Frontier League
 Frontier League logo |
|
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 |
| No. of teams | 14 |
| Country(ies) | USA Canada |
| Most recent champion(s) | Joliet Slammers |
| Official website | www.frontierleague.com |
The Frontier League, based in Sauget, Illinois, is a professional, independent baseball organization located in the Midwestern United States, Western Pennsylvania, and Southern Ontario. It operates mostly in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either. Though not part of the official minor league system, its level of play is considered to be comparable to low A-level. The league was formed in 1993, and is the oldest currently running independent league.
Contents |
[edit] Description and history
Teams in the Frontier League must recruit and sign their own players, which usually consist of undrafted college players or one-time prospects who have been released by their teams. Frontier League rules limit teams to three "veterans" (those with three or more years of professional experience), two two-year players and seven one-year players (those with at least 150 professional at-bats or 50 innings pitched). The other half of the 24-man roster is confined to rookies. Players cannot be older than 27 as of January 1.
Pay in the Frontier League is minimal, as each team has a salary cap of $72,000,[1] and the league minimum is set at $600 per month. Due to the low pay, players typically live with host families.
The first league champions were the Zanesville Greys. Only four teams have won more than one championship: Springfield in 1996 and 1998, Johnstown in 1995 (as the Steal) and in 2000 (as the Johnnies), Richmond (now Traverse City) in 2001 and 2002, and Windy City in 2007 and 2008. The Florence Freedom (including years as Erie and Johnstown) and the Rockford RiverHawks (including years as Portsmouth and Springfield) are currently tied for the most league championships with each franchise winning three.
On June 20, 2000 Brian Tollberg debuted with the San Diego Padres, becoming the first player from the Frontier League to make it to the Majors. His story was a "feel good" human interest story for part of the summer. A week later Morgan Burkhart made his debut with the Boston Red Sox.
Although the league doesn't have any teams located in the city proper with Major League teams, it does nonetheless have teams located within the markets of Major League teams. Chicago (Joliet Slammers, Schaumburg Boomers and Windy City ThunderBolts) has 3 teams and St. Louis (Gateway Grizzlies & River City Rascals) has 2 teams while Cleveland (Lake Erie Crushers), Cincinnati (Florence Freedom) and Pittsburgh (Washington Wild Things) each have one. A 4th Chicagoland area team, the McHenry County K-Nines, is expected to open in Woodstock, IL after 2012. The Wild Things in particular have been able to market themselves as a successful alternative to the Pittsburgh Pirates due to the Bucs' long-term losing, which currently dates to the Frontier League's founding in 1993.[2]
[edit] Franchises
[edit] Future franchises
- Bridgeport, WV franchise will be owned by the ownership group that owns the Washington Wild Things and will begin play in 2014.
[edit] Former franchises
- Ashland, Kentucky - Tri-State Tomahawks (1993)
- Canton, Ohio - Canton Crocodiles/Canton Coyotes (1997–2002)
- Chillicothe, Ohio - Chillicothe Paints (1993–2008)
- Columbia, Missouri - Mid-Missouri Mavericks (2003–2005)
- Erie, Pennsylvania - Erie Sailors (1994)
- Huntingburg, Indiana - Dubois County Dragons (2000–2002)
- Johnstown, Pennsylvania - Johnstown Steal/Johnstown Johnnies (1995–2002)
- Kalamazoo, Michigan - Kalamazoo Kodiaks (1996–1998); Kalamazoo Kings (2001-2010)
- Kenosha, Wisconsin - Kenosha Mammoths (2003)
- Lancaster, Ohio - Lancaster Scouts (1993–1994)
- London, Ontario - London Werewolves (1999–2001)
- Newark, Ohio - Newark Buffalos/Newark Bison (1994–1995)
- Ozark, Missouri - Springfield-Ozark Ducks (2004)
- Paintsville, Kentucky/Pikeville, Kentucky - Kentucky Rifles (1993–1994)
- Parkersburg, West Virginia - Ohio Valley Redcoats (1993–1998)
- Portsmouth, Ohio - Portsmouth Explorers (1993–1995)
- Richmond, Indiana - Richmond Roosters (1995–2005)
- Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania - Slippery Rock Sliders (2007)
- Springfield, Illinois - Springfield Capitals (1996–2001)
- Waterford Township, Michigan - Oakland County Cruisers (2008–2010)
- Wayne, West Virginia - West Virginia Coal Sox (1993)
- Zanesville, Ohio - Zanesville Greys (1993–1996)
[edit] Franchise timeline
[edit] Champions
- 1993 Zanesville Greys
- 1994 Erie Sailors
- 1995 Johnstown Steal
- 1996 Springfield Capitals
- 1997 Canton Crocodiles
- 1998 Springfield Capitals
- 1999 London Werewolves
- 2000 Johnstown Johnnies
- 2001 Richmond Roosters
- 2002 Richmond Roosters
- 2003 Gateway Grizzlies
- 2004 Rockford RiverHawks
- 2005 Kalamazoo Kings
- 2006 Evansville Otters
- 2007 Windy City ThunderBolts
- 2008 Windy City ThunderBolts
- 2009 Lake Erie Crushers
- 2010 River City Rascals
- 2011 Joliet Slammers
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Tropp, Emily (2009-07-27), "RiverHawks headed to Northern League", Rockford Register Star (Rockford, IL), http://www.rrstar.com/sports/x1543603657/RiverHawks-headed-to-Northern-League, retrieved 2010-03-31
- ^ http://flhistory.gofreeserve.com/WashingtonWildThings.htm
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Frontier League History
- Beach Bums official website
- Frontier League Encyclopedia and History at Baseball Reference
| Frontier League | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Division | West Division | ||||
| Evansville Otters | Gateway Grizzlies | ||||
| Florence Freedom | Joliet Slammers | ||||
| Lake Erie Crushers | Normal CornBelters | ||||
| London Rippers | River City Rascals | ||||
| Southern Illinois Miners | Rockford RiverHawks | ||||
| Traverse City Beach Bums | Schaumburg Boomers | ||||
| Washington Wild Things | Windy City ThunderBolts | ||||
| Expansion | |||||
| 2013 | |||||
| Kalamazoo Kings | |||||
| McHenry County K-Nines | |||||
| Annual events: Championship | |||||
