Charleston baseball fans love reminiscing about Charleston Charlies' farmhands who developed into Pittsburgh Pirates' all-stars in the 1970s at Watt Powell Park.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Charleston baseball fans love reminiscing about Charleston Charlies' farmhands who developed into Pittsburgh Pirates' all-stars in the 1970s at Watt Powell Park.
Dave Parker blasting a home run out of the cavernous Watt Powell outfield and into a passing coal car will live on forever in the city's sports lore.
"Since I've moved here in January '04, a day doesn't go by that I don't hear about the Charlies and the Pirates,'' said West Virginia Power general manager Andy Milovich.
The West Virginia Power will be an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates next season.
A new generation will now get a chance to make their own memories as the Power announced Wednesday a two-year player-development contract with the Pirates.
"It's just a great fit,'' said Milovich. "The Pirates have a solid fan base here. It's a natural from a proximity standpoint.''
The Power ends a four-year affiliation with the Milwaukee Brewers, who signed a pair of two-year agreements and have been the sole tenant since Appalachian Power Park opened in 2005.
The Power's player-development contract with the Brewers expired this month. The Brewers told Power management earlier in the year they didn't want to hold any discussions about a renewal until after the season. There have been published reports that the Brewers may be moving to Appleton, Wis., to replace the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
The Hickory (N.C.) Crawdads were the Pirates' South Atlantic League affiliate this past season, finishing with a 52-87 overall record in the Northern Division, the same division as the Power.
Since the Power never received a commitment from the Brewers one way or another, Power management notified minor league baseball officials after the regular season ended that it wanted to explore its options.
There were only three teams available Tuesday when minor league clubs could begin contacting and negotiating player-development contracts with major league affiliates: the Pirates, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers.
Milovich said the deal with the Pirates came together rather quickly after talks Tuesday and Wednesday morning.
Also in the Power's favor was the fact Milovich and Neal Huntington, the Pirates senior vice president and general manager, have worked together in the past. Milovich was the GM for Mahoning Valley (Pa.), an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, and Huntington was the Indians farm director in 1999.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Charleston baseball fans love reminiscing about Charleston Charlies' farmhands who developed into Pittsburgh Pirates' all-stars in the 1970s at Watt Powell Park.
Dave Parker blasting a home run out of the cavernous Watt Powell outfield and into a passing coal car will live on forever in the city's sports lore.
"Since I've moved here in January '04, a day doesn't go by that I don't hear about the Charlies and the Pirates,'' said West Virginia Power general manager Andy Milovich.
A new generation will now get a chance to make their own memories as the Power announced Wednesday a two-year player-development contract with the Pirates.
"It's just a great fit,'' said Milovich. "The Pirates have a solid fan base here. It's a natural from a proximity standpoint.''
The Power ends a four-year affiliation with the Milwaukee Brewers, who signed a pair of two-year agreements and have been the sole tenant since Appalachian Power Park opened in 2005.
The Power's player-development contract with the Brewers expired this month. The Brewers told Power management earlier in the year they didn't want to hold any discussions about a renewal until after the season. There have been published reports that the Brewers may be moving to Appleton, Wis., to replace the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.
The Hickory (N.C.) Crawdads were the Pirates' South Atlantic League affiliate this past season, finishing with a 52-87 overall record in the Northern Division, the same division as the Power.
Since the Power never received a commitment from the Brewers one way or another, Power management notified minor league baseball officials after the regular season ended that it wanted to explore its options.
There were only three teams available Tuesday when minor league clubs could begin contacting and negotiating player-development contracts with major league affiliates: the Pirates, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers.
Milovich said the deal with the Pirates came together rather quickly after talks Tuesday and Wednesday morning.
Also in the Power's favor was the fact Milovich and Neal Huntington, the Pirates senior vice president and general manager, have worked together in the past. Milovich was the GM for Mahoning Valley (Pa.), an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, and Huntington was the Indians farm director in 1999.
"The relationship that I've had with Neal Huntington the last 10 years, it was a really easy decision to make,'' said Milovich. "He knows the player-development game. He's as good as it gets when it come to that side.''
The Power's four-year relationship with the Brewers was a very successful one. The Power played in the South Atlantic League championship series the past two seasons and set attendance records three out of four seasons.
The Brewers always sent their top prospects to the Power, including Ryan Braun, who was last year's National League rookie of the year, and Yovani Gallardo, who has been in the Brewers' starting rotation the past two seasons. The Brewers also sent last year's first-round draft pick and one of this year's first-round selections to Charleston.
Of the four major league affiliates during the Charlies Triple-A days beginning in 1971, the Pirates' talent unquestionably was the best. Most of the players that passed through went on to help the Pirates win the 1979 World Series.
The Pirates haven't made the playoffs in 16 years and are currently in last place in the National League's Central Division.
The Pirates did make deals and loaded up on young players this season as new management took over. Huntington also helped oversee the Indians resurgence in the late 1990s as farm director and assistant general manager.
Milovich said he sees a Pirates franchise that is on the rise.
"They've had a lot of changes in Pittsburgh in terms of ownership,'' Milovich said. "Their selection of Neal Huntington as GM within the last year is certainly a sign of their commitment to player-development and building the Pirates into a winner. I think their future is bright.''
Milovich said the Pirates draw a favorable comparison to when the Brewers first came to town in '04.
"From a timing perspective, when you look back when we signed on with the Brewers they had been really struggling at the major-league level for years and years,'' said the Power GM.
"They had a strong farm system and the right people. The Pirates farm system probably isn't as strong as when we signed with the Brewers in '04, but they have the people in place to where it will be.''
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Posted By: Anonymous(6:36am 09-19-2008)
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Do the Pirates play baseball?
;-)
Posted By: Anonymous(4:57pm 09-18-2008)
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Hooray!!!
This move is what i was hoping for. Not only does it bring back fond memories (go Augie!), it'll be great to see "graduates" on FSN. Maybe no playoffs next year, but should be OK after that.
BTW, thanks Milwaukee for four great years!
Posted By: Anonymous(3:06pm 09-18-2008)
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I used to go to NC to see the Hickory Crawdads when they were a Pirates affiliate. They won the SAL that year. The Pirates minor league affiliates are usually pretty good, they just trade everyone away when they start getting too good. Should be good for Charleston.
Posted By: Anonymous(1:36pm 09-18-2008)
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NORT
I wish the Cubs could have taken the team, but we were stuck with the three AWFUL teams to chose from: Seatle, Texas, and Arm-Pit-Burg..... Sigh... no playoff baseball next year
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;-)
This move is what i was hoping for. Not only does it bring back fond memories (go Augie!), it'll be great to see "graduates" on FSN. Maybe no playoffs next year, but should be OK after that.
BTW, thanks Milwaukee for four great years!
I wish the Cubs could have taken the team, but we were stuck with the three AWFUL teams to chose from: Seatle, Texas, and Arm-Pit-Burg..... Sigh... no playoff baseball next year