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28-719: An Independent league called the Maine State League briefly played in the 1897 season as a six–team league, beginning play on May 20, 1897. After the Augusta team disbanded on June 26, 1897 and the Rockland team disbanded on July 1, 1897, the league folded on July 5, 1897. The six teams were the Augusta Kennebecs (14–8), Bangor Millionaires (12–19), Belfast Pastimes (10–16), Lewiston (15–14), Portland (21–6) and Rockland (10–19). The Maine State League

56-594: A ferry boat line across the Long Island Sound, between Bridgeport, Connecticut to Port Jefferson on Long Island in New York State), which was frequently utilized by both of the teams and their fans for traveling to each ballpark in the two adjacent states. Former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and MLB Hall of Fame member Gary Carter managed the Ducks in 2009. Following Carter's death in 2012,

84-589: A second team in Portland (Portland Blue Sox) and Waterville, Maine (Waterville). The 1907 Maine State League began play on May 24, 1907. The league lost several franchises before the season concluded. Both Manchester and Waterville folded in June, Manchester with a 1–7 record and Waterville with an 8–14 record. The Augusta franchise disbanded on July 29, 1907, with a 27–28 record. Lewiston was 24–24 when that franchise folded on August 3, 1907. With four teams remaining,

112-631: A victory over the York Revolution of York, Pennsylvania. The official colors of the Long Island Ducks are black, green, orange, and white. The primary logo features the "Ducks" wordmark in orange with black outline. The wordmark begins with a stylized, cartoon duck head in the form of a capital cursive "D." Since 2015, OC Sports has been the official on-field headwear of the Atlantic League. The home caps are black with

140-619: Is a professional baseball league in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball or its affiliated Minor League Baseball system (historically referred to as organized baseball ). Independent leagues have flourished in northeastern states, where dense populations can often support multiple franchises . Because they are not subject to the territorial limitations imposed on affiliated minor-league teams, independent clubs can relocate as close to affiliated teams (and one another) as they choose to. For example,

168-528: The Bangor Cubs won the 1907 Maine State League Championship, finishing with a 47–31 final record, as the league held no playoffs. The Bangor Cubs were followed in the standings by the Biddeford Orphans (30–27), Portland Blue Sox (39-41) and Pine Tree Capers (27–32) in the 1907 standings. The Augusta Senators (27–28), Lewiston (24–23), Manchester (1–7) and Waterville (8–14) all folded before

196-610: The Boston Red Sox of the American League. In 2017, pitcher Éric Gagné attempted a professional baseball comeback with the Ducks; that same year, Nate Freiman , Henderson Alvarez , Quintin Berry , and Tim Melville played with the Ducks and later joined an MLB organization or foreign professional league. On June 17, 2023, the Ducks became the winningest team in Atlantic League history, clinching their 1,581st win in

224-765: The Carolina League and the Quebec -based Provincial League . The Carolina League, based in the North Carolina Piedmont region, gained a reputation as a notorious "outlaw league" during its existence from 1936 to 1938. The Provincial League fielded six teams across Quebec and was independent from 1948 to 1949. Similarly to early 20th-century independent leagues, it joined the National Association in 1950, playing for six more years. Independent leagues saw new growth after 1992, after

252-416: The "Long Island" cursive wordmark centered across in green with white and orange outline. The numbering is in green with white outline and orange drop shadow. The alternate is an orange jersey with the "Ducks" word mark centered across the chest. All games are broadcast over the Ducks' official YouTube channel, website, and (beginning 2017) Facebook Live . For 2017, WRHU /88.7 served as the radio home of

280-545: The 2024 season, there are seven active leagues, with four of them acting as MLB Partner Leagues . Additionally, Major League Baseball co-operatively operates the MLB Draft League , which operates as an amateur collegiate summer baseball league in the first half of each season and a professional league outside of the structure of Minor League Baseball for the remainder. Independent baseball leagues and teams exist outside of North America, though rarer. In Japan,

308-587: The ALPB inaugural season. Since their inception the Ducks' home ballpark has been Fairfield Properties Ballpark , formerly known as Bethpage Ballpark (2010-2020), Suffolk County Sports Park (1999 and 2010), EAB Park (2000–2001), and Citibank Park (2002–2009). The "Ducks" name refers to Long Island's duck-farming heritage (itself represented by the Big Duck ferrocement ) and recalls the former Long Island Ducks professional ice hockey team. The team's first manager

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336-608: The Commissioner of Baseball. Independent baseball existed in the early 20th century and has become prominent again since 1993. Leagues operated mostly autonomously before 1902, when the majority joined the NAPBL. From then until 1915, a total of eight new and existing leagues remained independent. Most joined the National Association after one season of independence. Notable exceptions were the California League , which

364-404: The Ducks (replacing previous broadcaster WRCN-FM 103.9). Michael Polak, Chris King, David Weiss, and Mike Mohr currently serve as the team's official broadcasters. The Long Island Ducks' official mascot is an anthropomorphic duck named QuackerJack. He wears the Ducks' full home white uniform with green and white sneakers. He debuted on March 18, 2000, at then-EAB Park. His name alludes to

