Once Again, Soulless MLB is Robbing its Fans by Joe Guzzardi, January 15, 2021 Soulless Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is determined to squeeze the life out of the game's minor leagues. When the 2021 season begins, and no one knows when that might be since COVID-19 wiped out 2020, minor league baseball will be minus about 40 established franchises. Other leagues will be reclassified. Designated for an overhaul is the Appalachian League, founded in 1911, which fielded 10 teams scattered throughout Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee's picturesque mountains. Hall of Famers Greg Maddux, Kirby Puckett, Cal Ripken, Jr, and flamethrower Nolan Ryan got their baseball starts in the Appy Summer League. But when the decade-long Professional Baseball Agreement with the Minor Leagues ended after the 2020 non-season, Manfred determined that the rookie level Appy League would lose its professional status, and become a summer college wood bat league.