By Jon Chapper
The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced two-year extensions in their affiliation agreements with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers of the Pacific Coast League, the Double-A Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League and the Single-A Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League, continuing their partnerships through the 2018 season.
“We’re tremendously excited about extending our PDC agreements with Great Lakes, Tulsa and Oklahoma City,” said Dodger director of player development Gabe Kapler. “We are excited to see our relationship with these great franchises continue to blossom and are especially grateful for the leaders we’ve gotten to work with at each affiliate, as they have been an integral part of our development of the young men in the Dodger organization. We are honored to participate in this process with each partner and know we will continue to see strong returns from these relationships.”
Triple-A Oklahoma City, which rebranded with the Dodgers moniker in December 2014 following the club’s sale to Mandalay Baseball, won the American Northern Division and finished with a team-record 86 wins last year (86-58), its first season as a Dodger affiliate. The club, which currently sits in first place with a 62-47 record, also finished among the top 25 of Minor League Baseball’s 160 teams in 2015 licensed merchandise sales.
“Our partnership with the Los Angeles Dodgers has been better than we ever imagined,” said OKC Dodgers president/general manager Michael Byrnes. “We have had an incredible string of success both on and off the field, and we’re looking forward to continuing it through the 2018 season.”
Tulsa, in its second season as a Dodger affiliate, has the second-best overall record in the Texas League North Division this year and topped the circuit with nine All-Star selections.
“The Drillers are pleased to be able to continue our affiliation with the Los Angeles Dodgers,” said Drillers co-chairman Dale Hubbard. “The Dodgers are one of the most recognizable and most famous brands in the game of baseball, and we value having Tulsa partner with such an iconic team. The Dodgers and player development director Gabe Kapler have shown a commitment to build a strong minor-league system, and we look forward to a successful partnership that will bring an exciting and successful team to the baseball fans of Tulsa.”
Great Lakes is in its 10th season as a Dodger affiliate, with the partnership between the organizations extending back to the Loons franchise’s first season in 2007. Current Dodgers Clayton Kershaw, Kenley Jansen, Corey Seager, Joc Pederson, Scott Van Slyke, Pedro Baez and Yimi Garcia all passed through Great Lakes on their way to the Majors.
“Through the first 10 years of Loons baseball, the Dodgers have sent 43 future Major League players to the Great Lakes Bay Region and helped to build many lasting memories for our fans,” said Great Lakes Loons general manager Scott Litle. “We value our long-term relationship and are looking forward to the next two seasons of developing the Dodgers’ next great players.”
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