The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

as part of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the High-A East before reassuming its original moniker in 2022. A number of different leagues known as the South Atlantic League (SAL) have existed since 1904. The most recent SAL adopted the moniker in 1980, having previously been the

Western Carolinas League Portion of plaque displaying likeness of John Henry Moss at Municipal Stadium, Hagerstown, Maryland The Western Carolinas League was a Class D (1948–52; 1960–62) and a low Class A (1963–79) full-season league in American minor league base ...

, founded in 1963. All of these have been nicknamed "Sally League".

History

There have been several South Atlantic Leagues in the history of minor league baseball, spanning from 1904 to the present with a few breaks. The league ran from 1904 to 1917 as a class C league, then started up again in 1919, also class C. This time it ran from 1919 to 1930, moving up to class B beginning in 1921. William G. Bramham became league president in mid-1924 and served until 1930. The league was restarted again as a class B from 1936 to 1942, shut down as a result of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and returned in 1946 as a class A league. The AA

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cla ...

(which never integrated) died after the 1961 season and so the SAL was promoted to AA in 1963 to take its place; a year later the name was changed to the Southern League. Out of the 51 seasons of operation,

Augusta, Georgia Augusta ( ), officially Augusta–Richmond County, is a consolidated city-county on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia. The city lies across the Savannah River from South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Georgi ...

competed in 46, Macon, Georgia was around for 46, and

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...

was in 45. Charleston, South Carolina;

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

;

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...

; and

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

; each competed for at least 29 years also, making for a relatively stable lineup. The South Atlantic League name went unused for 16 years, but in 1980 the

brought back the name when it sought to change its identity. For nearly 60 years, 1948 through 2007, the dominant figure in the WCL/SAL was league founder and president John Henry Moss, who started the WCL as a young man in 1948, refounded it in 1960 and then led it into the new century. Moss retired at the close of the 2007 South Atlantic League season. He died at age 90 on July 1, 2009, at

Kings Mountain, North Carolina Kings Mountain is a small suburban city within the Charlotte metropolitan area in Cleveland and Gaston counties, North Carolina, United States. Most of the city is in Cleveland County, with a small eastern portion in Gaston County. The popul ...

—a town where he had also been mayor for 23 years. In 2005, the SAL had the highest

attendance Attendance is the concept of people, individually or as a group, appearing at a location for a previously scheduled event. Measuring attendance is a significant concern for many organizations, which can use such information to gauge the effectiven ...

in 101 years with over 3,541,992 fans (while minor league baseball set a second straight record with 41,333,279 attendees). When the league last played a season, in 2019, it had 14 teams, divided into two divisions of seven clubs. The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

before ultimately being cancelled on June 30. As part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, the South Atlantic League was promoted to High-A and temporarily renamed the "High-A East" for the 2021 season. Following MLB's acquisition of the rights to the names of the historical minor leagues, the High-A East was renamed the South Atlantic League effective with the 2022 season.

Current teams

South Atlantic League teams (1980–present)

Notes: • An "^" indicates that team's article redirects to an article of an active team in a different league *

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of the ...

* Albany Polecats * Anderson Braves *

Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in differe ...

Augusta GreenJackets The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina, which opened in April 2018. They previo ...

^ * Augusta Reds *

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which open ...

Brooklyn Cyclones The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and play at Maimonides Park, just off the Coney Island Boar ...

* Cape Fear Crocs *

Capital City Bombers Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

* Charleston Alley Cats * Charleston Bombers * Charleston Pirates *

Charleston Rainbows Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Hi ...

^ * Charleston Royals * Charleston Wheelers * Charleston Yankees *

Columbia Fireflies The Columbia Fireflies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Columbia, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball. Their home stadium is Segra Park. The team was previously known as the ...

^ *

Columbia Mets Located in Columbia, South Carolina, the Columbia Mets were affiliated with the New York Mets from 1983 to 1992. A member of the South Atlantic League, they became the Capital City Bombers in 1993. They played in Capital City Stadium. Year by yea ...

Columbus Catfish The Columbus Catfish were a minor league baseball team in Columbus, Georgia. They were a Class A team in the South Atlantic League, and were an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The Catfish relocated to Bowling Green, ...

