SPOKANE, Wash. — Baseball America is reporting that the Spokane Indians will become an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The Indians have been an affiliate of the Texas Rangers since 2003.
Becoming a High A team means that the Indians will begin games in April and wrap up their season in September. They will play 132 regular season games this year. For context, the Indians played 76 regular season games in 2019 and began their season in mid-June.
This is part of a massive effort by Major League Baseball to centralize team affiliations to make them more regionally based. The majority of Minor League teams received invitations today from MLB clubs to either stay with their current club or move affiliation to a closer one.
If the report is accurate, this will be the first time in Spokane Indians history they will be affiliated with the Rockies. Past affiliations include the Kansas City Royals (1983-1994), Anaheim Angels (1982), Seattle Mariners (1979-1981), Milwaukee Brewers (1976-1978), Texas Rangers (1973-1975), L.A. Dodgers (1958-1972), Philadelphia Phillies (1953), and Brooklyn Dodgers (1948).
The last time Spokane played a full baseball season was in 1982 when they were the Triple A affiliate of the Anaheim Angels (known then as the California Angels).
There was a report in November that the Indians would once again become a Dodgers affiliate. That report most likely is incorrect.
