deemed not to have the “right stuff” to take their careers to the next level.
Class-A ball has players as young as their late teens and early 20s. These players are either placed on rosters of rookie league teams or assigned to a Class-A level club.
The formula to professional baseball is rather simple. Everyone has to start somewhere in a club’s chain of affiliates. Most introduced to pro ball at the Class-A level find themselves assigned to a southern city, also among the most patriotic American destinations. Most facilities classify as “nothing fancy” but highly functional.
For Pittsburgh Pirates hopefuls, LECOM Park is their first home away from home, located smack in the middle of downtown Bradenton on the “Sunshine State’s” Gulf Coast. Beginning on Friday, the Florida State League Class-A club begins its 16th season. In training camp since the start of March, the Bradenton Marauders are afforded a luxury the Pirates’ other five summer teams don’t have: LECOM Park is the Pirates’ spring training facility.
The Marauders now take over the playing surface, clubhouse, weight room, and all the amenities that MLB players in Pittsburgh made good use of for six weeks of getting in shape. LECOM Park is the oldest stadium still used for spring training. Built in 1923, it is also the second oldest stadium operating in MiLB.
Season tickets can be copped for less than $500. The FSL schedule consists of 66 home games and 66 road games. Want a bleacher seat? This will run you $9. A baseline box seat is what you’re looking to score? That'll be $11 for your seat of choice. Other prime seating could run you $13-$16. Management does their due diligence to create a major league atmosphere, all the while giving the free-agent signees and draft picks a feel for what could be in store for them.
“I’m super excited for the season to start. Opening Day next week here should be a crazy night,” Konnor Griffin, Pittsburgh’s top draft selection last summer, told The Epoch Times on Wednesday prior to an evening workout.
For Marauders’ manager Jim Horner, 52, now guiding the club for a second consecutive season, leading on the developmental level suits him just fine.
“In the minors, you have to find a balance with your players wanting to win games, and work on their development. This is the age, at this level (Class-A) where players have a hunger to learn, and I love teaching.”
Bradenton has been the Pirates’ Florida digs since 1969. With the planned expansion and improvements in and around LECOM Park, the National League’s Central club is pleased with the long term deal signed with the city of Bradenton. Marauders’ general manager Craig Warzecha, now in his 10th season with the club, oversees the daily functions of the Park and is familiar with the local chamber of commerce and other elected officials. Keeping the Class-A club local remains a priority for the New Jersey native.
“We’re really excited about it,” Warzecha told The Epoch Times about the new field being constructed next to LECOM Park, before a season membership-only gathering prior to the Marauders’ workout. “A partnership with the city of Bradenton and Manatee County will bring a field with lights. When the Pirates and Marauders aren’t using it, we hope to have amateur tournaments at it.”
Minor league baseball is as community-minded as a business could be. A season membership base of “a couple hundred” in Bradenton pales in comparison with those of MLB clubs in the thousands. Seeing the players getting their first taste of coming together as a team brings greater pride to all. Few of the future Pirates are from Southwest Florida. Pitcher Noah Takacs, 22, is a long way from home—Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
In his second professional season, Takacs last year split his time in Bradenton, first, with the Florida Coast League (rookie), and finishing up with the Marauders. Having played 27 games total last season, Takacs is starting 2025 as a Marauder.
“Before coming to Bradenton, I had never been to Florida. I love being around the ballpark, and picking other people’s baseball brains. I will try to stay in the present. As a player, you could be moved at any time. Packing up and moving is easy.”
Baseball in the bushes is like summer camp, only players are paid to learn and have a great time to write home about. To get to Point A—the MLB—Point B and below, the minor leagues, remain an integral step in player development.