392-405: The Ducks dedicated the season to his memory and wore a commemorative patch on their uniforms. Former Major League Baseball players to have played on the Ducks include Dontrelle Willis , Ramon Castro , Ben Broussard , Leo Rosales , Josh Barfield , Bill Hall , Bryant Nelson , Ian Snell , and Lew Ford . Rich Hill played with the Ducks in 2015, prior to his return to the majors in 2016 with

420-608: The Japan Independent Baseball League Organization, which consists of the Shikoku Island League Plus and Baseball Challenge League , operates independently from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Japan also has a variety of independent semi-professional leagues consisting of industrial teams , where the players are regular employees of the company that own the team and are additionally paid to play baseball for

448-479: The Maine State League permanently folded. The Portland Blue Sox were in 1st place with a 32–20 record when disbanding. Portland finished ahead of the Bangor White Sox (31–22), Lewiston/Augusta (20–26) and Biddeford (18–30) in the standings. However, since Portland folded, Bangor was awarded the 1908 Maine State League championship. Independent baseball league An independent baseball league

476-773: The city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania , cannot have an affiliated team because of its proximity to the Harrisburg Senators and Reading Fightin Phils , leaving the Atlantic League to place a team—the Lancaster Barnstormers —to fill the void. Another example is the greater New York City metropolitan area, where there are many independent teams: the Long Island Ducks , Staten Island FerryHawks , New Jersey Jackals , New York Boulders , and Sussex County Miners . The Atlantic League considered as

504-742: The company on the side. South Korea also has series of small independent leagues. Additionally, as of 2024, two Japanese teams without affiliation to NPB teams play within NPB's minor leagues (the Eastern League and the Western League ). Similarly, within KBO Futures League , the minor league of Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), there is an unaffiliated team that consists only of South Korean military personnel . A select number of Japanese independent teams also participate in

532-773: The completion of the season. Returning to play in what ultimately was their final season of 1908, the Maine State League was a six–team league, maintaining the Class D level. Augusta, the Bangor White Sox , Biddeford, and the Portland Blue Sox comprised the 1908 league members who finished the 1908 season, as Pine Tree and York Beach disbanded during the season. The Maine State League began play on June 10, 1908. Lewiston moved to Augusta after twelve games. Pine Tree (15–13) and York Beach (10–15) both disbanded on July 19, 1908. When Portland withdrew on August 28, 1908,

560-437: The duck head logo centered on the front. The away caps are black with an orange brim and the duck head logo. Batting helmets are black with the webbed-foot logo. The Ducks wear uniforms produced by Rawlings . The home jersey is white with black pinstripes with the "Ducks" wordmark centered across the front. The numbering on the jersey is primarily in green with white outline and black drop shadow. The away jerseys are grey with

588-410: The league. The Atlantic League has had many notable managers and coaches, including Wally Backman , Frank Viola , Tommy John , Sparky Lyle , and Bud Harrelson . The Northern League alumni include Leon "Bull" Durham , J. D. Drew , and Darryl Strawberry . Independent leagues are those professional leagues in the United States and Canada not under the purview of organized Minor League Baseball and

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616-585: The new Professional Baseball Agreement in organized baseball instituted more stringent revenue and stadium requirements on members. The Northern League and Frontier League both started play in 1993, and the Northern League's success paved the way for other independent leagues like the Texas-Louisiana League and Northeast League . Over the next eight years, at least 16 independent leagues formed, of which six existed in 2002. As of

644-667: The off-season Miyazaki Phoenix League alongside Japanese and Korean minor league teams. Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip , New York . The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseball . The Ducks played their first season in 2000, two years after

672-563: The publication Baseball America , saying, "The Long Island Ducks are the best thing I've ever done in baseball." A league rivalry developed between the Ducks and the Bridgeport Bluefish , of Bridgeport, Connecticut with the two teams contesting the "Ferry Cup" from 2009 until the latter team's termination in 2017. The Ferry Cup name referred to its sponsor, the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company , (which ran

700-587: The top level of competition among the independent leagues, and has had more marquee players than any other independent league, including Jose Canseco , Mat Latos , Steve Lombardozzi Jr. , Francisco Rodríguez , Chien-Ming Wang , Roger Clemens , Rich Hill , Scott Kazmir , Juan González , John Rocker , and Dontrelle Willis . Two former Atlantic League players are in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum , Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson . Gary Carter , another Hall of Famer, managed in

728-482: Was Bud Harrelson , a part-owner of the team and a former major league player. The Ducks, the only professional Minor League baseball team located on suburban Long Island , in New York State. east of New York City. They began play in 2000, and from 2000 to 2019 won four Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB ) championships. Team owner Frank Boulton expressed his contentment with the Ducks in 2007 to

756-419: Was formed for the 1907 season as an eight–team Class D level minor league under the direction of president Fred K. Owen. The Maine State League began play in the 1907 season, hosting franchises from Augusta, Maine (Augusta Senators), Bangor, Maine (Bangor Cubs), Biddeford, Maine (Biddeford Orphans), Lewiston, Maine (Lewiston), Manchester, New Hampshire (Manchester), Portland, Maine (Pine Tree Capers),

784-641: Was independent in 1902 and from 1907 to 1909; the United States Baseball League , which folded during its independent 1912 season; and the Colonial League, a National Association Member that went independent in 1915 and then folded. Another independent league, the Federal League , played at a level considered major league from 1914 to 1915. Few independent leagues existed between 1915 and 1993. Major exceptions included

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