The Double-A All-Star Game was an annual

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

game held from 1991 to 2002 between professional players from the affiliated Double-A leagues of Minor League Baseball—the Eastern League (EL), Southern League (SL), and

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

(TL). Teams of

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

-affiliated Double-A All-Stars faced off against teams of

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

-affiliated Double-A All-Stars. Seven games were won by American League teams, and five were won by National League teams.

History

The three Double-A leagues of Minor League Baseball—the Eastern League (EL), Southern League (SL), and

(TL)—were inspired by the success of the

Triple-A All-Star Game The Triple-A All-Star Game was an annual baseball game held from 1988 to 2019 between professional players from the affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball. These leagues were the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast League ( ...

, which was first held in 1988, to combine for their own meeting of their classification's All-Stars. The first Double-A All-Star game was played in 1991 at

Joe W. Davis Stadium Joe W. Davis Stadium is a former minor league baseball baseball park, park in Huntsville, Alabama, United States, which is currently being converted into a soccer stadium. Joe Davis Stadium hosted the Huntsville Stars of the Southern League (1964 ...

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...

. Players were divided into teams of

affiliates and

affiliates as voted on by members of the local media in each of the classification's 26 cities. In later years, teams were selected by the three league presidents. Despite the game's initial commercial success, the travel logistics involving teams stretching from

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

, to

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. ...

, made organizing the game difficult. The creation of the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

in 1999 drew away both publicity and players. The final Double-A All-Star Game was played in 2002 at

Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium is a stadium in Norwich, Connecticut. It is primarily used for baseball, and since 2010, has been the home of the Norwich Sea Unicorns, who were previously known as the Connecticut Tigers. It was the ho ...

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to Long ...

Results

Most Valuable Player Award

Through 1996, a Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award was given to the player with the best performance from each Double-A league. One award was planned for the overall Most Valuable Player in 1997, but two players were selected as co-MVPs. Single MVPs were also selected in 1998 and 2000. In the final two years of contention, 2001 and 2002, the classification reverted to the original format and selected three MVPs, one from each league. Three players from the

El Paso Diablos "El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, whi ...

and

Huntsville Stars The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Mil ...

were each selected for MVP Awards, more than any other teams. The

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...

, Knoxville/Tennessee Smokies,

Memphis Chicks Memphis Chicks may refer to: *Memphis Chicks (Southern Association), a Minor League Baseball team that played from 1901 to 1960 *Memphis Chicks (Southern League) The Memphis Chicks were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Southern Lea ...

, Midland Angels/RockHounds, New Britain Red Sox/Rock Cats, and Orlando SunRays/Cubs each had two MVPs.

Notes

References

{{reflist, 30em Eastern League (1938–present) Southern League (1964–present) Texas League All-star games Baseball competitions in the United States Recurring sporting events established in 1991 Recurring sporting events established in 2002

History

Results

Most Valuable Player Award

See also

Notes

References