An independent baseball league 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 ).
15-493: Defunct American baseball league Northern New York League Classification Independent (1900–1901) Class D (1902) Independent (1903–1905) Sport Minor League Baseball First season 1900 Ceased 1905 Replaced by Northern Independent League No. of teams 10 Country United States of America Related competitions New York State League The Northern New York League
30-611: A level considered major league from 1914 to 1915. Few independent leagues existed between 1915 and 1993. Major exceptions included 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
45-539: 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 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
60-786: 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, 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
75-529: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum , Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson . Gary Carter , another Hall of Famer, managed in 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
90-588: 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 the off-season Miyazaki Phoenix League alongside Japanese and Korean minor league teams. Harry Pattee Harry Ernest Pattee (January 17, 1882 – July 17, 1971)
105-759: The National Association after one season of independence. Notable exceptions were the California League , which 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
120-539: 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 the 2024 season, there are seven active leagues, with four of them acting as MLB Partner Leagues . Additionally, Major League Baseball co-operatively operates
135-676: The United States Defunct baseball teams in New York (state) Baseball leagues in Vermont Sports leagues established in 1900 Sports leagues disestablished in 1905 Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Independent baseball league Independent leagues have flourished in northeastern states, where dense populations can often support multiple franchises . Because they are not subject to
150-580: The United States and Canada not under the purview of organized Minor League Baseball and 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
165-5248: The league. Cities represented and teams [ edit ] Burlington, VT - Burlington (1903–1905) Canton, NY - Canton (1901) Gouverneur, NY - Gouverneur (1900) Malone, NY - Malone (1900–1902) Montpelier, VT / Barre, VT – Montpelier-Barre (1904–05) Ogdensburg, NY - Ogdensburg (1900–01) Plattsburgh, NY - Plattsburgh (1901–1905) Potsdam, NY - Potsdam (1900–1902) Rutland, VT - Rutland (1903–1905) St. Albans, VT - St. Albans (1902–1904) MLB alumni [ edit ] Doc Amole Al Boucher Jack Coombs Pep Deininger Jack Doscher Tommy Dowd Bob Dresser Pat Duff Cy Ferry Eddie Grant Leo Hafford Doc Hazelton Paul Krichell Bill Lauterborn Billy Lauder Frank Leary Louis LeRoy Billy Lush Mike Lynch Cotton Minahan Jim Mullen Tom O'Hara Harry Pattee Frank Shannon Dave Shean Dike Varney Rube Vickers Joe Wall Jack Warner Libe Washburn Jimmy Wiggs Sources [ edit ] Baseball Reference - Northern New York League Encyclopedia and History References [ edit ] ^ "1906 Northern Independent League | Baseball-Reference.com" . v t e Professional baseball leagues Americas Major Major League Baseball American League National League Minor Triple-A International League Pacific Coast League Double-A Eastern League Southern League Texas League High-A Midwest League Northwest League South Atlantic League Single-A California League Carolina League Florida State League Rookie Arizona Complex League Dominican Summer League Florida Complex League Independent MLB Partner Leagues American Association Atlantic League Frontier League Pioneer League MLB Draft League Non-partnered leagues Cuban National Series Curaçao AA League Empire League Mexican League Liga Norte de México Pecos League United Shore League Venezuelan Major League Women's Pro Baseball League Off-season MLB-affiliated Arizona Fall League Dominican Professional Baseball League Mexican Pacific League Puerto Rico Baseball League Venezuelan Professional Baseball League Liga Paralela Independent Argentine Baseball League Colombian Professional Baseball League Cuban Elite League Curaçao Professional Baseball League Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League Panamanian Professional Baseball League Veracruz Winter League Defunct MLB-recognized American Association Federal League Negro league baseball Players' League Union Association Other major All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Continental League Cuban League National Association United States Baseball League Minor List of defunct minor leagues Asia China China National Baseball League Israel Defunct major Israel Baseball League Japan Major Nippon Professional Baseball Central League Pacific League Minor Eastern League Western League Off-season Miyazaki Phoenix League Independent Baseball Challenge League Shikoku Island League Plus Women's Japan Women's Baseball League South Korea Major KBO League Minor KBO Futures League Taiwan Major Chinese Professional Baseball League Minor Chinese Professional Baseball League Defunct major Taiwan Major League Europe Italy and San Marino Italian Baseball League Netherlands Major Honkbal Hoofdklasse Minor Honkbal Overgangsklasse Rookie Honkbal Rookie League Oceania Australia MLB-affiliated: Australian Baseball League Inter-league Asia Professional Baseball Championship Asia Winter Baseball League Caribbean Series Latin American Series Triple-A National Championship Game Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Northern_New_York_League&oldid=1171410574 " Categories : Baseball leagues in New York (state) Defunct minor baseball leagues in
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#1732798363743180-675: 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, 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
195-722: 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 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
210-565: Was a Minor League Baseball circuit that operated in a span of six seasons between 1900 and 1905. League franchises were located in New York and Vermont . For the majority of its existence it operated as an independent league, except in 1902, when was classified as Class D circuit. In 1906, the league changed names to the Northern Independent League as Ottawa joined Burlington, Montpelier-Barre, Plattsburgh and Rutland in
225-425: 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 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
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