Triple-A stadium situation pushed Bill Hall away from Yankees

April 24, 2012 by Mike Axisa 12 Comments

Via Ken Rosenthal, utility man Bill Hall asked for his release after Spring Training because he did not want to spend the year on a season-long road trip with Triple-A Empire State. “My wife and I decided that I couldn’t live in a hotel all year,” he said. “My daughter just turned one and I couldn’t do that to her … I don’t have any problem playing in Triple A. I just want to play.”

This is the first time we’ve heard of a player leaving the organization because of the Triple-A stadium situation, but you can’t blame him. I can’t imagine anyone would want to play a season without a home base, nevermind a big league veteran who’s already banked millions in his career like Hall. I’m sure there are plenty of other players who had considered signing minor league pacts with the Yankees this winter only to decline after hearing about the stadium situation in Triple-A.

Robinson Tilapia

Precisely. A guy like Bill Hall has a lot more options out there. I certainly can’t blame the guy either.
RetroRob

I can see that, yet if that’s the case, why not send him to AA? He’s there for depth for the MLB roster. The reason to send him to the minors is to keep him sharp. He can do that just as easily in Trenton.
- Tom Zig
  
  Being sent to AA might just be too insulting for him.
- IRememberCelerinoSanchez
  
  I thought the exact same thing. For a young prospect going up the ladder, there is a difference between AA and AAA. But for a guy like Bill Hall, he knows he’s being stashed in the minors in case of an injury. Whether he stays in shape waiting for that opportunity against AA or AAA pitchers doesn’t really matter. He is what he is at this point. Plus, if there is a significant difference in pitching quality, it would only make his numbers look better.
- Robinson Tilapia
  
  He still wants to showcase that he’s still “got it” for other teams needing some depth. AA isn’t cut it in that sense.
- RetroRob
  
  I agree to some degree on all the points above, although I have the most difficulty with the “too insulting” one. He’s already accepted a demotion to the minors, and other teams will know why he’s in AA and not AAA.
  
  The jump from AA to AAA is not what it once was. It’s much more common now for teams to jump their players from AA to the Majors directly, or with a cup of coffee in AAA. So Hall would be facing pitchers with very good fastballs and breaking pitches. It would keep him sharp and other teams would be able to assess his skills just as easily as if he was facing AAA guys.
  
  Plus, if he was really committed to the Yankees, going to Trenton means he could have moved his family into the area and stayed the entire year, be he in Trenton or the Bronx.
  
  Obviously he did have an issue with something, and maybe it was because it was too insulting to go to AA. Or maybe after a month he realized no big MLB offers were coming, so he better take the next minor league offer that comes along.
Plank

The Bill Hall era is over.
- ROBTEN
  
  February 7, 2012 – April 4, 2012
  
  Nevar forget!
  - Plank
    
    That’s gold. The T-Shirts are being printed up as we speak.
Dummies Playing With Balls (formerly Rainbow Connection)

Old news.
mike_h

Bill Hall signed a minor league deal or is about to with the Baltimore Orioles. Wish we kept him, decent bat multiple position guy
David Ortizs Dealer

I doubt Trenton even came up, I think its one thing to do a rehab stint or go through AA on extended spring, but not to stay shart long term.

At one point I traveled alot for work, living in hotels is awful, I couldn’t imagine doing that to my wife and kid.