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Salem Red Sox

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The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB), based in Salem , an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia . The team competes at the Single-A level in the Carolina League . Home games are played at Carilion Clinic Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark , a 6,300-seat facility opened in 1995.

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43-739: The team first played in 1955, and then from 1957 to 1967, in the Appalachian League , initially at the now-defunct Class D level and then at the Rookie level starting in 1963. From 1968 through 2020, the team competed in the Carolina League, initially Class A and then Class A-Advanced starting in 1990. Prior to adopting the Red Sox name in 2009, the team was known as the Salem Avalanche from 1995 through 2008, when it

86-601: A Class D league during four stints through 1962, then was classified as an Rookie Advanced league from 1963 to 2020. The original Appalachian League existed for four seasons from 1911 to 1914 and was classified as a Class D circuit. All teams were independent with no Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliation in the era. The charter Appalachian League teams were the Asheville Moonshiners , Bristol Boosters, Cleveland Counts , Johnson City Soldiers , Knoxville Appalachians , and Morristown Jobbers , playing in

129-495: A wild card ), and has won one league championship (2013). League and divisional titles are commemorated on the press box and sky boxes overlooking the Carilion Clinic Field Grandstand. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the team moved from being the Red Sox' Class A-Advanced affiliate to being their Low-A affiliate, and became a member of

172-490: A collaboration between MLB and USA Baseball . It is scheduled to play a 48-game regular season and continue to host an annual All-Star Game. Each of the league's 10 cities will continue to host teams in the new configuration of the Appalachian League. League champions have been determined by different means since the Appalachian League's formation in 1911. Before 1984, the champions were usually

215-468: A massive texture and missed the main episode of Mesoproterozoic compression. At the time of their emergence, the Blue Ridge were among the highest mountains in the world and reached heights comparable to the much younger Alps . Weathering , erosion , and mass wasting over hundreds of millions of years has resulted in much shorter peaks. At the foot of the Blue Ridge, various tribes including

258-422: A professor and geologist at George Washington University , provide greater insight into the petrologic and geochronologic history of the Blue Ridge basement suites. Modern studies have found that the basement geology of the Blue Ridge is made of compositionally unique gneisses and granitoids , including orthopyroxene-bearing charnockites. Analysis of zircon minerals in the granite completed by John Aleinikoff at

301-561: A split-season was played, a team may have earned a division title by finishing first in either half of the season, despite not having the best overall record for the entire season. Alternately, a team may have had the best overall record for the entire season, but did not finish first in either half of the season, thus did not earn a division title. Source: At least two inductees to the National Baseball Hall of Fame played for Salem; Orlando Cepeda , who played 26 games for

344-612: Is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee , Virginia , West Virginia , and North Carolina . Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden bats , its season runs from June through August. The league is part of Major League Baseball and USA Baseball 's Prospect Development Pipeline. Between 1911 and 2020, the Appalachian League operated as part of Minor League Baseball and various of its teams were low-level affiliates of Major League Baseball franchises. It operated as

387-612: The Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2005, bought the team when it was in danger of moving from Salem. In 2006, the team was sold to a pair of businessmen from Atlanta who also owned the Fort Wayne Wizards . In December 2007, this group sold the team to Fenway Sports Group , a subsidiary of the Boston Red Sox ownership group, preparing the team for an affiliation change after its Player Development Contract with

430-562: The Gulf Coast League and Arizona League . Unlike the complex leagues, Appalachian League teams charged admission and sold concessions. It was almost exclusively the first fully professional league in which many players competed; most of the players had just been signed out of high school and were further along in their development than players in the "complex" leagues. It was a short-season league that competed from late June (when major league teams signed players whom they selected in

473-717: The Houston Astros ended in 2008. As such, the Salem Red Sox are owned by the same parent company that manages Liverpool F.C. and the Boston Red Sox. In 2006, Salem Memorial Ballpark hosted the All Star Game between the Carolina League and California League . Since switching affiliation to Boston in 2009, the team has claimed four division titles (2009, 2013, 2016, 2019), has made five playoff appearances (each division title season, plus 2014 as

