This is the foreign league I've been most excited to do, and why I saved it for last. I've been a big fan of this league since I did a big world baseball project my freshman year at Wabash. NPB was founded in 1950, but professional baseball in Japan goes back to the 1930's. The quality of baseball is quite high. Most people describe it as a "Four-A" level. I don't think it's a coincidence that Japan won the first two World Baseball Classics and came in third in the last two. Personally, I actually find NPB more enjoyable to watch than MLB. The style of play is more to my tastes, which was only further cemented when the National League adopted the DH, which the Central League has not. The league currently has twelve teams, eleven of which have been there since 1950. The only newcomer is the Golden Eagles, who started play in 2005. Many teams were founded before NPB was organized, though, so it's still worth looking at the founding dates on these teams. The teams are split up between the Central and Pacific Leagues. And, if anybody was curious, the Hiroshima Carp are my favorite team, and also happen to be the hardest to watch in the US. I wish the NPB would come up with something comparable to MLB.TV, but they don't seem inclined to do that any time soon. I should also note here that league pennants work a little different here than in MLB. It is awarded by regular season record, not by winning the league in the playoffs. Chunichi DragonsFrom: Nagoya Founded: 1936 Stadium: Vantelin Dome Opened: 1997 Capacity: 40,500 Central League Pennants: 9 (1954, 1974, 1982, 1988, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2011) Japan Series Championships: 2 (1954, 2007) Hanshin TigersFrom: Nishinomiya Founded: 1935 Stadium: Koshien Stadium Opened: 1924 Capacity: 47,508 Central League Pennants: 5 (1962, 1964, 1985, 2004, 2005) Japan Series Championships: 1 (1985) Hiroshima Toyo CarpFrom: Hiroshima Founded: 1950 Stadium: Mazda Stadium Opened: 2009 Capacity: 32,000 Central League Pennants: 9 (1975, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1991, 2016, 2017, 2018) Japan Series Championships: 3 (1979, 1980, 1984) Tokyo Yakult SwallowsFrom: Tokyo Founded: 1950 Stadium: Meiji Jingu Stadium Opened: 1926 Capacity: 37,933 Central League Pennants: 8 (1978, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2015, 2021) Japan Series Championships: 6 (1978, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2021) Yokohama DeNA BayStarsFrom: Yokohama Founded: 1949 Stadium: Yokohama Stadium Opened: 1978 Capacity: 34,046 Central League Pennants: 2 (1960, 1988) Japan Series Championships: 2 (1960, 1988) Yomiuri GiantsFrom: Tokyo Founded: 1934 Stadium: Tokyo Dome Opened: 1988 Capacity: 45,600 Central League Pennants: 38 (1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020) Japan Series Championships: 22 (1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1981, 1989, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2009, 2012) Chiba Lotte MarinesFrom: Chiba Founded: 1949 Stadium: ZOZO Marine Stadium Opened: 1990 Capacity: 30,118 Pacific League Pennants: 5 (1950, 1960, 1970, 1974, 2005) Japan Series Championships: 4 (1950, 1974, 2005, 2010) Fukuoka SoftBank HawksFrom: Fukuoka Founded: 1938 Stadium: PayPay Dome Opened: 1993 Capacity: 40,178 Pacific League Pennants: 19 (1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1973, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020) Japan Series Championships: 11 (1959, 1964, 1999, 2003, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) Hokkaido Nippon-Ham FightersFrom: Sapporo Founded: 1945 Stadium: Sapporo Dome Opened: 2001 Capacity: 41,484 Pacific League Pennants: 7 (1962, 1981, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2016) Japan Series Championships: 3 (1962, 2006, 2016) Orix BuffaloesFrom: Osaka (top) and Kobe (bottom) Founded: 1936 Stadiums: Kyocera Dome (top) and Kobe Sports Park (bottom) Opened: 1997 (top) and 1988 (bottom) Capacity: 36,627 (top) and 35,000 (bottom) Pacific League Pennants: 13 (1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1984, 1995, 1996, 2021) Japan Series Championships: 4 (1975, 1976, 1977, 1996) Saitama Seibu LionsFrom: Saitama Founded: 1950 Stadium: Belluna Dome Opened: 1979 Capacity: 33,921 Pacific League Pennants: 23 (1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2018, 2019) Japan Series Championships: 13 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2004, 2008) Tohoku Rakuten Golden EaglesFrom: Sendai