* Columbus Indians * Columbus RedStixx *

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

^ *

Fayetteville Generals The Fayetteville Generals were a minor league baseball team located in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The last minor league baseball team to play before the Generals were the Fayetteville Highlanders of the Carolina League, they ceased play aft ...

Florence Blue Jays The Florence Blue Jays Baseball Club was a minor league baseball team based in Florence, South Carolina. They began play in the South Atlantic League in 1981 where they eventually captured the league title in 1985. After the 1986 season the t ...

Gastonia Cardinals The Gastonia Cardinals were a minor league baseball team based in Gastonia, North Carolina on two separate occasions, playing as a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals in both instances. The first Gastonia Cardinals team played as mem ...

* Gastonia Expos * Gastonia Jets *

Gastonia Rangers The Gastonia Rangers were a class A minor league baseball team located in Gastonia, North Carolina. The team played first as the Rangers in the Western Carolinas League (1973–1974). In 1983 and 1984, they played as the Gastonia Expos, as an affil ...

* Gastonia Tigers *

Greensboro Bats Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...

Greensboro Grasshoppers The Greensboro Grasshoppers are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greensboro, North Carolina. They are members of the South Atlantic League and are the High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They play their home games at First National B ...

* Greensboro Hornets *

Greenwood Pirates The Greenwood Pirates were a minor league baseball team in Greenwood, South Carolina, from 1981 to 1983. The team was an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the South Atlantic League. The club lasted three seasons before moving to Savannah, G ...

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home ga ...

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

Hudson Valley Renegades Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson R ...

* Jersey Shore BlueClaws *

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Kannapolis, North Carolina, and play their home games at Atrium Health Ballpark. The t ...

^ *

Kannapolis Intimidators Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus and Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord and northeast of Charlotte and is a suburb in the Charlotte metropolitan area. The city of Kannapolis was incorporated in 1984. The ...

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following ...

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends ha ...

^ * Macon Braves *

Macon Peaches The Macon Peaches was the predominant name of the American minor league baseball franchise representing Macon, Georgia, during the 20th century. Although Macon did not field teams during and immediately after World War I, the height of the Great ...

* Macon Pirates *

Macon Redbirds Macon may refer to: Places Belgium *Macon, Belgium France *Mâcon ** Ancient Diocese of Mâcon **Mâcon, another name for the Mâconnais wine from that region United States of America * Macon, Alabama * Macon, Georgia * Macon, Illinois *Macon, ...

Myrtle Beach Blue Jays The Myrtle Beach Blue Jays were a minor league baseball team based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. They began play in the South Atlantic League in 1987 after being relocated from Florence, South Carolina (Florence Blue Jays). They played at the ...

* Myrtle Beach Hurricanes *

Piedmont Boll Weevils it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

* Piedmont Phillies *

Rome Braves The Rome Braves are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They are located in Rome, Georgia, and play their home games at AdventHealth Stadium. From 2003 to 2020, the team serve ...

* Santee Indians * Santee Pirates * Savannah Cardinals *

Savannah Sand Gnats The Savannah Sand Gnats were a minor league baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia. They were a member of the A-level South Atlantic League. The Sand Gnats were an affiliate of the New York Mets in their final nine seasons. The team relocated ...

* Shelby Mets * Shelby Pirates * South Georgia Waves * Spartanburg Traders *

Spartanburg Phillies Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Offic ...

Spartanburg Spinners The Spartanburg Spinners were a minor league baseball team located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The team played in the 1983 South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Basebal ...

Spartanburg Suns Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Offi ...

Sumter Braves The Sumter Braves were a minor league baseball team located in Sumter, South Carolina. The team played in the South Atlantic League, and were affiliated with the Atlanta Braves. Their home stadium was Riley Park. History In 1984, the Anderson ...

* Sumter Flyers *

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The ...

^ *

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

* Wilmington Waves *

Winston-Salem Dash The Winston-Salem Dash are a Minor League Baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They are a High-A team in the South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Dash began playing their home games a ...