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516-671: The Low-A East ; in a corresponding move, the Greenville Drive moved from Class A to High-A . At the time of the restructuring, the website Ballpark Digest speculated that the Red Sox could look to move the Salem franchise to Lowell, Massachusetts in time for the 2022 season. In May 2021, Rick White, president of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball , announced that Salem, along with Staten Island, New York ,

559-679: The Mendoza Line that is named for him. Daisuke Matsuzaka made a rehabilitation start for Salem in September 2009, in a Carolina League playoff game against the Winston-Salem Dash , and later made a regular-season rehabilitation start for Salem in 2012. For notable players who made appearances with Salem, see: In 2019, Melanie Newman joined Suzie Cool as part of the first all-female broadcast team in professional baseball when she served as play-by-play broadcaster for

602-478: The New York–New Jersey Highlands . The petrologic and geochronologic data suggest that the Blue Ridge basement is a composite orogenic crust that was emplaced during several episodes from a crustal magma source. Field relationships further illustrate that rocks emplaced prior to 1.078–1.064 billion years ago preserve deformational features. Those emplaced post-1.064 billion years ago generally have

645-727: The Roanoke River gap. To the west of the Blue Ridge, between it and the bulk of the Appalachians, lies the Great Appalachian Valley , bordered on the west by the Ridge and Valley province of the Appalachian range. The Blue Ridge Mountains are known for having a bluish color when seen from a distance. Trees put the "blue" in Blue Ridge, from the isoprene released into the atmosphere. This contributes to

688-763: The Siouan Manahoacs , the Iroquois , and the Shawnee hunted and fished. A German physician-explorer, John Lederer , first reached the crest of the Blue Ridge in 1669 and again the following year; he also recorded the Virginia Siouan name for the Blue Ridge ( Ahkonshuck ). At the Treaty of Albany negotiated by Virginia Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood with the Iroquois between 1718 and 1722,

731-505: The U.S. Geological Survey has provided more detailed emplacement ages. Many of the features found in the Blue Ridge and documented by Tollo and others have confirmed that the rocks exhibit many similar features in other North American Grenville-age terranes . The lack of a calc-alkaline affinity and zircon ages less than 1.2 billion years old suggest that the Blue Ridge is distinct from the Adirondacks , Green Mountains, and possibly

774-547: The "Hokie-Smokey Classic" baseball series between the Tennessee Volunteers and the nearby Virginia Tech Hokies . Given the teams' close proximity, their long-time histories in the league, and both competing in the Carolina League's North Division, Salem's chief rival is the Lynchburg Hillcats . The regular matchups of these teams, known as the "460 Series", named for U.S. Route 460 which connects

817-491: The Appalachian League reformed and was classified as a Rookie -level league. In its final years as an MLB-affiliated league, the Appalachian League was one of two "Rookie Advanced" minor leagues along with the Pioneer League . As such, it occupied the second-lowest rung in the minor league ladder. Although classified as a Rookie league, the level of play was slightly higher than that of the two "complex" Rookie leagues,

860-425: The Appalachian League when it was part of Minor League Baseball, with a total of 139 such players on Opening Day rosters. In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Appalachian League was converted to an amateur collegiate summer baseball league designed for rising freshmen and sophomores. The reconfigured league become a part of Major League Baseball's Prospect Development Pipeline,

903-828: The Baseball Nut proved to be unpopular. Lacking a cute or friendly appearance, the mascot intimidated children and was an object of derision by adult fans. Mugsy was developed as a replacement. Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches 60-day injured list [REDACTED] 7-day injured list * On Boston Red Sox 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated September 17, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB  •  Carolina League → Boston Red Sox minor league players Appalachian League The Appalachian League

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946-726: The Blue Ridge: the Brushy Mountains and the South Mountains . In Virginia the Southwest Mountains are an anticlinal range that similarly parallels the Blue Ridge. The Blue Ridge extends as far south as Mount Oglethorpe in Georgia and as far north into Pennsylvania as South Mountain . While South Mountain dwindles to hills between Gettysburg and Harrisburg , the band of ancient rocks that form

989-712: The Iroquois ceded lands they had conquered south of the Potomac River and east of the Blue Ridge to the Virginia Colony . This treaty made the Blue Ridge the new demarcation point between the areas and tribes subject to the Six Nations, and those tributaries to the colony. When colonists began to disregard this by crossing the Blue Ridge and settling in the Shenandoah Valley in the 1730s, the Iroquois began to object, finally selling their rights to