Founded: 2005 Stadium: Rakuten Seimei Park Opened: 1950 Capacity: 30,508 Pacific League Pennants: 1 (2013) Japan Series Championships: 1 (2013) Today we're going to look at the KBO, which I am sure many more people are familiar with after their stint on ESPN to fill time while MLB was not playing for Covid. I think I'd make the argument that this is the second most successful foreign league (behind NPB). If you really got into the KBO during that time and miss it, they've actually made their games available for free (in the US and Europe, anyway) at Naver TV. Also a good option if you're just fed up with MLB, which I can totally relate. The KBO goes back to 1982 and opened with six teams. They are currently up to ten teams, and as far as I can tell, they've only lost two teams in forty years. That's a pretty remarkable record for stability. Like NPB (and possibly other leagues), there is a cap for foreign players. It was two from 1998 to 2014, and it's been at three ever since. Only two of those three can be pitchers. So it is definitely common to see names you know on these teams, but certainly not enough to make it feel like it isn't Korean. And here are the teams! Doosan BearsFrom: Seoul Founded: 1982 Stadium: Jamsil Stadium Opened: 1982 Capacity: 25,000 Championships: 6 (1982, 1995, 2001, 2015, 2016, 2019) Hanwha EaglesFrom: Daejeon Founded: 1985 Stadium: Daejeon Hanbat Stadium Opened: 1963 Capacity: 13,000 Championships: 1 (1999) Kia TigersFrom: Gwangju Founded: 1982 Stadium: Gwangju-Kia Champions Field Opened: 2014 Capacity: 20,500 Championships: 11 (1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2009, 2017) Kiwoom HeroesFrom: Seoul Founded: 2008 Stadium: Gocheok Sky Dome Opened: 2015 Capacity: 16,744 Championships: 0 KT WizFrom: Suwon Founded: 2015 Stadium: Suwon Stadium Opened: 1989 Capacity: 20,000 Championships: 1 (2021) LG TwinsFrom: Seoul Founded: 1982 Stadium: Jamsil Stadium Opened: 1982 Capacity: 25,000 Championships: 2 (1990, 1994) Lotte GiantsFrom: Busan Founded: 1975 Stadium: Sajik Stadium Opened: 1985 Capacity: 24,500 Championships: 2 (1984, 1992) NC DinosFrom: Changwon Founded: 2011 Stadium: Changwon NC Park Opened: 2019 Capacity: 22,112 Championships: 1 (2020) Samsung LionsFrom: Daegu Founded: 1982 Stadium: Daegu Samsung Lions Park Opened: 2016 Capacity: 24,000 Championships: 8 (1985, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014) SSG LandersFrom: Incheon
Founded: 2000 Stadium: Incheon SSG Landers Field Opened: 2002 Capacity: 23,000 Championships: 4 (2007, 2008, 2010, 2018) Today we're going to look at Taiwan. If the name of the league confuses you, you probably ought to brush up on your Chinese-Taiwanese history. There are only five teams in the CPBL, which is a bit shocking to me. Taiwan won seemingly every Little League World Series in the 70's and 80's, but it didn't really seem to translate into making MLB players. Even so, you would think a country with that sort of baseball history could support more than five top-level teams. Making this all even more shocking is that this league has five teams after absorbing their competition, the Taiwan Major League! The CPBL started in 1989, and the TML started in 1997. The two merged in 2003. The CPBL had up to seven teams at its peak as far as I can tell. It looks like the TML had four teams throughout its run. And somehow that added up to a five team league when they came together. It doesn't really add up to me, and I wonder if there will be another round of expansion now that we're starting to live in a post-Covid world. That remains to be seen, though. As is common in Asian baseball, these teams are named after their corporate ownership rather than the city where they are based. And here are the five current teams. CTBC BrothersFrom: Taichung City Founded: 1989 Stadium: Taichung Intercontinental Stadium Opened: 2006 Capacity: 20,000 Championships: 15 (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021) Fubon GuardiansFrom: New Taipei City Founded: 1993 Stadium: Xinzhuang Stadium Opened: 1997 Capacity: 12,500 Championships: 3 (2003, 2004, 2016) Rakuten MonkeysFrom: Taoyuan CIty Founded: 2003 Stadium: Rakuten Taoyuan Stadium Opened: 2010 Capacity: 20,000 Championships: 7 (2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019) Uni-President 7-Eleven LionsFrom: Tainan City Founded: 1989 Stadium: Tainan Municipal Stadium Opened: 1931 Capacity: 12,000 Championships: 10 (1991, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2020) Wei Chuan DragonsFrom: Taipei
