THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 9, 1994 TAG: 9409090766
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 35 lines
Their season is barely over, yet the Norfolk Tides already received a boost toward next year's International League playoffs with Thursday's announcement that the Charlotte Knights no longer will be affiliated with the Cleveland Indians.
The Indians signed Thursday with Buffalo of the American Association, which has been affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1988. From a competitive standpoint, that's good news for the Tides because no International League team dominated them the last two seasons like Charlotte.
The Knights were 14-4 against the Tides this season, including a four-game sweep in August that essentially wrecked the Tides' playoff hopes. The Tides are 10-26 against Charlotte since the Knights entered the league as an expansion team in 1993.
It is likely that either Pittsburgh or the Florida Marlins will relocate their Triple-A team to Charlotte.
The Pirates' Triple-A players were 55-89 this season in Buffalo, which drew fewer than 1 million in attendance for the first time in Pilot Field's seven seasons. In addition, Pittsburgh's farm system this season was the worst in baseball, with a .435 winning percentage.
The Marlins, whose Triple-A team has been in Edmonton, Alberta, had the 19th-best minor league system this season. By contrast, Cleveland ranked eighth with a .519 winning percentage. by CNB