The Southern League is a Minor League Baseball league that has operated in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

since 1964. Along with the Eastern League 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 ...

, it is one of three circuits playing at the Double-A level, which is two grades below

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), ...

(MLB). The league traces its roots to the original Southern League (1885–1899), the

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), Cl ...

(1901–1961), and the original

South Atlantic League 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. A Class A league for most of its ...

(1904–1963). The later circuit was renamed the Southern League in 1964, and the league elected to maintain records from that season onward. Following MLB's reorganization of the minor leagues in 2021, it operated as the Double-A South for one season before switching back to its previous moniker in 2022. In its inaugural 1964 season, the Southern League consisted of eight teams from

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

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 ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. Following contractions, expansions, and relocations, the league consists of eight teams in Alabama,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, and Tennessee. A league champion is determined at the end of each season. The Birmingham Barons have won 7 Southern League titles, the most among all teams in the league, followed by the

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

(6) and the

Montgomery Rebels The Montgomery Rebels was the name of several American minor league baseball franchises representing Montgomery, Alabama, playing in various leagues between and . ''Rebels'' was the predominant nickname of the Montgomery teams, but it was not the ...

(5).

History

Predecessor leagues (1885–1963)

The original Southern League was formed prior to the 1885 season as an eight-team circuit playing in the

. It operated at various times as a Class B league. Fraught with financial problems, teams regularly dropped out before the season's end. After being nonoperational in 1891, 1892, and 1897, it disbanded permanently after halting play during the 1899 season. The

was formed in 1901 as a Class B circuit operating in nearly the same footprint as the first Southern League. It was elevated to Class A in 1902, Class A1 in 1936, and Double-A in 1946. The Southern Association remained a premier Southern baseball league until

radio and television broadcasts began to undercut attendance in the 1950s. The league disbanded after 1961. The original

, nicknamed the "SALLY League" and not related to the current

(formerly 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 ...

), was formed in 1904. It operated at Class C until it was elevated to Class B in 1921 and Class A in 1946. A year after the Southern Association's disbandment, the SALLY League took its place at the Double-A level in 1963.

The modern league (1964–2019)

The Double-A SALLY League was reorganized as the Southern League in 1964. It elected to start with a clean slate and not maintain records prior to the 1964 season. The newly minted league wanted to distance itself from the SALLY League's past history in the low minors (Class C was roughly equivalent to an Advanced Rookie league today, while Class B was roughly equivalent to short-season Class A). Additionally, many leagues had contributed to its legacy. In its inaugural campaign, the six-team Southern League consisted of the

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 ...

, Birmingham Barons, Charlotte Hornets,

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

Columbus Confederate Yankees The Columbus Confederate Yankees were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Double-A Southern League from 1964 to 1966. They were located in Columbus, Georgia, and played their home games at Golden Park. Their seemingly contradictory ...

Knoxville Smokies Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

Lynchburg White Sox Lynchburg is a toponym that may refer to: *Lynchburg, California *Lynchburg, Mississippi *Lynchburg, Missouri *Lynchburg, North Dakota *Lynchburg, Ohio (in Clinton and Highland counties) *Lynchburg, Columbiana County, Ohio *Lynchburg, South Carolina ...

, and

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 ...

. Sam C. Smith, previously president of the SALLY League, served as its president. From 1967 to 1969, the league was reduced to six teams. It went back to eight clubs in 1970, but dropped to seven in 1971. With an odd number of teams, the Southern League joined forces with the Double-A

as the

Dixie Association The Dixie Association was an interleague partnership between the Texas League (TL) and the Southern League (SL) Double-A leagues of Minor League Baseball in 1971. The two leagues played an interlocking schedule.(January 20, 1971)Texas, Southe ...

in 1971. The two leagues played an interlocking schedule with individual league champions determined at the end of the season. Up to this point, the Southern League champions had been simply the regular season pennant winners. For the first time, the top two Southern League teams met in a best-of-three series to determine champions. The Charlotte Hornets defeated the Asheville Tourists, 2–1, and then defeated the Texas League champion