Founded: 1989 Stadium: Tianmu Stadium Opened: 1999 Capacity: 10,500 Championships: 4 (1990, 1997, 1998, 1999) I'm going to cover a handful of international leagues here, starting with the Mexican League. Or, in Spanish, Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, or LMB for short. Mexico has it's own system of minor leagues, as do all the other countries I am going to look at, but this is the top level in the nation. For this last round of looks, I am going to limit myself to the top levels. LMB was founded in 1925 and stayed around six to eight teams for the first four or five decades of existence. Around 1980 it ballooned up to 20 teams, but then quickly fell back to 14 teams. Today, the league has 18 teams, split evenly into North and South. For a long time, there was a relationship between LMB and MLB, and this league was treated as a Triple-A league, even though there were no official affiliations to specific teams as far as I know. I don't believe this partnership survived the minor league reorganization, though I am sure scouts know where to find these teams. If you are interested in watching Mexican baseball, you can stream it at jonron.tv for $50 for the season. I think. Despite taking several years of it in school, my Spanish has always been pretty bad, but I think that's what it says. Acereros de MonclovaFrom: Monclova, Coahuila Founded: 1974 Stadium: Estadio Monclova Opened: 1975 Capacity: 8,500 Championships: 1 (2019) Algodoneros de Union LagunaFrom: Torreon, Coahuila Founded: 1940 Stadium: Estadio Revolucion Opened: 1932 Capacity: 9,500 Championships: 2 (1942, 1950) Generales de DurangoFrom: Durango City, Durango Founded: 2016 Stadium: Estadio Francisco Villa Opened: 1972 Capacity: 4,983 Championships: 0 Mariachis de GuadalajaraFrom: Zapopan, Jalisco Founded: 2021 Stadium: Estadio Panamericano Opened: 2011 Capacity: 16,500 Championships: 0 Rieleros de AguascalientesFrom: Aguascalientes City, Aguascalientes Founded: 1975 Stadium: Parque de Beisbol Alberto Romo Chavez Opened: 1938 Capacity: 6,494 Championships: 1 (1978) Saraperos de SaltilloFrom: Saltillo, Coahuila Founded: 1970 Stadium: Estadio Francisco I. Madero Opened: 1963 Capacity: 16,000 Championships: 3 (1980, 2009, 2010) Sultanes de MonterreyFrom: Monterrey, Nuevo Leon Founded: 1939 Stadium: Estadio Mobil Super Opened: 1990 Capacity: 21,906 Championships: 10 (1943, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1962, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2007, 2018) Tecolotes de los Dos LaredosFrom: Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas (Top) and Laredo, TX (Bottom) Founded: 1940 Stadiums: Parque la Junta (Top) and Uni-Trade Stadium (Bottom) Opened: 1947 (Top) and 2012 (Bottom) Capacity: 6,000 (Both) Championships: 5 (1953, 1954, 1958, 1977, 1989) Toros de TijuanaFrom: Tijuana, Baja California Founded: 2004 Stadium: Estadio Chevron Opened: 1976 Capacity: 17,000 Championships: 2 (2017, 2021) Bravos de LeonFrom: Leon, Guanajuato Founded: 1978 Stadium: Estadio Domingo Santana Opened: 1973 Capacity: 6,500 Championships: 1 (1990) Diablos Rojos del MexicoFrom: Iztacalco, Mexico City Founded: 1940 Stadium: Estadio Alfredo Harp Helu Opened: 2019 Capacity: 20,576 Championships: 16 (1956, 1964, 1968, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1994, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2014) El Aguila de VeracruzFrom: Heroica Veracruz, Veracruz Founded: 1903 Stadium: Estadio Universitario Beto Avila Opened: 1992 Capacity: 7,319 Championships: 6 (1937, 1938, 1952, 1961, 1970, 2012) Guerreros de OaxacaFrom: Oaxaca City, Oaxaca Founded: 1996 Stadium: Estadio Eduardo Vasconcelos Opened: 1950 Capacity: 7,200 Championships: 1 (1998) Leones de YucatanFrom: Merida, Yucatan Founded: 1954 Stadium: Parque Kukulcan Alamo Opened: 1982 Capacity: 14,917 Championships: 4 (1957, 1984, 2006, 2018) Olmecas de TabascoFrom: Villahermosa, Tabasco Founded: 1975 Stadium: Estadio Centenario 27 de Febrero Opened: 1964 Capacity: 8,500 Championships: 1 (1993) Pericos de PueblaFrom: Puebla City, Puebla Founded: 1942 Stadium: Estadio Hermanos Serdan Opened: 1973 Capacity: 9,723 Championships: 5 (1925, 1963, 1979, 1986, 2016) Piratas de CampecheFrom: Campeche City, Campeche Founded: 1980 Stadium: Estadio Nelson Barrera Romellon Opened: 2001 Capacity: 6,000 Championships: 2 (1983, 2004) Tigres de Quintana RooFrom: Cancun, Quintana Roo
