
Beloit Snappers Invited to Become Marlins Affiliate
December 9, 2020 - Midwest League (MWL1)
Beloit Sky Carp News Release
The Beloit Snappers received a formal invitation from Major League Baseball to become the Advanced-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins on Wednesday. The prospective move will elevate Beloit to the Advanced-A classification after 39 years at the Class A level while aligning the team with a Marlins franchise that reached the playoffs in 2020 and boasts the fifth-best farm system in baseball according to MLB Pipeline.
"We are thankful to receive the invitation to become a licensee of Major League Baseball and the Advanced-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins," Quint Studer of Gateway Professional Baseball, managing partners of the Snappers, said. "One year ago, the Beloit community made a decision to build a new downtown baseball stadium. Thanks to the support of the fans and the community for the stadium project, Beloit will be one of the 120 licensed Minor League teams in 2021 and beyond, have a great new partnership with the Miami Marlins, and bring a higher level of competition and talent to Beloit fans by being moved up to the Advanced-A level."
The new affiliation and promotion to the Advanced-A level will come as part of the ongoing Professional Baseball Agreement negotiations between Major and Minor League Baseball.
"When Major League Baseball reached out and said that Marlins CEO Derek Jeter would be inviting Beloit, I was thrilled," Studer said. "The credit goes to the never-give-up group of owners in Beloit led by Dennis Conerton. None of this would have happened without the commitment of so many people in the Beloit community to build a new stadium, led by Diane Hendricks, Jim Packard, ABC Supply, Dennis Conerton, and others. As Diane said in a recent video on the new stadium, let's play ball!"
The invitation coincides with continued progress on Beloit's new downtown multi-use stadium, which is anticipated to open next summer.
"We're very excited for our relationship with the Miami Marlins and to continue to work with the Studer family," Dennis Conerton, president of Beloit Professional Baseball, said. "Quint's reputation as one of Minor League Baseball's most successful owners precedes him, and he's played an instrumental role in the stadium process and in securing an affiliate invitation for our team. After 20 years of hard work and many setbacks for Beloit Baseball, the progress of the last year has made it one of the most exciting years of my life."
Prior to the invitation to join the Marlins organization, Beloit was an affiliate of the Oakland Athletics from 2013-2020, the Minnesota Twins from 2005-2012, and the Milwaukee Brewers from 1982-2004.
"On behalf of our whole organization, we'd like to sincerely thank the Oakland Athletics for their partnership with our team and our community. The A's were strong partners both on and off the field and we wish them nothing but the best in future seasons," Studer said.
In a subsequent announcement, the Studer-owned Pensacola Blue Wahoos were invited to join the Miami Marlins organization as their Double-A affiliate.
Midwest League Stories from December 9, 2020
- Hot Rods Invited to A-Advanced in Minor League Restructure - Bowling Green Hot Rods
- Beloit Snappers Invited to Become Marlins Affiliate - Beloit Sky Carp
- Midwest League to Move up to High A, Drop to 12 Teams - MWL1
- Bees-MLB Partnership Changes - Burlington Bees
- Major League Baseball Realignment Officially Leaves out LumberKings - Clinton LumberKings
- Captains Invited to Become Indians' New Class-A Advanced Affiliate - Lake County Captains
- South Bend Cubs Receive Invitation to Join New Minor League Baseball System - South Bend Cubs
- Kernels Invited to be a Minnesota Twins Affiliate - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Reds Invite Dragons to Continue Partnership - Dayton Dragons
- Dodgers Minor League Affiliate Plans to Include Loons - Great Lakes Loons
- Fort Wayne Invited to High-A by the San Diego Padres - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Lugnuts Invited to Join A's System, Move to High-A - Lansing Lugnuts
- River Bandits Invited to Become a Kansas City Royals Affiliate - Quad Cities River Bandits
- Tigers Announce Whitecaps as Advanced A Affiliate - West Michigan Whitecaps
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
