Thanks, Blue Jays

Sunday ended the first season of the Bluefield Blue Jays' team in the Appalachian League.
The Blue Jays had only one hit and lost the championship series to the Johnson City Cardinals.
They didn't win the title, but did much better than Bluefield teams had done in the last nine years as a Baltimore Orioles affliate.
The Bluefield Orioles made the championship series in 2002, the year Baltimore added another short-season team - Cal Ripken Jr.'s Aberdeen Ironbirds.
You can't blame Baltimore for hooking up with Ripken. But that meant more experienced players were placed in Aberdeen instead of Bluefield, and the less experienced players struggled on the field.
Not many players from the Bluefield teams of 2003-2010 have made it to the major leagues.
Hopefully some of the 2011 Bluefield Blue Jays will in the future.