Founded: 1955 Stadium: Estadio Beto Avila Opened: 1980 Capacity: 9,500 Championships: 12 (1955, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2015) Today we are going to look at our last American professional baseball league, the Pecos League. You might possibly be familiar with this league from a Fox Sports documentary, which I do remember watching a few episodes of. As I kept getting ready to do this post thought, I'll admit that I kept getting that series mixed up with Playing for Peanuts in my head, and I remember that actually being a much more interesting series. That one is about a now defunct league, though. It's been a long time since I've watched either, though, so my memory may be off or they may both not hold up today after a decade or so. I don't know. As far as the current day Pecos League, it is a bigger one, sitting at 16 teams. They opened play in 2011 and still hold on to a pair of charter teams. Maybe more impressively, neither of those teams have moved or changed their name, either. That's the sort of stability you just don't really see when you get under Triple-A. They are split between Mountain and Pacific divisions, and here they are respectively. Alpine CowboysFrom: Alpine, TX Founded: 2011 Stadium: Kokernot Field Opened: 1947 Capacity: 1,400 Championships: 2 (2012, 2019) Austin WeirdosFrom: Austin, TX Founded: 2022 Stadium: Parque Zaragoza Opened: Maybe 1992? Capacity: Not Much Championships: 0 Colorado Springs Snow SoxFrom: Colorado Springs, CO Founded: 2021 Stadium: Spurgeon Field Opened: Maybe 1950? Capacity: 4,100 Championships: 0 Garden City WindFrom: Garden City, KS Founded: 2015 Stadium: Clint Lightner Field Opened: 1920 Capacity: 1,000 Championships: 0 Roswell InvadersFrom: Roswell, NM Founded: 2011 Stadium: Joe Bauman Stadium Opened: 1939 Capacity: 500 Championships: 3 (2011, 2013, 2015) Santa Fe FuegoFrom: Santa Fe, NM Founded: 2012 Stadium: Fort Marcy Ballfield Opened: 1936 Capacity: 1,100 Championships: 1 (2014) Trinidad TriggersFrom: Trinidad, CO Founded: 2012 Stadium: Central Park Opened: 1960 Capacity: 887 Championships: 0 Weimar HormigasFrom: Weimar, TX Founded: 2022 Stadium: Veterans Park Opened: 1948 Capacity: Unsure Championships: 0 Bakersfield Train RobbersFrom: Bakersfield, CA Founded: 2013 Stadium: Sam Lynn Ballpark Opened: 1941 Capacity: 3,500 Championships: 1 (2018) Martinez SturgeonFrom: Martinez, CA Founded: 2020 Stadium: Waterfront Park Opened: Maybe 1976? Capacity: 200 Championships: 0 Monterey AmberjacksFrom: Monterey, CA Founded: 2016 Stadium: Frank E. Sollecito Jr. Ballpark Opened: Maybe 1956? Capacity: 2,500 Championships: 0 San Rafael PacificsFrom: San Rafael, CA Founded: 2011 Stadium: Albert Park Opened: 1950 Capacity: 900 Championships: 0 (1 North American League Championship [2012], 4 Pacific Association Championships [2014, 2015, 2018, 2019]) Santa Cruz SeaweedFrom: Santa Cruz, CA Founded: 2020 Stadium: Harvey Park West Opened: Maybe 1955? Capacity: 200 Championships: 0 Santa Rosa Scuba DiversFrom: Santa Rosa, CA Founded: 2022 Stadium: Doyle Park Opened: Unsure Capacity: 1,450 Championships: 0 Tucson SaguarosFrom: Tucson, AZ Founded: 2015 Stadium: Kino Sports Complex Opened: 1998 Capacity: 11,500 Championships: 3 (2016, 2020, 2021) Wasco ReserveFrom: Bakersfield, CA*
Founded: 2019 Stadium: Sam Lynn Ballpark Opened: 1941 Capacity: 3,500 Championships: 0 *Team did originally play in Wasco, CA, but dispute with city forced them to share this stadium for this season. They say they are attempting to return to Wasco next season. Today we're going to look at another four team league, but at least they all have their stadiums in their own cities. Unfortunately, I don't have a ton to say about this league before we look at the stadiums. The most interesting thing I can really glean from all this is they were going to have a team in Puerto Rico for some reason after Watertown, NY, couldn't agree on a lease with the stadium there. That would have made absolutely