The addition of the Richmond Flying Squirrels is causing Eastern League officials to realign the league into Eastern and Western divisions and more.
The addition of the Richmond Flying Squirrels is causing Eastern League officials to realign the league into Eastern and Western divisions and more.
The Reading Phillies will move into the division now known as the Eastern Division, while Richmond will play in the newly named Western Division.
“After a thorough review by the league in which a number of options were taken into consideration, we have come to the conclusion that this divisional alignment will be the best option for the league moving forward,” said Eastern League President Joseph McEacharn.
The R-Phils will be joined in the Eastern Division with the Binghamton Mets, New Britain Rock Cats, New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Portland Sea Dogs and Trenton Thunder. The Western Division will now include the Akron Aeros, Altoona Curve, Bowie Baysox, Erie SeaWolves, Harrisburg Senators and Richmond.
The last division realignment in the Eastern League took place in 1999 when the league introduced two new teams, the Altoona Curve and the Erie SeaWolves. Since 1999, the Eastern League has been comprised of the Northern and Southern Divisions, with the R-Phils playing in the Southern Division. Since the time of the last realignment, the R-Phils have made it to the postseason three times, with a championship win in 2001 (both Reading and New Britain were crowned as champions due to the stoppage of play in professional baseball because of the events on September 11).
While the division names will be changed, the new look Eastern League will not have any effect on the playoff format for the Eastern League. As in the past, the first and second place teams in each division will still make the postseason and those clubs will still face off in a best-of-five divisional playoff series. The two teams who win the divisional series will then compete against each other in the best-of-five Eastern League Championship Series.
The new format will also play a part in choosing the All-Star teams. The Eastern League All-Star Game will feature players from the Eastern Division taking on players from the Western Division.
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