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

, 3–0, to win the Dixie Association championship. The partnership was dissolved after the season. President Smith died suddenly in April 1971, and

Billy Hitchcock William Clyde Hitchcock (July 31, 1916 – April 9, 2006) was an American professional baseball infielder, coach, manager and scout. In Major League Baseball ( MLB), he was primarily a third baseman, second baseman and shortstop who appeared i ...

became the new president that August. Hitchcock introduced a number of changes that are still in use today. In 1972, the Southern League was split into two divisions, Eastern and Western. The playoffs, which began in the Dixie Association, were continued and expanded to a best-of-five series. The league also began selecting postseason All-Star teams and issuing awards for the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

, Most Outstanding Pitcher, and

Manager of the Year Manager of the Year may refer to: * Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award * League Managers Association Manager of the Year * Premier League Manager of the Season The Premier League Manager of the Season is an annual association footba ...

. In 1976, it introduced a split-season format with the schedule divided in half and first and second half champions from each division being crowned. This expanded the playoffs to two rounds with the winners of each half competing for each division's championship and the those winners meeting for the league championship. With the addition of two teams in 1978, the Southern League grew to 10 teams. Other improvements under Hitchcock's presidency included stadium refurbishments and efforts to make the league more family-friendly. Attendance figures rose dramatically during his tenure.

Jim Bragan James Alton Bragan (March 12, 1929 – June 2, 2001) was an infielder, manager and league president in American minor league baseball, a scout and coach at the Major League level, and a college baseball coach during a 40-plus year career in ...

became president in 1981 after Hitchcock's retirement. Over his 14 years leading the Southern League, attendance continued to grow as several cities built new ballparks. In 1994, Arnold D. Fielkow succeeded Bragan as president, and

Don Mincher Donald Ray Mincher (June 24, 1938 – March 4, 2012) was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and longtime minor league executive. He played in the majors from 1960–1972 for the "original" Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins, Cal ...

took over in 2000. Lori Webb became president in 2012 after Mincher's death that March.

Takeover by Major League Baseball (2020–present)

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 identif ...

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

Current teams

Structure and season

The Southern League is currently divided into two divisions, North and South, of four teams each. Previously, from 1972 to 2004, the league was split into Eastern and Western divisions. There were no divisions in place from 1964 to 1970. As of 2020, each club had 140 games scheduled per season. Utilizing a split-season schedule, each half consisted of 70 games. The season typically began during the first or second week of April and concluded in the first week of September on

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

All-Star Game

The

Southern League All-Star Game The Southern League All-Star Game was an annual baseball game sanctioned by Minor League Baseball between professional players from the teams of the Double-A Southern League. Each division, North and South, fielded a team composed of players in ...

was an annual midsummer game between two teams of the league's players, one made up of All-Stars from North Division teams and the other from South Division teams. First held in 1964, the event predominantly consisted of a single team of the league's All-Stars versus a

team through 1998. The division versus division format was used continuously from 1999 to 2019. No game was held from 1991 to 1995 as the Southern League and the other two Double-A leagues, the Eastern League and

, participated in the

Double-A All-Star Game The Double-A All-Star Game was an annual baseball 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 (TL). Tea ...

instead.

Teams timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1964 till:2024 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 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 stint in the Dixie Association (1971) id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another current league id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to a now defunct league PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:Full from:1964 till:1967 text:

(1964–1966; 1968–1975) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1967 till:1968 bar:1 color:Full from:1968 till:1971 bar:1 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:1 color:Full from:1972 till:1976 bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:1976 till:1980 text: WCL bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1980 till:2020 text: SAL bar:2 color:Full from:1964 till:1966 text: Birmingham Barons (1964–1965; 1967–1975; 1981–present) bar:2 color:Full from:1967 till:1971 bar:2 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:2 color:Full from:1972 till:1976 bar:2 color:Full from:1981 till:2020 bar:3 color:Full from:1964 till:1971 text: Charlotte Hornets (1964–1972) bar:3 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:3 color:Full from:1972 till:1973 bar:4 color:Full from:1964 till:1966 text:

(1964–1965; 1976–present) bar:4 color:Full from:1976 till:2020 bar:5 color:Full from:1964 till:1967 text:

(1964–1966) bar:6 color:Full from:1964 till:1968 text:

(1964–1967) bar:6 color:Full from:1972 till:2020 text: Knoxville/Tennessee Smokies (1972–present) bar:7 color:Full from:1964 till:1965 text:

(1964; 1966–1967) bar:7 color:Full from:1966 till:1968 bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1980 till:1988 text: SAL bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:2003 text: SAL bar:8 color:Full from:1964 till:1971 text: Lynchburg/Evansville White Sox; Columbus White Sox/Astros/Mudcats (1964–1990) bar:8 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:8 color:Full from:1972 till:1991 bar:8 color:Full from:1991 till:2012 text:

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games a ...

(1991–2011) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2020 text:

Caro Caro may refer to: Places * Caro, Michigan, United States * Caro, Morbihan, France * Çaro, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France Other uses * Caro (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Caro (surname), including a list of peo ...

bar:9 color:Full from:1965 till:1971 text:

(1965–1980) bar:9 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:9 color:Full from:1972 till:1981 bar:10 color:Full from:1966 till:1967 text:

Mobile A's Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

(1966) bar:11 color:Full from:1968 till:1971 text: Savannah Senators/Indians/

Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

(1968–1983) bar:11 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:11 color:Full from:1972 till:1984 bar:11 color:Full from:1984 till:2005 text:

Greenville Braves The Greenville Braves were an American minor league baseball franchise, based in Greenville, South Carolina, that served as the Class AA farm team of the Atlanta Braves between 1984 and 2004. The Braves played in Greenville Municipal Stadium for ...

(1984–2004) bar:11 color:Full from:2005 till:2020 text:

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. T ...

(2005–present) bar:12 color:Full from:1970 till:1971 text: Jacksonville Suns/Expos/Jumbo Shrimp (1970–2020) bar:12 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:12 color:Full from:1972 till:2020 bar:13 color:Full from:1970 till:1971 text: Mobile White Sox (1970) bar:15 color:Full from:1973 till:2004 text: Orlando Twins/SunRays/Cubs/Rays (1973–2003) bar:15 color:Full from:2004 till:2020 text:

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

(2004–present) bar:16 color:Full from:1976 till:1993 text: Charlotte O's/Knights (1976–1992) bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1993 till:2020 text: IL bar:17 color:Full from:1978 till:1998 text:

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 ...

(1978–1997) bar:17 color:Full from:1998 till:2020 text: West Tenn Diamond Jaxx; Jackson Generals (1998–2020) bar:18 color:Full from:1978 till:1985 text:

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

(1978–1984) bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:1985 till:1998 text: AA bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1998 till:2020 text: PCL bar:19 color:Full from:1985 till:2015 text:

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 ...

(1985–2014) bar:19 color:Full from:2015 till:2020 text:

Biloxi Shuckers The Biloxi Shuckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Biloxi, Mississippi, and are named in reference to the city's oyster industry and seafood heri ...

(2015–present) bar:20 color:Full from:1993 till:2020 text: Nashville Xpress; Port City Roosters; Mobile BayBears; Rocket City Trash Pandas (1993–present) bar:21 color:Full from:2012 till:2020 text:

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home games at Admiral Fetterman Field. In 2012, the team rel ...

(2012–present) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1964 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Southern 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. <#

All-time teams

A "^" indicates that team's article redirects to an article of an active team formerly of the Southern League *

Asheville Orioles 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 differ ...