no geographic sense, and I have a hard time believing the travel would have been financially viable. But, the Puerto Rico team never really happened, because no stadium agreement could be found, so the team was just a travel team. It doesn't seem like a great sign when your league fluctuates between four and six teams and you still have to use a travel team. Still, the league has been going since 2015, so their almost ten years old now. And here is where they are currently playing. New Hampshire WildFrom: Concord, NH Founded: 2016 Stadium: Memorial Field Opened: 1936 Capacity: 2,000 Championships: 0 Plattsburgh ThunderbirdsFrom: Plattsburgh, NY Founded: 2017 Stadium: Chip Cummings Field Opened: 2003 Capacity: 500 Championships: 2 (2017, 2019) Saranac Lake SurgeFrom: Saranac Lake, NY Founded: 2016 Stadium: Petrova Field Opened: Unknown Capacity: 250 Championships: 1 (2021) Tupper Lake RiverpigsFrom: Tupper Lake, NY
Founded: 2020 Stadium: Municipal Park Opened: Unknown Capacity: 250 Championships: 0 This is our first true, no connection with MLB at all, independent league, and it is a weird one. I guess maybe this isn't as weird as it could be with the current USFL setup, but this is a four team league where all the games are held at one stadium in Michigan. The league started in 2016, and the Utica Unicorns have won four of the six championships so far. The Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers won in 2017 and 2018, and they are the only other champions. How these teams have geographical names when they all share the same stadium is beyond me. Despite all the weirdness here, this league had produced a Major Leaguer: Randy Dobnak, who played for the Unicorns in 2017. You'll note that was not one of the championships years. Since there is only one park, I'll just tell you the teams are the Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers, the Eastside Diamond Hoppers, the Utica Unicorns, and the Westside Wooly Mammoths. And here is Jimmy John's Field. This stadium is in Utica, MI, and has 2,000 seats with various suites and terraces that bring the full capacity to 4,500. It opened in 2016. It is 315 feet down the left field line, 320 down right, and 395 feet to center field.
Wikipedia tells me they average around 3,000 fans a game. The players make somewhere between $600 to $800 a month, and they utilize host families to shelter the players. From what I saw on their opening day link, tickets range from $20 to $6. I really can't think of much else to add at this point. I stretched this out as much as I could with the one stadium. If this slightly ridiculous league has captured your attention, it appears you can watch all the games for free on their YouTube channel this summer. Today we look at the last "partner league," though I never really have figured out exactly what that means. The Pioneer League has been around since 1939, which is pretty remarkable for a minor league, especially at this level. It spent almost its entire existence as an MLB-affiliate league, starting as a C league, spending a year as an A league, then a Rookie league from 1964 until the big reconfiguration of a couple years ago. This league does feel important, as it seems to serve a really underserved area of the country, at least as far as professional sports are concerned. Out of the ten teams, six of them are located in either Idaho or Montana, with the Helena Brewers just recently moving to Colorado. Which, I realize it's also a pretty unpopulated area of the country. I think the combined population of those two states doesn't even come up to three million. By comparison, Indiana has about six and a half million, and we're not even a particularly big state. Still, the people that live there still deserve some entertainment, and here is the Pioneer League to provide it. The teams are split into Northern and Southern divisions, and here they are alphabetically by division. Billings MustangsFrom: Billings, MT Founded: 1948 Stadium: Dehler Park Opened: 2008 Capacity: 3,071 Championships: 15 (1950, 1957, 1959, 1962, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2014) Glacier Range RidersFrom: Kalispell, MT Founded: 2022 Stadium: Flathead Field Opened: 2022 Capacity: Under Construction, Wikipedia says 2,500 Championships: 0 Great Falls VoyagersFrom: Great Falls, MT Founded: 1969 