Wolff an unsung pioneer with an outsized impact on baseball

When you think of the modern Minor League and independent baseball fan experience, you probably think of theme nights, specialty jerseys, ball dogs and other unique in-game promotions and activations.

Longtime Minor League owner Mike Veeck has often been credited with being at the forefront of this movement, and his legacy has been highlighted in the new Netflix documentary, “The Saint of Second Chances.” But none of what Veeck did would be possible without the second chance he himself got from Miles Wolff.

Wolff founded the Northern League in 1993, one of the first modern independent baseball leagues and original home of the St. Paul Saints, the independent franchise that helped Veeck rediscover his creativity.

Before setting off on his own venture with independent baseball, Wolff worked in the Minor League ranks for the Atlanta Braves organization and later as the owner of the Triple-A Durham Bulls.

Over time, Wolff became frustrated with the challenges of owning a Minor League club, where player development is often valued ahead of won-loss record.

“I thought the best promotion in Minor League Baseball was winning games,” Wolff said. “Fans don't care how well the second baseman turns a double play. They're there to root their team on, and often we would have players playing who, there was a better guy sitting on the bench, but the big league club had more money invested in the guy that was playing.”

At the time, Wolff was also publisher of Baseball America magazine, and said he fielded frequent calls from people in cities in the upper Midwest who wanted to see baseball in their community.

“I would make some trips up there, and they had ballparks, they had interest,” Wolff said. “But there was no way they were ever going to get professional baseball, because they weren't in the geographic area for a farm team. The big leagues … weren't adding farm clubs. All these cities that wanted baseball weren't going to be able to get it. I just saw this and thought, ‘This is a great area.’”

The Northern League aimed to bring the game to a number of cities that were not candidates for future affiliated teams, but many people doubted whether the league and its teams could be a success, especially the St. Paul Saints, who were in the shadow of MLB’s Minnesota Twins.

Veeck, an innovator in his own right, was a perfect fit for the new league. Wolff wanted to make the Northern League a professional operation, but also to be open for adaptation to what the fans wanted to see, since they weren’t beholden to MLB rules.

It didn’t catch on at the time, but the Northern League was one of the first leagues to experiment with a pitch clock, back in 1993-94. Wolff noticed the length of games was a potential deterrent for fans, and experimented to look for a solution.

“[Wolff] made every decision with heart because he loved the game, and that's what you need,” Veeck said.

That innovation extended on the field. The Saints were the first professional team with a woman pitcher. Ila Borders became the first woman to pitch in and win a professional baseball game with St. Paul. She also pitched for the Duluth-Superior Dukes during her four years in the Northern League.

But the Saints have long been known for their creativity off the field. They’ve had a ball pig, whose role is to wear a saddlebag and bring the baseballs from the dugout to the umpire, and a nun masseuse, Sister Roz, since their inception. Some of Veeck’s ideas, however, were not as successful, like using mimes as “Mime-O-Vision” instead of instant replay on the scoreboard, which was phased out after the inaugural season.

“Our mantra is going to be 'Fun is good,' and we're gonna let that determine every one of our promotions and every one of our marketing gigs,” Veeck said. “Everything was designed to make people laugh.”

The Northern League didn’t just provide Veeck with a second chance, but also a number of Major League players who used it as a springboard to return to the Majors, and undrafted players who found a pathway to the league through independent baseball.

One of the most important aspects of starting a new club was to make sure the league was run properly, in order to attract players. Wolff said his experience in the Minor Leagues helped him understand how to run a professional league, and how to treat fans and players in order to make the Northern League a quality product.

“(Wolff) started a pathway for players who found their way out of Major League Baseball, whether it be by age or the team thought they could never be a big leaguer, into a place where they can continue their career,” said current American Association commissioner Josh Schaub. “So many of those great players went back and made it as Major League Baseball players, or they were passed over in the draft, made it through the MLB Partner Leagues and became big leaguers.”

Wolff later served as commissioner of the American Association, which was a merger between the Northern and Central Leagues that started play in 2006 and is still operating today. Wolff served as commissioner of that league until 2019.

“There is no doubt in my mind, if people stop and think about what [Wolff] created from coast to coast in independent league baseball … He created this whole other avenue for cities to have professional baseball,” Schaub said.

“Miles should be in the Hall of Fame, for his impact on the game of baseball and the amount of lives he touched, and the amount of hope and enthusiasm he gave to baseball fans throughout this country. Miles Wolff should be in Cooperstown.”