^ *

Birmingham A's The Birmingham A's were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Double-A Southern League from 1967 to 1975. They were located in Birmingham, Alabama, and were named for their Major League Baseball affiliates, the Kansas City Athletics (1 ...

* Birmingham Barons *

^ * Charlotte Hornets *

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

^ *

Charlotte O's The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

Columbus Astros Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

Columbus Mudcats The Columbus Mudcats were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Double-A Southern League from 1969 to 1990. They were located in Columbus, Georgia, and played their home games at Golden Park. Founded as the Columbus White Sox in 1969, ...

Columbus White Sox The Columbus Mudcats were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Double-A Southern League from 1969 to 1990. They were located in Columbus, Georgia, and played their home games at Golden Park. Founded as the Columbus White Sox in 1969, ...

Evansville White Sox The Evansville White Sox were a minor league baseball team based in Evansville, Indiana that played in the Southern League from 1966 to 1968. They were affiliated with the Chicago White Sox and played their home games at Bosse Field Bosse Fiel ...

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

Jacksonville Expos 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 ...

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

^ *

Knoxville Blue Jays The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off In ...

Knoxville Sox Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state's ...

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

* Mobile White Sox *

^ *

Nashville Xpress The Nashville Xpress were a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins from 1993 to 1994. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Herschel Greer Stadi ...

Orlando Cubs Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures relea ...

* Orlando Rays *

Orlando Sun Rays Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

Orlando Twins Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

Port City Roosters The Port City Roosters were a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners from 1995 to 1996. They were located in Wilmington, North Carolina, and played their home games at Brooks Field o ...

Rocket City Trash Pandas The Rocket City Trash Pandas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Madison, Alabama, and play their home games at Toyota Field. History In November 20 ...

Savannah Braves The Savannah Braves were a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1971 to 1983. They were located in Savannah, Georgia, and played their home games at Grayson Stadium. The franchis ...

* Savannah Indians * Savannah Senators *

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off Int ...

West Tenn Diamond Jaxx The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mar ...

Champions

League champions have been determined by different means since the Southern League's formation in 1964. Through 1970, champions were the regular-season pennant winners—the team with the best

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

at the conclusion of the regular season. The 1971 title was decided in a postseason series between the two teams with the best records. From 1972 to 1975, the winners of each of two divisions competed in a series to determine champions. The league operated using a

split season A split season is a schedule format implemented in a variety of sports leagues. The season is divided into two parts, with the winners of both halves playing each other at the end for the overall championship. Split seasons are usually found in sp ...

format from 1976 to 2020. Under this format, the winners of each half within each division played for the division championship, and the division winners met to play for the SL title. The 2021 winner was crowned via a series between the two teams with the best full-season records. The 2022 championship will be decided through the same split-season divisional format used for most of the league's existence. The Birmingham Barons have won 7 Southern League championships, the most among all teams in the league, followed by the

(6) and the

(5).

Awards

The SL recognizes outstanding players and team personnel annually near the end of each season.

MVP Award

The

Most Valuable Player Award In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

is given to honor the best player in the league.

Pitcher of the Year Award

The Pitcher of the Year Award, originally known as the Most Outstanding Pitcher Award, serves to recognize the league's best pitcher.

Manager of the Year Award

The

Manager of the Year Award In Major League Baseball, the Manager of the Year Award is an honor given annually since 1983 to two outstanding managers, one each in the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner is voted on by 30 members of the Baseball Writ ...

is given to the league's top manager.

Top MLB Prospect Award

The Top MLB Prospect Award, created in 2021, is given to the league's top rookie prospect.

Presidents

Six presidents led the Southern League since its formation: * 1964–1971: Sam C. Smith * 1971–1980:

* 1981–1994:

* 1994–2000: Arnold D. Fielkow * 2000–2011:

* 2012–2020: Lori Webb

References

;Specific ;General *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Southern League (1964-2020) 1964 establishments in the United States Sports leagues established in 1964 Minor baseball leagues in the United States