Frontier League

Frontier League
Current season, competition or edition:; 2024 Frontier League season
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1993
Commissioner	Steve Tahsler
No. of teams	16
Country	United States (13 teams); Canada (3 teams);
Most recent; champion(s)	Québec Capitales (2023)
Most titles	Schaumburg Boomers (4)

The Frontier League (French: Ligue Frontière) is a professional baseball league based in the East North Central and Mid-Atlantic United States, and Central Canada. It operates as one of four Major League Baseball (MLB) Partner Leagues in the American independent baseball league system. Founded in 1993, the Frontier League is the oldest extant independent baseball league in North America to have never organized under the Minor League Baseball system.

The league is contested by sixteen teams, thirteen from the United States and three from Canada, who are evenly divided into two conferences. After playing a regular season of matches against intra- and inter-conference opponents, the best three teams in each conference face off in a postseason tournament that determines the champion.

23 distinct franchises had competed in the league. Its largest period of growth followed in 2020–21, when six teams from the ceased Can–Am and New York–Penn leagues joined alongside an expansion franchise. The Evansville Otters, the only one of the original eight franchises still playing today, is the longest tenured team in the league, while the Schaumburg Boomers have won the most championships (4). The current champions are the Québec Capitales.

Structure

Teams in the Frontier League must recruit and sign their own players, who usually are undrafted college players or one-time prospects who have been released by their teams.

Frontier League rules limit teams to three "veterans" (Players older than 29 years as of October 1), while a minimum of ten of the 24-man roster are required to be rookies.^[1]

Typically, teams play a 96-game regular season from May to September.

Pay in the Frontier League is minimal. For the 2020 season, each team had a salary cap of $85,000 and the player salaries ranged from a minimum of $600 up to $1,600 per month.^[2] Veterans could earn up to $2,500 per month, and each team's highest-paid player could make as much as $4,000 a month with only one-third of the salary counting against the cap.^[3]

Due to the low pay, players typically live with host families and receive meal money during the season.

History

The Frontier League was founded in 1993. It initially struggled to retain franchises, with four of its eight founding teams folding within three seasons, though steadily grew to twelve teams within a decade. The first league champions were the Zanesville Greys. Eight 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 Roosters in 2001 and 2002, Windy City in 2007 and 2008, the Joliet Slammers in 2011 and 2018, and the Evansville Otters in 2006 and 2016. With four titles, the Schaumburg Boomers have won the most league championships.

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. A week later, Morgan Burkhart made his debut with the Boston Red Sox.

Although the league does not have any teams located in the same city as Major League teams, it does nonetheless have teams located within the markets of Major League teams. The Chicago area has three teams (Joliet Slammers, Schaumburg Boomers and Windy City ThunderBolts), as does the New York area (New Jersey Jackals, Sussex County Miners, and New York Boulders), and St. Louis (Gateway Grizzlies), Cleveland (Lake Erie Crushers), Cincinnati (Florence Y'alls) and Pittsburgh (Washington Wild Things) each have one. The Wild Things, in particular, have been able to market themselves as a successful alternative to the Pittsburgh Pirates due to the latter franchise's long stretch of losing seasons, which lasted from the Frontier League's founding in 1993 until 2013 when the Pirates finished with a record of 94–68.^[4]

2019–2020: Merger, MLB Partner League

On October 16, 2019, it was announced that the Frontier League would be merging with the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, absorbing five of its teams to form the largest independent professional baseball league. This added the New Jersey Jackals, New York Boulders, Quebec Capitales, Sussex County Miners, and Trois-Rivieres Aigles to the league; the Ottawa Champions, the last remaining Can-Am League team, was not invited to participate.^[5] The divisions were renamed, with the easternmost teams playing in the Can-Am Division and the westernmost in the Midwestern Division. The league had a partnership agreement with the California Winter League for player development.^[6]

On September 24, 2020, Major League Baseball announced that it named the Frontier League an MLB Partner League.^[7] This enables collaboration with MLB to jointly discuss marketing and promotional initiatives to grow, expand, and enhance the game of baseball.^[8]

