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Frontier League
The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North America and is considered the oldest currently running independent baseball league in the world. The Frontier Cup, the oldest independent baseball trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. The league is an official MLB Partner League since 2020, and the level of play is comparable to Minor League Baseball's Single-A level. The FL is headquartered in Sauget, Illinois. The Frontier League was organized by several men who got together in the winter of 1992–1993 and decided to start an independent professional baseball league to serve the West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and southeast Ohio areas. They believed they could bring professional baseball to areas that would never have a ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MLB Partner League
There are 14 Minor League Baseball (MiLB) leagues and 206 teams in operation across the United States, Dominican Republic, and Canada, which are affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. They are organized by one of five classes (from highest to lowest): Triple-A, Double-A, High-A, Single-A, and Rookie. Of these, 120 teams in 11 leagues (from Triple-A to Single-A) are each affiliated with one MLB team through a standardized professional development license. Additionally, three leagues consisting of a total of 85 Rookie teams are located at MLB spring training complexes in Arizona and Florida, as well as in the Dominican Republic. These affiliated leagues contest their seasons during the MLB season. The Arizona Fall League, consisting of six teams, operates in the autumn after the conclusion of the MiLB and MLB seasons to develop top prospects at various classifications. Seven independent baseball leagues, consisting of a total of 69 teams, have no direct affiliation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Independent Baseball League
An independent baseball league is a professional baseball league in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball or its affiliated Minor League Baseball system (historically referred to as organized baseball). Independent leagues have flourished in northeastern states, where dense populations can often support multiple franchises. Because they are not subject to the territorial limitations imposed on affiliated minor-league teams, independent clubs can relocate as close to affiliated teams (and one another) as they choose to. For example, the city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, cannot have an affiliated team because of its proximity to the Harrisburg Senators and Reading Fightin Phils, leaving the Atlantic League to place a team—the Lancaster Barnstormers—to fill the void. Another example is the greater New York City metropolitan area, where there are many independent teams: the Long Island Ducks, Staten Island FerryHawks, New Jersey Jackals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the northeast, Virginia to the east, Tennessee to the south, and Missouri to the west. Its northern border is defined by the Ohio River. Its capital is Frankfort, Kentucky, Frankfort and its List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city is Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville. As of 2024, the state's population was approximately 4.6 million. Previously part of Colony of Virginia, colonial Virginia, Kentucky was admitted into the Union as the fifteenth state on June 1, 1792. It is known as the "Bluegrass State" in reference to Kentucky bluegrass, a species of grass introduced by European settlers which has long supported the state's thoroughbred horse industry. The fertile soil in the central and western parts of the state led to the development ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic League Of Professional Baseball
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are located at Penn Medicine Park in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The Atlantic League operates in cities not served by Major League Baseball (MLB) or Minor League Baseball (MiLB) teams; most of its teams are within suburbs and exurbs too close to other teams in the organized baseball system to have minor league franchises of their own. The Atlantic League requires cities to have the market for a 4,000 to 7,500-seat ballpark and for the facility to be maintained at or above Triple-A standards. When Atlantic League professionals are signed by MLB clubs, they usually start in their Double-A or Triple-A affiliates. The league uses a pitch clock and limits the time between innings in an effort to speed up the game. In 2019, the Atlantic League be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball (MLB). The PCL was one of the premier regional baseball leagues in the first half of the 20th century. Although it was never recognized as a true major league, to which it aspired, its quality of play was considered very high. A number of top stars of the era, including Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, were products of the league. In 1958, with the arrival of major league teams on the west coast and the availability of televised major league games, the PCL's modern era began with each team signing Player Development Contracts to become farm teams of major league clubs. Following MLB's reorganization of the minor leagues in 2021, it operated as the Triple-A West for one season before switching back to its previous mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International League
