The United Shore Professional Baseball League (USPBL) is an

independent baseball league An independent baseball league is a professional baseball organization in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball and is outside the Minor League Baseball clubs affiliated to it. The Northern League and Frontie ...

in suburban

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...

, Michigan, United States, started in May 2016. Each team in the USPBL plays a 42-game regular season schedule from May through September, with a mid-season all-star game and a championship game at the conclusion of the regular season. The games are played at Jimmy John's Field in Utica. Most of the games are broadcast live on the USPBL's YouTube channel, with select games airing on

ESPN3 ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an online streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications ...

History

The United Shore Professional Baseball League was founded by Andy Appleby, a former senior vice president of the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at Li ...

and

Palace Sports and Entertainment Palace Sports & Entertainment (PS&E) is an American sports and entertainment company owned by Tom Gores. Its largest subsidiary is the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association. The company was founded by Bill Davidson, and traces its ...

. Justin Orenduff, a former First Round Pick of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, is the Director of Baseball Operations. The league has four teams based in

, with all games being played at Jimmy John's Field in

Utica, Michigan Utica is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,757 at the 2010 census. History The city now known as Utica was platted by Joseph Stead in 1817, who preferred to call it "Harlow." Others referred to the cit ...

. The $12 million ballpark has seating for 2,000 and a total capacity of 4,000. It was built on capped brownfield that previously served as an unlicensed dump for household waste. The league is aimed at 18- to 25-year-olds who either went undrafted out of college, or who have been released from prior

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

contracts. Their pay is expected to range from $600–$800 per month, with housing provided by host families. It is meant to give players recently graduated from college or with limited minor league experience a chance to stay in baseball shape, and give them an opportunity to be signed to contracts with MLB affiliated minor league teams. League revenue comes primarily from sponsorship partners and other advertisements, ticket sales and ballpark concessions. Current managers in the league include former

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), ...

players

Jim Essian James Sarkis Essian, Jr. (born January 2, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Sea ...

Paul Noce Paul David Noce (born December 16, 1959) is an American former professional baseball player who played for the Chicago Cubs and the Cincinnati Reds of the Major League Baseball (MLB). He debuted on June 1, 1987, against the Houston Astros. He ...

, and

Von Joshua Von Everett Joshua (born May 1, 1948) is a former professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1969–71, 1973–74 and 1979), San Francisco Giants (1975–76), Milwaukee Brewers (1976–77) and San Diego Padres (1980) of Major Le ...

. Forty-five players from the USPBL have signed contracts with Major League Baseball organizations. During the 2019 season, pitcher Randy Dobnak became the first alum to advance all the way to the Major Leagues when he was called up to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

on August 8, 2019. A second USPBL alum,

Logan Gillaspie Logan Craig Gillaspie (born April 17, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022. Amateur career Gillaspie attended Frontier High School from 2011-20 ...

, was called up to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

on May 17, 2022. A third USPBL player,

Jared Koenig Jared Tyler Koenig (born January 24, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. Amateur career Koenig grew up in Aptos, California and attended Aptos High School. Koenig began his college baseball career a ...

, made his MLB debut with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

during the 2022 season.

Teams

* Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers * Eastside Diamond Hoppers * Utica Unicorns * Westside Woolly Mammoths

Champions

References

External links

Official website
{{Professional Baseball Independent baseball leagues in the United States Baseball leagues in Michigan Sports in Metro Detroit Sports leagues established in 2016 2016 establishments in Michigan Professional sports leagues in the United States