29-782: The Gastonia Honey Hunters were a professional baseball team based in Gastonia, North Carolina . They played in the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball , a "partner league" of Major League Baseball , at CaroMont Health Park in Gastonia, North Carolina . In 2019 the Atlantic League announced it was considering a new franchise in Gastonia. Work officially began in November 2019, for
58-598: A black player's head. Now, however, baseball is fully integrated, and there is little to no racial tension between teammates. Between 1943 and 1954, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League fielded teams in several Midwestern towns. Frontier League The Frontier League ( FL ; French : Ligue Frontière, LF ) is a professional baseball league in North America consisting of 18 teams – 15 in
87-776: A loosening in border restrictions. 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
116-512: A minimum of ten of the 24-man roster are required to be rookies. Typically, teams play a 96-game regular season from May to September. The Frontier League uses a salary cap . As of the 2023 season, clubs had a maximum spend of US$ 365,000 on player compensation, with a minimum salary of $ 13,800 per player. Veterans could earn up to $ 22,800, and each team's highest-paid player could make as much as $ 27,300. For players aged 23 and younger on standard contracts, only 50% of their salary counts towards
145-703: A specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada consists of the National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901). Historically, teams in one league never played teams in the other until the World Series , in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other. This changed in 1997 with
174-689: 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. 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
203-761: 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
232-700: The Commissioner of Baseball . Operating outside the Minor League Baseball organization are many independent minor leagues such as the Atlantic League , American Association , Frontier League , and the feeder league to these the Empire Professional Baseball League . Japan has had professional baseball since the 1930s. Nippon Professional Baseball consists of two leagues, the Central League and
261-827: 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
290-730: The Pacific League , each with six teams. South Korea has had professional baseball since 1982. There are 10 teams in KBO League . Taiwan has had professional baseball since the 1990s. The Chinese Professional Baseball League absorbed Taiwan Major League in 2003. There are currently 6 teams in the CPBL. Other Asian leagues include three now defunct leagues, the China National Baseball League , Israel Baseball League , and Baseball Philippines . During
319-467: The Texas Rangers affiliated Down East Wood Ducks . The two new franchises bring the league to 18 teams, the largest total in its history. The expansion also marks the league's first expansion into the deep south, with the previous southernmost team being the Evansville Otters . Commissioner Steven Tahsler announced a new scheduling format for the 2025 season. Instead of a two division model,
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#1732790236648348-893: 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. 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
377-589: The Atlantic League intends to field a team in Gastonia in 2024. On December 1, 2023, the company that operates the Honey Hunters filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy . New owners were announced in February 2024 of an Atlantic League team yet to be named which will begin play at CaroMont Health Park on April 25, 2024. Professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for
406-467: 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 . Then, on January 8, 2021, after the reorganization of Minor League Baseball,
435-614: The Frontier League. 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 . In September 2023, the league announced a new team, the New England Knockouts , were to play at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Massachusetts, beginning with the 2024 season. This brought the total number of permanent members of
464-471: The Honey Hunters name, logo and colors were announced. "Honey Hunters" refers to the toughness of a honey badger ( Mellivora capensis ) and the ability to seek out positive things in hard times. The moniker also alludes to Ransom Hunter , the first freed slave to own property in Gaston County , of which Gastonia is the county seat. The team's first game was an exhibition on May 23, 2021, followed by
493-558: The Midwestern Division. The league had a partnership agreement with the California Winter League for player development. On September 24, 2020, Major League Baseball announced that it named the Frontier League an MLB Partner League . This enables collaboration with MLB to jointly discuss marketing and promotional initiatives to grow, expand, and enhance the game of baseball. For the 2021 season,
522-708: The United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the four independent baseball leagues that is considered to be an MLB Partner League , and the level of play is comparable to the High-A level. The league is headquartered in Sauget, Illinois . 25 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 ,
551-406: The United States and Canada. The minor leagues are divided into classes AAA, AA, High-A, A, and Rookie. These minor-league divisions are affiliated with major league teams, and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major-leaguers. "Affiliated baseball" (archaically, " organized baseball ") is often applied as an umbrella term for all leagues — major and minor — under the authority of
580-556: The advent of interleague play . The Philadelphia Phillies , founded in 1883, are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in both Major League Baseball and all of American professional sports. In addition to the major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams. An organization officially styled Minor League Baseball , formerly the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, oversees nearly all minor league baseball in
609-602: 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. The divisions were renamed, with the easternmost teams playing in the Can-Am Division and the westernmost in
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#1732790236648638-594: The late 19th and early 20th centuries, players of black African descent were barred from playing the major leagues , though several did manage to play by claiming to be Cubans or Native Americans . As a result, a number of parallel Negro leagues were formed. However, after Jackie Robinson began playing with the major-league Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, the Negro leagues gradually faded. The process of integration did not go entirely smoothly; there were some ugly incidents, including pitchers who would try to throw directly at
667-620: 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. In April 2021, the league announced that the Québec Capitales ,
696-533: The league champion. 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
725-679: The league to sixteen teams. In September 2024, the league announced an expansion to Mississippi and North Carolina. An as yet unnamed expansion franchise was awarded to Pearl, Mississippi , following the departure of the Atlanta Braves Double-A affiliate the Mississippi Braves . The Down East Bird Dawgs, a new team in Kinston, North Carolina , will play in Grainger Stadium , which was formerly home of
754-773: The league will revert to the 2021 setup; 2 conferences with 4 divisions. Mississippi will be playing in the West Division of the Midwest Conference while Down East will be in the East Division of the Atlantic Conference. 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
783-554: The new ballpark in Gastonia. In July 2020, the league announced the addition of a new franchise in Gastonia beginning in 2021; it would be the league's second team based in North Carolina. Brandon Bellamy was announced as the team's owner. On August 15, 2020, a "Name the Team" contest was launched. On October 8, 2020, the names were narrowed down to Fire Ants, Hogzillas, Honey Hunters, Hotshots, and Uppercuts. On January 13, 2021,
812-420: 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. The FL's regular season is typically held from May to September, with each team playing 96 games. Following the conclusion of the regular season, 8 teams advance to the playoffs, a three tournament that runs approximately two weeks to determine
841-478: The regular season opening day game on May 25. In 2022, manager Mauro Gozzo was named Atlantic League Manager of the Year. In the off-season he signed a three-year contract extension. On November 22, 2023, the Atlantic League terminated the membership of the team, citing significant unpaid debts to the league. Rick White, president of the Atlantic League, confirmed that the Honey Hunters were terminated, but said that
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