Minor League Monday: Emeralds win a Frietas Award and move on

As you may have heard by now, the Eugene Emeralds have realigned to be with the San Francisco Giants.

The are no longer a Cubs affiliate, but I wish them well on their new journey. You will be missed!

The Eugene Emeralds have added yet another top MILB award to their trophy case: The 2020 Frietas Award, which recognizes the top overall operation for each minor league level. Congratulations Emeralds!

2020 was a tough year for Oregon. Obviously there was Coronavirus, which led to the shutdown of the EM's shared PK park. Oregon was hit hard with wildfires and civil disturbances as well. But the front office team of the Emeralds went to work, doing great things for their community like:

• Being one of the first teams to make face masks, and pooling the resources of the community to make thousands of them.

• Setting up Red Cross supply dropoffs at hotels to help with wildfire victims.

• Using their food truck to cook free meals for community members.

• Coordinating blood drives.

• Having their Mascot Sluggo lead online P.E. classes for kids stuck virtual learning.

The Eugene Emeralds have been an example to the rest of minor league baseball as a team that integrates with its local community, serving as inspiration of what a few people can do when motivated by love. Congratulations to GM Allan Benavides, Assistant GM Matt Dompe, Director of Community Relations Anne Culhane, and the entire Emeralds team on this award.

Learn more about the Eugene Emeralds community Outreach at https://www.milb.com/eugene/community