Today we have another independent partner league, and this one with some more local flavor, the Frontier League. This league is up to 16 teams and stretches from the St. Louis-area, up through New England, and all the way up into Canada. Lafayette also briefly had a team in this league, the Redcoats. That team also played some home games in Marietta, OH, which I have some personal history with. Just another one of those weird connections in life. In this case, though, Lafayette was always a better fit for the Prospect League rather than professional ball, especially with the old Loeb Stadium. The current lineup goes back to 1993, with one original franchise left. That franchise spent the first couple seasons as the Lancaster Scouts, then became the Evansville Otters in 1995. I remember taking a family trip to Evansville when I was fairly young and seeing commercials for the Otters. I was old enough to have a concept of minor league baseball at that point, but I don't think I had a concept of how big it was or how many levels there would be, so I spent a long time trying to slot the Otters into the baseball landscape before I became aware of the independent leagues. For whatever it's worth, I've not been to an Otters game. I don't think I've even driven by the stadium. I probably should, though, as it is a historic stadium. You've probably seen it as the site of the final championship game in A League of Their Own, a film I adore (though I wish they would have cut off the framing device scenes and left the wartime scenes). The main stadium in that movie was League Stadium in nearby Huntingburg, a stadium which has also hosted Frontier League and Prospect League teams. That stadium is still there, too, though I think it just hosts high school games now. Anyway, these teams are split up by East and West. Here they are alphabetically by division. Empire State GreysFrom: Team has no home stadium, they are a filler road team. Founded: 2022 Stadium: N/A Opened: N/A Capacity: N/A Championships: 0 New Jersey JackalsFrom: Little Falls, NJ Founded: 1998 Stadium: Yogi Berra Stadium Opened: 1998 Capacity: 5,000 Championships: 0 (1 All-American Baseball Challenge Championships [2020], 1 Can-Am League Championships [2019], 4 Northern League Championships [1998, 2001, 2002, 2004]) New York BouldersFrom: Pomona, NY Founded: 2011 Stadium: Clover Stadium Opened: 2011 Capacity: 6,362 Championships: 0 (1 Can-Am League Championship: 2014) Ottawa TitansFrom: Ottawa, ON Founded: 2020 Stadium: RCGT Park Opened: 1993 Capacity: 10,332 Championships: 0 Quebec CapitalesFrom: Quebec City, QC Founded: 1999 Stadium: Stade Canac Opened: 1939 Capacity: 4,300 Championships: 0 (7 Can-Am Championships: 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017) Sussex County MinersFrom: Augusta, NJ Founded: 2015 Stadium: Skylands Stadium Opened: 1994 Capacity: 4,500 Championships: 0 (1 Can-Am League Championship: 2018) Tri-City ValleyCatsFrom: Troy, NY Founded: 1977 Stadium: Joseph L. Bruno Stadium Opened: 2002 Capacity: 4,500 Championships: 0 (3 New York-Penn League Championships: 2010, 2013, 2018) Trois-Rivieres AiglesFrom: Trois-Rivieres, QC Founded: 2013 Stadium: Stade Quillorama Opened: 1938 Capacity: 4,000 Championships: 0 (1 Can-Am League Championship, 2015) Evansville OttersFrom: Evansville, IN Founded: 1993 Stadium; Bosse Field Opened: 1915 Capacity: 5,181 Championships: 2 (2006, 2016) Florence Y'allsFrom: Florence, KY Founded: 1994 Stadium: Y'alls Ballpark Opened: 2004 Capacity: 4,500 Championships: 3 (1994, 1995, 2000) Gateway GrizzliesFrom: Sauget, IL Founded: 2001 Stadium: GCS Ballpark Opened: 2002 Capacity: 6,000 Championships: 1 (2003) Joliet SlammersFrom: Joliet, IL Founded: 2011 Stadium: DuPage Medical Group Field Opened: 2002 Capacity: 6,016 Championships: 2 (2011, 2018) Lake Erie CrushersFrom: Avon, OH Founded: 2009 Stadium: Mercy Health Stadium Opened: 2009 Capacity: 5,000 Championships: 1 (2009) Schaumburg BoomersFrom: Schaumburg, IL Founded: 2011 Stadium: Wintrust Field Opened: 1999 Capacity: 7,365 Championships: 4 (2013, 2014, 2017, 2021) Washington Wild ThingsFrom: Washington, PA Founded: 1997 Stadium: Wild Things Park Opened: 2002 Capacity: 3,200 Championships: 1 (1997) Windy City ThunderBoltsFrom: Crestwood, IL
Founded: 1995 Stadium: Ozinga Field Opened: 1999 Capacity: 3,200 Championships: 2 (2007, 2008) (1 Heartland League Championship, 1998) Comments are closed.
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