Travel prices wreak havoc on teams’ budgets

Consider the problems for minor league baseball: The Pacific Coast League is spread out among 16 teams in three time zones, and the league’s 144-game schedule makes bus travel nearly impossible.

Though some teams receive financial help from their big-league partners, it’s not nearly enough to offset the soaring cost of getting a group of about 30 players, coaches and support staff across half the country.

“We are irrevocably married to commercial transportation,” said Branch Rickey, president of the PCL and grandson of the legendary Dodgers executive. “There is no room for divorce. We can’t get into Priuses or onto buses and solve our problems.”

Most teams were able to lock in good deals for the current season before the recent price surge, but they weren’t prepared for the new baggage surcharges some airlines began imposing to offset jet fuel costs.

Tacoma Rainiers president Aaron Artman estimates the baggage fees will cost his team at least $100,000 this season. Some teams may even ship equipment overnight next year rather than throwing it on the plane with the team.

The league is considering extensive changes beginning with the 2010 season to cope, including a heavily unbalanced schedule that would focus more on regional travel or on realigning divisions to cut down on lengthy road trips.