When it came to the top Minor League Baseball promotion of 2017, one idea literally eclipsed the rest.
On Aug. 21, the United States experienced its first coast-to-coast total solar eclipse in 99 years. The ideal place to watch this phenomenon, during which day turned into night as a result of the moon obscuring the sun, was from within a 67-mile-wide strip of near-total darkness known as the path of totality. Seven Minor League teams were within the path of totality: the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, Idaho Falls Chukars, Bowling Green Hot Rods, Nashville Sounds, Greenville Drive, Columbia Fireflies and Charleston RiverDogs. All seven of these teams held a ballpark event that day as the eclipse made its approximately 1,500-mile southeasterly journey across the United States.
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The partnership will ensure that Charleston continues its connection to Major League Baseball after the organization restructured its minor league system in November and New York shifted its teams closer to home. The RiverDogs have been waiting since to see who would pick them up for the 2021 season.
The new contract will make Charleston a Class A affiliate of the 2020 American League Champions for the next 10 years, and they will be one of 120 teams to continue their direct MLB affiliation, a reduction from last season’s 160. Previously, Charleston was an affiliate of Tampa Bay from 1997-2004.
Jeff Goldklang, president of the RiverDogs’ ownership group, is thrilled by the invitation.