Apter Hours: A Minor League Baseball Podcast

Brandon is joined by Frederick Keys GM Dave Ziedelis. Dave and Brandon don't hold back in discussing the negotiations between MLB and MiLB that has Frederick on the list of teams that could potentially get eliminated prior to the 2021 season. The Keys have been entrenched in the Frederick community for decades, have been tops in Carolina League in attendance for years and still face an uncertain future. In addition, Dave goes into his transition from working in the big leagues to the minors and what he learned from his first GM experience. 

This will be the last Apter Hours episode for a while. Appreciate the support to this point. 

Brandon is joined by the general manager of the Norwich Sea Unicorns (Short Season 'A' Tigers affiliate), Dave Schermerhorn! Dave dives into the process that led to the Connecticut Tigers deciding to rebrand as the Sea Unicorns, how the name and logo tie into the city of Norwich and how the organization is dealing with the potential of being on the chopping block of MLB's proposal that could eliminate 42 minor league teams ahead of the 2021 season.

You can check out the Sea Unicorns at goseaunicorns.com and on Twitter @GoSeaUnicorns.

Donate to support the Altobelli family: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-for-the-altobelli-family

In the second season premiere of Apter Hours, Brandon is joined by former colleague and current host of The Daily Line on NBC Sports Radio, Tim Murray. Brandon and Tim talk about the importance of preparation for a broadcast, the asinine proposal that would remove 42 teams from the minor league landscape, the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal and Tim's hometown Washington Nationals winning their first championship.

You can follow Tim on Twitter @1TimMurray and find The Daily Line on NBC Sports Radio or the NBC Sports app.

It's a Throwback Thursday #TBT episode of Apter Hours. We go back to 2017, when Brandon made the decision to take a position out of minor league baseball after nine seasons. The episode details every step of his Minor League Journey, including the very difficult decisions, professional growth, stepping outside your comfort zone and being a part of an industry that is a family.

Amarillo Sod Poodles President & General Manager, Tony Ensor, joins the show to discuss Amarillo's successful season on and off the field. The Soddies sold out 23 straight games, tallied 40 total sellouts and also won the Texas League title in their first year of existence. Tony and Brandon also discuss the challenges faced, fans showing up for minor league playoffs and looking ahead to 2020.

On October 18th, 2019, Baseball America broke a story detailing a proposal from Major League Baseball that could eliminate 42 Minor League Teams ahead of the 2021 season. In this episode, Brandon is joined by Minor League Baseball's Senior Director of Communications, Jeff Lantz. Topics include the advantages & disadvantages for both sides, geographical impact, affiliate and level realignment, the proposed Dream League, MLB draft moving from June to August, the jobs at stake, limiting travel, getting stadiums up to standard and much more. At the end of the episode, Jeff answers questions from Twitter on the matter

If you want more details on the proposal, check out the Baseball America story: http://bit.ly/36UKzkh

Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts and leave a review! Follow on Twitter @ApterHoursPod.

Rocky Mountain Vibes President & GM Chris Phillips joins the show to talk about the success of the organization's inaugural season following their name change and level switch from Triple-A to Short Season.

MiLB.com's Ben Hill joins this show this week! During his 2019 road trips, Ben visited a number of teams across the country. Brandon and Ben discuss the teams that rebranded and opened new ballparks before looking ahead to some new identities for teams heading into the 2020 season.

Bowie Baysox play-by-play voice Adam Pohl joins the show! Brandon and Adam worked together with the Frederick Keys for three seasons (2011-13). The two touch on a number of topics including pace of play, becoming a good manager and making yourself valuable as a broadcaster.

Fort Wayne Mad Ants (NBA G League) President and former MiLB executive Tim Bawmann joins the show! He discusses how he landed his first job in the 1980's, tough market challenges and how to overcome them, the differences & similarities between Minor League Baseball and the G League, the importance of being open to relocation and more!