The River City Rascals (independent; Frontier League) will be the River City Wizards on Sept. 1, as the team honors longtime St. Louis coach Lonnie Maclin with an Ozzie Smith promotion. Smith is a longtime friend of Maclin, who played in twelve games for the Cardinals in 1993. Maclin suffered a stroke back in January […]
Archive | Independent Baseball
Zion: Fielders owe us $185K in back rent
In what could be the start of a contentious — and litigious — divorce, the city of Zion has demanded $185,000 in back rent from the Lake County Fielders (independent; North American League), but owner Rich Ehrenreich says he doesn’t owe a thing. The city isn’t moving to kick the Fielders out of Fielders Stadium, […]
American Association down two for 2012 and beyond
The growth of the independent American Association is slowing, as two teams expected to join the league in 2012 and 2013 — teams in Schaumburg and Montgomery County — will likely be playing elsewhere. The American Association had been a player in Schaumburg’s decision to grant Alan Oremus the lease to Alexian Field last offseason […]
New for 2012: Laredo Lemurs
We have an interesting name for a new Laredo team coming online next season: the Laredo Lemurs (independent; American Association), with the team name and logo unveiled at the City of Laredo Council Chambers today. The team name was selected after more than 400 fans suggested names in a month-long name-the-team contest. The Lemurs moniker […]
Competitive eater Kobayashi to take on RailCats fans
Nice promotion for the Gary SouthShore RailCats (independent; American Association) legendary competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi will take on five ‘Cats fans at U.S. Steel Yard during an Aug. 17 appearance. Competitive eating is just what it sounds like: folks face off to see how much they can eat in a given period of time. In […]
Voters reject new Nassau County ballpark
It wasn’t even close: voters in Nassau County voted down $400 million in bonding for a new New York Islanders (NHL) arena and a new independent Atlantic League ballpark by a wide margin, 57 percent to 43 percent. The vote doesn’t necessarily kill the project: the county board can still go ahead and approve the […]
Early results have Nassau County voters rejecting ballpark funding
Early results from a Nassau County referendum on $400 million in bonding for a new arena for the NHL’s New York Islanders and a new ballpark for an independent Atlantic League team has the measure rejected by voters. With 55 percent of the precincts reporting, the nays held a pretty commanding lead: 42,698 “no” votes […]
Golden Baseball League
The Golden Baseball League launched on the West Coast and Arizona with a unique business model: teams would begin play after the college-baseball season and in most cases play in college ballparks. That plan was augmented with the addition of Canadian and other Western teams before the league became part of the North American League […]
North American League
The North American League debuted in 2011 with teams formerly part of the Golden Baseball League, the Northern League and United League Baseball. Independent / 2011-present Current TeamsCalgary Vipers, 2011-presentChico Outlaws, 2011-presentEdinburg Roadrunners, 2011-presentEdmonton Capitals, 2011-presentLake County Fielders, 2011-presentMaui Na Koa Ikaika, 2011-presentMcAllen Thunder, 2011-presentRio Grande Valley White Wings, 2011-presentSan Angelo Colts, 2011-presentYuma Scorpions, 2011-present […]
Atlantic League
The Atlantic League is one of the two most successful independent leagues in existence, with a stable lineup and a planned expansion to Texas in 2012. Independent / 1998-present Current TeamsBridgeport BluefishCamden RiversharksLancaster BarnstormersLong Island DucksRoad WarriorsSomerset PatriotsSouthern Maryland Blue CrabsYork Revolution Teams (in alphabetical order)Aberdeen Arsenal, 2000Atlantic City Surf, 1998-2006Bridgeport Bluefish, 1998-presentCamden Riversharks, 2001-presentLancaster […]
Frontier League
The Frontier League goes back to 1993 as an early independent league; after some early struggles and uncertainty in some markets, it’s now an established league with little franchise turnover and a unique emphasis on young player development. Independent / 1993-present Current TeamsEvansville OttersFlorence FreedomGateway GrizzliesLake Erie CrushersJoliet SlammersNormal CornBeltersRiver City RascalsRockford RiverHawksSouthern Illinois MinersTraverse […]
Windy City closes in on millionth fan
The Windy City ThunderBolts (independent; Frontier League) will be hitting an impressive milestone sometime next month when the one-millionth fan in team history will walk through the Standard Bank Stadium turnstiles. The team joined the Frontier League in 1999 as the Cook County Cheetahs, playing at Hawkinson Ford Field; today the ThunderBolts play at the […]
Rox sell not one, but two $80 hot dogs
Celebrating National Hot Dog Day, the Brockton Rox (independent; Can-Am League) sold not one, but two $80 hot dogs, breaking the Guinness world record for the Most Expensive Hot Dog during the team’s game against the Newark Bears on Saturday evening. The K-O Dog, named in honor of the club’s mascot and retailing for $80, […]