League timeline

DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy ImageSize = width:1600 height:auto barincrement:25 Period = from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/2024 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:20 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:barcolor id:line value:pink id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a current league member id:Past value:rgb(0.4,0.80,0.67) # Use to indicate a former team id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another current league PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:Past from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/1984 text: Anderson Braves (1980–1984) bar:2 color:Full from:01/01/1980 till:end text:

(1980–2020) bar:3 color:Past from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/2020 text: Charleston Royals / Rainbows / RiverDogs (1980–2020) bar:4 color:Past from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/1992 text: Gastonia Cardinals / Expos / Jets / Tigers / Rangers (1980–1992) bar:5 color:Full from:01/01/1980 till:end text: Greensboro Hornets / Bats / Grasshoppers (1980–2020) bar:6 color:Past from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/1987 text: Macon Peaches / Redbirds / Pirates (1980–1987, 1991–2002) bar:6 color:Past from:01/01/1991 till:12/31/2002 text: Macon Braves (1991–2002) bar:7 color:Past from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/1982 text: Shelby Pirates / Mets (1980–1982) bar:8 color:Past from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/1994 text: Spartanburg Phillies / Traders / Spinners / Suns / Phillies (1980–1994) bar:9 color:Past from:01/01/1981 till:12/31/1986 text:

(1981–1986) bar:10 color:Past from:01/01/1981 till:12/31/1983 text:

(1981–1983) bar:11 color:Past from:01/01/1983 till:12/31/2004 text: Columbia Mets / Capital City Bombers (1983–2004) bar:11 color:Past from:01/01/2016 till:12/31/2020 text:

(2016–2020) bar:12 color:Past from:01/01/1984 till:12/31/2015 text: Savannah Cardinals / Sand Gnats (1984–2015) bar:13 color:Past from:01/01/1985 till:12/31/1991 text:

(1985–1991) bar:14 color:Past from:01/01/1987 till:12/31/2020 text: Charleston Wheelers / AlleyCats / West Virginia Power (1987–2020) bar:15 color:Past from:01/01/1987 till:12/31/2000 text: Fayetteville Generals / Cape Fear Crocs (1987–2000) bar:16 color:Past from:01/01/1987 till:12/31/1992 text: Myrtle Beach Blue Jays / Hurricanes (1987–1992) bar:17 color:Past from:01/01/1988 till:12/31/2020 text: Augusta Pirates / GreenJackets (1988–2020) bar:18 color:Past from:01/01/1991 till:12/31/2008 text: Columbus Indians / Red Stixx / Catfish (1991–2008) bar:19 color:Past from:01/01/1992 till:12/31/1995 text: Albany Polecats (1992–1995) bar:20 color:Past from:01/01/1993 till:12/31/2020 text:

(1993–2020) bar:21 color:Full from:01/01/1993 till:end text:

(1993–2020) bar:22 color:Past from:01/01/1995 till:12/31/2020 text: Piedmont Phillies / Boll Weevils / Kannapolis Intimidators / Cannon Ballers (1995–2020) bar:23 color:Past from:01/01/1996 till:12/31/2020 text:

(1996–2020) bar:24 color:Full from:01/01/2001 till:end text: Lakewood/Jersey Shore BlueClaws (2001–2020) bar:25 color:Past from:01/01/2001 till:12/31/2020 text:

(2001–2020) bar:26 color:Past from:01/01/2001 till:12/31/2003 text: Wilmington Waves / South Georgia Waves (2001) bar:27 color:Past from:01/01/2003 till:12/31/2009 text:

(2003–2009) bar:28 color:Full from:01/01/2003 till:end text:

(2003–2020) bar:29 color:Full from:01/01/2005 till:end text: Greenville Bombers / Drive (2005–2020) bar:30 color:Past from:01/01/2009 till:12/31/2009 text:

(2009) bar:30 color:Full from:01/01/2021 till:end text:

bar:31 color:Full from:01/01/2021 till:end text:

Aberdeen Ironbirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of the ...

bar:32 color:Full from:01/01/2021 till:end text:

bar:33 color:Full from:01/01/2021 till:end text:

bar:34 color:Full from:01/01/2021 till:end text:

bar:35 color:Full from:01/01/2021 till:end text:

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:01/01/1980 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:^"South Atlantic League Timeline" #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

League champions

South Atlantic League Hall of Fame

The South Atlantic League Hall of Fame was started in 1994.

References

External links

*
Obituary of John Henry Moss
{{Professional Baseball Sports leagues established in 1980 Professional sports leagues in the United States Minor baseball leagues in the United States