The scheduling for Minor League Baseball is a mess.

Major League Baseball took over the operation of the minor leagues when the Professional Baseball Agreement (PBA) that governed the minor leagues as a separate entity ended after the COVID erased 2020 minor league season.

The first thing that got changed was the scheduling and the reason it changed wasn’t hidden; money.

Lehigh Valley’s pre-COVID schedule routinely included trips as far as Louisville, Toledo, Indianapolis, Norfolk, and Durham.

In 2021, the schedule included divisions that were set up temporarily partly as a response to COVID and the revenue that was lost and also because MLB was negotiating to keep the old league names – International League and Pacific Coast League – that were copyrighted under the PBA.

That season, Lehigh Valley played Syracuse, Buffalo, Rochester, Worcester, and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre all year, with two series each against Syracuse, Buffalo, and Rochester, and three each against Worcester and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

In 2022 when things returned to normal, the International League was divided into two “divisions”, but with a schedule that still leaned heavily into shorter and cheaper travel arrangements. The savings were compounded by going to a six-game series with every Monday being an off day. The longer series meant less travel than playing two three-game series in a week. It also limited those routine trips to exotic locales like Louisville and Durham.

What this means for fans is that they get overloaded on seeing teams like Syracuse, Buffalo, and Rochester, but it’s extremely rare for teams such as Indianapolis, Memphis, or Jacksonville to travel to the Lehigh Valley. There are some young prospects in those organizations that would be great for fans to get to see. Instead, they see the same prospects over and over.

Don’t hold your breath for much to change, as MLB seems happy with how the current schedule operates, and it doesn’t appear as though they’ll be changing it any time soon.

TRIVIA QUESTION… Which two International League teams have the IronPigs never played? For a bonus, which four International League teams have never played at Coca-Cola Park? (answers coming below.)

MORE MOORE… Remember how Dylan Moore couldn’t hit for the Phillies at the start of the season. It turns out he’s gotten very hot with Lehigh Valley. The IronPigs leadoff hitter has collected a hit in 23 of his last 26 games, including a just-ended eight-game hitting streak. Moore has been especially hot of late with multiple hit games in the first four games of the series against Columbus, including a four-hit, two-homer game. Moore homered for the fourth time this month Friday, and is now slashing .395/.438/.837 in July.

TAKING 19 FOR THE TEAM… Otto Kemp is a pitch magnet. Earlier this season he was hit for the 38th time as a member of the IronPigs. On Saturday, the infielder/outfielder was hit for the 19th time this season, tying the franchise record for being hit by a pitch in a season, which was set last season by none other than he himself. This time around, the 19 hit by pitches came in 61 games after it took Kemp 74 games to get hit that many times last season. He bested himself, needing only 61 games to get plunked 19 times, as opposed to 74 games last year. The bad news for Kemp is that he doesn’t even lead the IL in hit by pitches. That painful honor goes to Braiden Ward from the Worcester Red Sox, who has been hit 21 times.

ARE WE HOME YET?... The IronPigs opened play after the All-Star Break with nine games on the road – three in Omaha and six in Indianapolis. Lehigh Valley hasn’t played at home since July 12 and won’t return until July 28 when it hosts Buffalo. After its trip to Indy, the rest of the schedule consists of games against Buffalo, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Syracuse, and Worcester. There are just four more six-game home series remaining on the schedule.

TRIVIA ANSWER… The IronPigs have never played the Nashville Sounds (Milwaukee Brewers) or the Iowa Cubs. Obviously, those two teams have never played at CCP, and the third team to have never visited CCP is the St. Paul Saints (Minnesota Twins). The IronPigs made their first ever trip to St. Paul earlier this season. The Omaha Storm Chasers (Kansas City Royals) have also never visited the Lehigh Valley, but the IronPigs have played in Omaha three times (2022, 2025, and 2026).