2021: New teams, border issues

For the 2021 season, the Frontier League announced it would be adding two new teams. The first announcement came around the same time as the announcement of the partnership with Major League Baseball, as Ottawa was granted an expansion franchise in the league. The team, as chosen by fans in a contest, was named the Titans and will play at RCGT Park.^[9]^[10] Then, on January 8, 2021, after the reorganization of Minor League Baseball, the league added the Tri-City ValleyCats, which were one of several teams that were orphaned or disbanded when the New York-Penn League was folded. The Titans and ValleyCats joined the five former Can-Am League teams and Washington in the Can-Am Division; to even the divisions at seven teams, Lake Erie was moved to the Midwestern Division.^{[citation needed]}

In April 2021, the league announced that the Québec Capitales, the Trois-Rivières Aigles, and the Ottawa Titans would not compete in the 2021 season due to the prolonged closure of the Canada–United States border as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Titans, the Aigles and the Capitales later joined forces to form a new team that competed as a member of the Atlantic Division.^[11] Known as Équipe Québec, they began the season as a traveling team, and starting on July 30, 2021, started sharing home games between Québec City and Trois-Rivières following a loosening in border restrictions.^[12]^[13] 10 games were played in Québec City and 11 in Trois-Rivières. They did not play in Ottawa due to COVID-19 restrictions in Ontario.

On October 6, 2021, the owners of the Southern Illinois Miners, Jayne and John Simmons, announced they would be retiring from professional baseball to spend more time with family and the Miners would be ceasing operations and dropping out of the Frontier League.^[14]^[15] As a result, the league formed the Empire State Greys, to compete as a traveling team with a roster of players from the Empire Professional Baseball League.^[16]

New England expansion

In September 2023, the league announced a new team, the New England Knockouts, were to play at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Massachusetts in the Eastern Division of the Frontier League beginning with the 2024 season. This will bring the total number of permanent members of the league to sixteen teams.^[17]

Teams

Frontier League
Division	Team	Founded	Joined	City	Stadium	Capacity
East	New England Knockouts^[17]	2024		Brockton, Massachusetts	Campanelli Stadium	4,750
	New Jersey Jackals	1998	2020	Paterson, New Jersey	Hinchliffe Stadium	7,500
	New York Boulders	2011	2020	Pomona, New York	Clover Stadium	6,362
	Ottawa Titans	2020		Ottawa, Ontario	Ottawa Stadium	10,332
	Québec Capitales	1999	2020	Quebec City, Quebec	Stade Canac	4,300^[18]
	Sussex County Miners	2015	2020	Augusta, New Jersey	Skylands Stadium	4,500
	Tri-City ValleyCats	2002	2021	Troy, New York	Joseph L. Bruno Stadium	4,500
	Trois-Rivières Aigles	2012	2020	Trois-Rivières, Quebec	Stade Quillorama	4,500
West	Evansville Otters	1995		Evansville, Indiana	Bosse Field	5,181
	Florence Y'alls	2003		Florence, Kentucky	Thomas More Stadium	4,500
	Gateway Grizzlies	2001		Sauget, Illinois	Grizzlies Ballpark	6,000
	Joliet Slammers	2011		Joliet, Illinois	Duly Health and Care Field	6,016
	Lake Erie Crushers	2009		Avon, Ohio	Mercy Health Stadium	5,000
	Schaumburg Boomers	2012		Schaumburg, Illinois	Wintrust Field	7,365
	Washington Wild Things	2002		Washington, Pennsylvania	Wild Things Park	3,200
	Windy City ThunderBolts	1995	1999	Crestwood, Illinois	Ozinga Field	3,200

Map of teams

Current team locations:

East Division

West Division

Former teams

Canton Coyotes (2002, became the Mid-Missouri Mavericks)
Canton Crocodiles (1997–2002, became the Washington Wild Things)
Chillicothe Paints (1993–2008, joined the Prospect League)
Dubois County Dragons (2000–2002, became the Kenosha Mammoths)
Empire State Greys (2022–2023, Temporary travel team)
Équipe Québec (2021, Temporary travel team consisting of Canadian players from Trois-Rivières and Québec operated due to COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions)
Erie Sailors (1994, became the Johnstown Steal)
Florence Freedom (2003–2019, became the Florence Y'alls)
Johnstown Johnnies (1998–2002, became the Florence Freedom)
Johnstown Steal (1995–1998, became the Johnstown Johnnies)
Kalamazoo Kings (2001–2010, folded)
Kalamazoo Kodiaks (1996–1998, became the London Werewolves)
Kenosha Mammoths (2003, became the Springfield-Ozark Ducks)
Kentucky Rifles (1993–1994, folded)
Lancaster Scouts (1993–1994, became the Evansville Otters)
London Rippers (2012, folded)
London Werewolves (1999–2001, became the Canton Coyotes)
Mid-Missouri Mavericks (2003–2005, folded)
Midwest Sliders (2008–2009, became the Oakland County Cruisers)
Normal CornBelters (2010–2018, joined the Prospect League)
Newark Buffaloes (1994–1995, became the Kalamazoo Kodiaks)
Oakland County Cruisers (2010–2011, became the London Rippers)
Ohio Valley Redcoats (1993–1998, became the Dubois County Dragons; returned 2005, folded)
Portsmouth Explorers (1993–1995, became the Springfield Capitals)
Richmond Roosters (1995–2005, became the Traverse City Beach Bums)
River City Rascals (1999–2019, folded)
Rockford Aviators (2013–2015, folded)
Rockford RiverHawks (2002–2009, moved to Northern League; returned 2011–2012, replaced by Rockford Aviators)
Slippery Rock Sliders (2007, became the Midwest Sliders)
Southern Illinois Miners (2007–2021, folded)
Springfield Capitals (1996–2001, became the Rockford Riverhawks)
Springfield-Ozark Ducks (2004, became the Ohio Valley Redcoats)
Traverse City Beach Bums (2006–2018, folded)
Tri-State Tomahawks (1993, folded)
West Virginia Coal Sox (1993, folded)
Zanesville Greys (1993–1996, became the River City Rascals)

Franchise timeline

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
2012 Southern Illinois Miners
2013 Schaumburg Boomers
2014 Schaumburg Boomers
2015 Traverse City Beach Bums
2016 Evansville Otters
2017 Schaumburg Boomers
2018 Joliet Slammers
2019 River City Rascals
2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic^[19]
2021 Schaumburg Boomers
2022 Québec Capitales
2023 Québec Capitales

Records

Individual career records

Batting


Statistic	Record	Player
Games Played	588	Chris Sidick
At Bats	2,225
Runs	434
Hits	725	Santiago Chirino
Home Runs	127	Charlie Lisk
Runs Batted In	442	Charlie Lisk

Pitching


Statistic	Record	Player
Games	255	Nick Kennedy
Games started	98	Aaron Ledbetter
Innings Pitched	671.2
Wins	51
Strikeouts	522
Complete Games	18
Saves	74	Zach Strecker

Broadcasting

On February 24, 2022, the Frontier League announced that all games for the 2022 season would be available through the streaming platform FloSports.^[20]