Stadium: Centene Stadium Opened: 1940 Capacity: 3,001 Championships: 13 (1951, 1953, 1961, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2008, 2011, 2018) Idaho Falls ChukarsFrom: Idaho Falls, ID Founded: 1940 Stadium: Melaleuca Field Opened: 2007 Capacity: 3,400 Championships: 8 (1952, 1963, 1970, 1974, 1998, 2000, 2013, 2019) Missoula PaddleHeadsFrom: Missoula, MT Founded: 1999 Stadium: Ogren Park at Allegiance Field Opened: 2004 Capacity: 3,500 Championships: 5 (1999, 2006, 2012, 2015, 2021) Boise HawksFrom: Boise, ID Founded: 1987 Stadium: Memorial Stadium Opened: 1989 Capacity: 3,452 Championships: 0 (6 Northwest League Championships: 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2004) Grand Junction RockiesFrom: Grand Junction, CO Founded: 1979 Stadium: Suplizio Field Opened: 1949 Capacity: 7,000 Championships: 1 (1981) Northern Colorado OwlzFrom: Windsor, CO Founded: 2001 Stadium: Future Legends Complex Opened: 2022 Capacity: Wikipedia says 2,800 Championships: 5 (2004, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2016) Ogden RaptorsFrom: Ogden, UT Founded: 1994 Stadium: Lindquist Field Opened: 1997 Capacity: 8,262 Championships: 1 (2017) Rocky Mountain VibesFrom: Colorado Springs, CO
Founded: 1978 Stadium: UCHealth Park Opened: 1988 Capacity: 8,500 Championships: 4 (1984, 1995, 1996, 2010) 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) We have another "partner league" to cover today, the American Association of Professional Baseball. This league was created in 2005 out of a splintering of the Northern League and the disbanding of Central Baseball League. League membership has been a bit chaotic, which is the norm for minor leagues, but this league does seem to be a little more chaotic than usual. They have held on to three original teams, though, so that counts for something. The best way I can describe the geography of the league is Mississippian plus Chicago. It makes for some awkward divisions, which probably also explains why they just switched from North-South to East-West for this season. It's still not great, though. The East is the Chicago-area teams plus a team in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. The West is a bit more coherent, with the teams following the eastern borders of Kansas up through the Dakotas. The league currently sits at 12 teams. I am only going to count league championships for the AAPB. Here they are alphabetically staring with the East. Chicago DogsFrom: Rosemont, IL Founded: 2018 Stadium: Impact Field Opened: 2018 Capacity: 6,300 Championships: 0 Cleburne RailroadersFrom: Cleburne, TX Founded: 2017 Stadium: The Depot at Cleburne Station Opened: 2017 Capacity: 1,750 Championships: 0 Gary SouthShore RailCatsFrom: Gary, IN Founded: 2002 Stadium: US Steel Yard Opened: 2002 Capacity: 6,139 Championships: 1 (2013) [2 Northern League Championships: 2005, 2007) Kane County CougarsFrom: Geneva, IL Founded: 1991 Stadium: Northwestern Medicine Field Opened: 1991 Capacity: 10,923 Championships: 0 (2 Midwest League Championships: 2001, 2014) Lake Country DockHoundsFrom: Oconomowoc, WI Founded: 2022 Stadium: Wisconsin Brewing Company Park Opened: 2022 Capacity: 2,500 Championships: 0 Milwaukee MilkmenFrom: Franklin, WI Founded: 2019 Stadium: Franklin Field Opened: 2019 Capacity: 4,000 Championships: 1 (2020) Fargo-Moorhead RedHawksFrom: Fargo, ND Founded: 1996 Stadium: Newman Outdoor Field Opened: 1996 Capacity: 4,172 Championships: 0 (5 Northern League Championships: 1998, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010) Kansas City MonarchsFrom: Kansas City, KS Founded: 1993 Stadium: Legends Field Opened: 2003 Capacity: 6,537 Championships: 2 (2018, 2021) (1 Northern League Championship: 2008) Lincoln SaltdogsFrom: Lincoln, NE Founded: 2001 Stadium: Haymarket Park Opened: 2001 Capacity: 8,500 Championships: 1 (2009) Sioux City ExplorersFrom: Sioux City, IA Founded: 1993 Stadium: Lewis and Clark Park Opened: 1993 Capacity: 3,631 Championships: 0 Sioux Falls CanariesFrom: Sioux Falls, SD Founded: 1993 Stadium: Sioux Falls Stadium Opened: 1941 Capacity: 4,500 Championships: 1 (2008) Winnipeg GoldeneyesFrom: Winnipeg, MB
Founded: 1994 Stadium: Shaw Park Opened: 1998 Capacity: 7,461 Championships: 3 (2012, 2016, 2017) (1 Northern League Championship: 1994) |
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