Letter to Hal Steinbrenner, Chairman of the New York Yankees - Rose, Oddo to New York Yankees: Help Save Staten Island Yankees

Letter

Dear Mr. Steinbrenner and New York Yankee owners,

Throughout the years, Staten Island has benefited from the strong and supportive
relationship between the New York Yankees organization and the Staten Island Yankees. We are
writing to thank you for this support, and to strongly urge you to continue this mutually
beneficial relationship by saving the Staten Island Yankees. During these uncertain times, we
cannot afford to lose our hometown team, which brings such a great deal of economic activity
and joy to our community.

There is no doubt that the current situation for the Staten Island Yankees is dire, with
their 2020 season likely to be cancelled due to COVID-19. However, Glenn Reicin and his
ownership group are still committed to having the Staten Island Yankees remain as an affiliate of
the New York Yankees. We recently learned that following negotiations between Major and
Minor League Baseball, Major League Baseball (MLB) is now limiting each MLB team to a four
Minor League teams. It is our understanding that the Yankees will need to decide between
keeping the Staten Island Yankees or the Charleston RiverDogs as its low A affiliate. As such,
we strongly urge you to choose Staten Island as one of the four minor teams that you grant a
Player Development Contracts (PDC's) to.

This team means so much to our borough. Not only does it offer jobs and a big economic
boost, it provides civic pride and family fun. The impact the players have is evident on the faces
of the children who show up at the ballpark every year - and that cannot be overstated. We have
been fighting to save the Staten Island Yankees since last year, when reporting from the Staten
Island Advance, the New York Times, and other media outlets revealed that MLB wanted to
disband short-season leagues like the New York-Penn League, in which the Staten Island
Yankees play. The result will be the elimination of 42 affiliated teams in total, shrinking the
number of affiliated minor league teams by 25 percent.

Another reason we've been fighting so hard is because the Staten Island Yankees give us
a window into the future. Dozens of Bronx Bombers got their start at Richmond County Bank
Ballpark, signing baseballs for kids along the baselines, running clinics to turn Staten Island little
leaguers into the next generation of stars, and bringing new life to the St. George waterfront. We
applaud Minor League Baseball for completing its 15th consecutive season with an attendance
above 40 million and marking the ninth-largest single season total in MiLB's 100-plus year
history. We believe that the Staten Island Yankees have their best years ahead of them and urge
you to consider the important role this team, these players, and this organization plays in our
community.

We know the Staten Island Yankees have special memories for your family, too, as your
father personally selected the site of the Richmond County Bank Ballpark. We look forward to
working with you to keep the Staten Island Yankees an important part of your organization -- and
our community - for many years to come.

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