Notes

^ "Player Eligibility". FrontierLeague.com. March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
^ "What Is Independent Baseball?". Prospects Live. June 2, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
^ Chris, Dugan (February 4, 2020). "Frontier League hoping more experience means better baseball". Observer–Reporter. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
^ "Team History". Washington Wild Things. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2011.
^ "Frontier League, Can-Am League to Join Forces". FrontierLeague.com. October 16, 2019.
^ "California Winter League and Frontier League Extend Relationship into 2021" (Press release). California Winter League. August 27, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
^ "PressRelease". MLB. September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
^ "American Association, Frontier League now MLB Partner Leagues". Ballpark Digest. August Publishing. September 24, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
^ Reichard, Kevin (September 25, 2020). "Frontier League returns to Ottawa in 2021". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
^ Baines, Tim (September 23, 2020). "PLAY BALL! Sam Katz confident baseball will be a hit in Ottawa when it returns next year". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
^ "ÉQUIPE QUÉBEC UNVEILS BRANDING" (Press release). April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
^ "FRONTIER LEAGUE ADJUSTS 2021 SCHEDULE" (Press release). April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
^ "Retour du baseball professionnel au Québec". Québec Capitales (in Canadian French). July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
^ "Jayne and John Simmons Announce Retirement from Professional Baseball in Marion, Illinois" (Press release). Southern Illinois Miners. October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
^ Reichard, Kevin (October 7, 2021). "Southern Illinois Miners ceasing operations". Ballpark Digest. August Publishing. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
^ Reichard, Kevin (February 12, 2022). "New for 2022: Empire State Greys". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Frontier League Awards Membership to New England". FrontierLeague.com (Press release). Frontier League. September 21, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
^ "Sports facilities and competition venues". Quebec City Business Destination. Retrieved September 11, 2021. Capacity: 4,300 seats
^ Dugan, Chris. "Frontier League season canceled". Observer-Reporter. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
^ "Frontier League and FloSports Announce Landmark Streaming Rights Agreement". OurSports Central (Press release). Frontier League. February 24, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.

External links

[1] "Player Eligibility". FrontierLeague.com. March 1, 2020. Retrieved March 1, 2020.

[2] "What Is Independent Baseball?". Prospects Live. June 2, 2020. Retrieved October 27, 2022.

[3] Chris, Dugan (February 4, 2020). "Frontier League hoping more experience means better baseball". Observer–Reporter. Retrieved February 4, 2020.

[4] "Team History". Washington Wild Things. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved January 21, 2011.

[frontiercanam-5] "Frontier League, Can-Am League to Join Forces". FrontierLeague.com. October 16, 2019.

[6] "California Winter League and Frontier League Extend Relationship into 2021" (Press release). California Winter League. August 27, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.

[MLB9-24-20-7] "PressRelease". MLB. September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.

[8] "American Association, Frontier League now MLB Partner Leagues". Ballpark Digest. August Publishing. September 24, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.

[9] Reichard, Kevin (September 25, 2020). "Frontier League returns to Ottawa in 2021". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved September 26, 2020.

[10] Baines, Tim (September 23, 2020). "PLAY BALL! Sam Katz confident baseball will be a hit in Ottawa when it returns next year". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved September 26, 2020.

[FL_4-27-21-11] "ÉQUIPE QUÉBEC UNVEILS BRANDING" (Press release). April 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.

[FL_4-17-21-12] "FRONTIER LEAGUE ADJUSTS 2021 SCHEDULE" (Press release). April 17, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2021.

[13] "Retour du baseball professionnel au Québec". Québec Capitales (in Canadian French). July 21, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.

[14] "Jayne and John Simmons Announce Retirement from Professional Baseball in Marion, Illinois" (Press release). Southern Illinois Miners. October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.

[15] Reichard, Kevin (October 7, 2021). "Southern Illinois Miners ceasing operations". Ballpark Digest. August Publishing. Retrieved October 8, 2021.

[16] Reichard, Kevin (February 12, 2022). "New for 2022: Empire State Greys". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved March 3, 2022.

[New_England-17] "Frontier League Awards Membership to New England". FrontierLeague.com (Press release). Frontier League. September 21, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.

[18] "Sports facilities and competition venues". Quebec City Business Destination. Retrieved September 11, 2021. Capacity: 4,300 seats

[19] Dugan, Chris. "Frontier League season canceled". Observer-Reporter. Retrieved June 25, 2020.

[20] "Frontier League and FloSports Announce Landmark Streaming Rights Agreement". OurSports Central (Press release). Frontier League. February 24, 2022. Retrieved March 10, 2022.

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Frontier League

Structure

History

2019–2020: Merger, MLB Partner League

2021: New teams, border issues

New England expansion

Teams

Map of teams

Former teams

Franchise timeline

Champions

Records

Individual career records

Batting

Pitching

Broadcasting

See also

Notes

External links

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