The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball (MLB). The league traces its roots to 1884, while the modern IL began in 1912. Following MLB's reorganization of the minor leagues in 2021, it operated as the Triple-A East for one season before switching back to its previous moniker in 2022. It is so named because throughout much of its history the International League had teams in Canada and Cuba as well as those in the United States. Since 2008, however, all of its teams have been based in the US. The IL's 20 teams are located in 14 states stretching from Papillion, Nebraska, to Worcester, Massachusetts, and from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Jacksonville, Florida. A league champion is determined at the end of each season. The Rochester Red Wings have won 19 List o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Canada. As of the 2024–25 AHL season, all 32 NHL teams held affiliations with an AHL team. Historically, when an NHL team does not have an AHL affiliate, its players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL franchises. The league offices are located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and its current president is Scott Howson. A player must be at least 18 years old and not belong to a junior ice hockey team to be eligible. The league limits the number of experienced professional players in a team's lineup during any given game; only five skaters can have accumulated more than 260 games played at the professional level (goaltenders are exempt from this rule). The annual playoff champion is awarded the Calder Cup, named for Frank ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Down East Bird Dawgs
The Down East Bird Dawgs (colloquially known as the Dawgs) are a professional baseball team based in Kinston, North Carolina. The Bird Dawgs compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the East Division in the Atlantic Conference. The team plays its home games at Grainger Stadium. The franchise was formed in 2025 following the folding of the Down East Wood Ducks. The Wood Ducks played eight seasons at Grainger Stadium as the Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers in the Carolina League. They have won the Carolina League title in 2017 during their inaugural season, and have made the playoffs four times including 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023. In 2023, the Texas Rangers sold the Wood Ducks to Diamond Baseball Holdings, which owns and operates many minor league baseball teams across the United States. The team moved to Fifth Third Park in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and was renamed to the Hub City Spartanburgers, playing in the South Atlantic League starting at the 2025 season ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mississippi Mud Monsters
The Mississippi Mud Monsters are a professional baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi. The Mud Monsters compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the West Division, in the Midwest Conference. The Mud Monsters play its home games at the Trustmark Park, which was previously the home of the Mississippi Braves from 2005 to 2024 in the Southern League, affiliated to the Atlanta Braves. The Mud Monsters were founded during the 2025 Frontier League expansion, along with the Down East Bird Dawgs, based in Kinston, North Carolina. After the 2024 season, the Mississippi Braves merged with the Columbus Clingstones after the Southern League granted them permission due to the Braves' respective financial struggles. The franchise relocated to Columbus, Georgia for the 2025 season and was renamed the Columbus Clingstones. History On September 9, 2024, the Frontier League announced that it had awarded an expansion franchise to Pearl, Mississippi after the Atlanta Braves’ Double- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Down East Wood Ducks
The Down East Wood Ducks were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They were located in Kinston, North Carolina, and are named for the wood duck, a colorful local waterfowl. Established in 2017, the team played its home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949 and holds 4,100 people. The Rangers signed a 12-year contract with the city to provide a team to play at Grainger Stadium beginning with the 2017 season. They were members of the Carolina League from 2017 to 2020. With the 2021 restructuring of the minor leagues, the Wood Ducks were placed in the Low-A East, though this was renamed the Carolina League and reclassified as Single-A in 2022. Their lone Carolina League title was won in 2017. Kinston has hosted farm clubs for 11 different major league franchises and one minor league club in its history. Professional baseball in Kinston dates back to a 1908 squad in the Eastern Carolina League. The team ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mississippi Braves
The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they were referred to locally, were a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, from 2005 to 2024. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and competed in the Southern League. The M-Braves played their home games at Trustmark Park. After the 2024 season, the team relocated to Columbus, Georgia, to become the Columbus Clingstones. History In 2005, the Southern League's Greenville Braves relocated to Pearl, Mississippi, from Greenville, South Carolina, due to the poor condition of Greenville Municipal Stadium, and the failure to reach an agreement with the Greenville County council for a new ballpark. The M-Braves' first season began on April 18, 2005 at Trustmark Park with a loss to the Montgomery Biscuits. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Braves were organized into the Double-A South. They won the 2021 Southern Divis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Expansion Team
An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also hope that the expansion of their competition will grow the popularity of the sport generally. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues but is applied to sports leagues in other countries with a closed franchise system of league membership. The term refers to the expansion of the sport into new areas. The addition of an expansion team sometimes results in the payment of an expansion fee to the league by the new team and an expansion draft to populate the new roster. Background Reasons for expansion In North America, expansion often takes place in response to population growth and geographic shifts of population. Such demographic change results in financial opportunities to engage ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
