Triple-A Franchise Bid
In mid-2005, Peter Angelos, the owner of the Baltimore Orioles, gained the permission of the AA Eastern League and the AAA International League to move Baltimore's AAA affiliate from Ottawa to Harrisburg. One of the hangups with the agreement was that a buyer for the AA Senators franchise had to be found. The Ottawa franchise moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania as the AAA team for the Philadelphia Phillies, renamed as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. The Baltimore Orioles also signed a player development deal with the Norfolk Tides of the International League. The Tides will now be the AAA affiliate of the Orioles. With all links to the next level of baseball ended, with two AAA teams now in eastern Pennsylvania, and the nearby cities of Lancaster and York gaining independent franchises, the future of AAA ball in Harrisburg is doubtful.
Read more about this topic: Harrisburg Senators
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