1032-521: The Rebels in 1955, and Larry Walker , who played two rehabilitation games with the Avalanche in 1996. Tim Murtaugh was a player, manager, and player-manager for Salem; he played 38 games for the 1965 Rebels, he managed the 1971 Rebels, and he appeared in 10 games while managing the 1972 Pirates. Mario Mendoza played 136 games for Salem in 1972, registering a .221 batting average , slightly above

1075-605: The Red Sox Double-A affiliate, the Portland Sea Dogs . While the team is located in a relatively small city (population circa 25,000) when compared to other teams of its classification, the Red Sox are strongly identified with the Roanoke Valley as a whole, drawing fans from neighboring cities and counties within the roughly 300,000-person metropolitan area. The connection with neighboring Roanoke

1118-432: The Salem Red Sox. Lefty and Righty , the team's newest mascots; two person-sized red socks, each wearing a Boston Red Sox hat; one has an "L" on its back, the other has an "R". These mascots were discontinued, leaving Mugsy as the team's lone mascot as of 2024. Mugsy , a St. Bernard mascot who made his rookie debut in professional baseball in 1997 with the Avalanche. According to the team's website, Mugsy descended from

1161-697: The amateur draft) to early September. It continued to operate as a Rookie Advanced league through 2020, with the start of the 2020 season postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before ultimately being cancelled. Thus, 2019 was the Appalachian League's last season of operation within Minor League Baseball, with the Johnson City Cardinals winning the league championship. Entering the 2021 Major League Baseball season , MLB stated that 29 of its 30 teams had players who had played in

1204-790: The characteristic haze on the mountains and their perceived color. Within the Blue Ridge province are two major national parks: the Shenandoah National Park in the northern section and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the southern section. The Blue Ridge Parkway , a 469-mile (755 km) long scenic highway, connects the two parks and runs along the ridge crest-lines, as does the Appalachian Trail . Eight national forests include George Washington and Jefferson , Cherokee , Pisgah , Nantahala and Chattahoochee . Although

1247-506: The cities, has occasionally feature day/night doubleheaders during which two games will be split between the two cities over the course of the same day. Salem has competed in two different leagues and at four different classification levels: Note that while records in the below table are for entire seasons, the Carolina League has played a split-season schedule since 1970, except for 2020, when minor-league seasons were canceled, and 2021, when it operated as Low-A East . In years when

1290-636: The core of the Blue Ridge continues northeast through the New Jersey and Hudson River highlands, eventually reaching the Berkshires of Massachusetts and the Green Mountains of Vermont . The Blue Ridge contains the highest mountains in eastern North America south of Baffin Island . About 125 peaks exceed 5,000 feet (1,500 m) in elevation. The highest peak in the Blue Ridge (and in

1333-614: The entire Appalachian chain) is Mount Mitchell in North Carolina at 6,684 feet (2,037 m). There are 39 peaks in North Carolina and Tennessee higher than 6,000 feet (1,800 m); by comparison, in the northern portion of the Appalachian chain only New Hampshire 's Mount Washington rises above 6,000 feet (1,800 m). Southern Sixers is a term used by peak baggers for this group of mountains. The Blue Ridge Parkway runs 469 miles (755 km) along crests of

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1376-488: The inaugural season. After a six-year absence, the league reorganized for five seasons from 1921 to 1925, and, as before, it consisted entirely of independent teams at the Class D level. Following an 11-year period of inactivity, the third iteration of the Class D Appalachian League played from 1937 to 1955. The league went dormant in 1956, but was revived in 1957. Along with a reorganization of Minor League Baseball in 1963,

1419-423: The league pennant winners. With only a few early exceptions, champions since 1984 have been the winner of postseason playoffs. The league established a hall of fame in 2019; through 2022 elections, 46 people have been inducted. Members of the 2021 Hall of Fame induction class included Orlando Cepeda , Dotty Cox, Mahlon Luttrell, Joe Mauer , Ron Necciai , and Jimmy Rollins . CC Sabathia and Jim Leyland were

1462-639: The left field wall. Carilion Clinic Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark is located roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) from downtown Salem and is part of the James E. Taliaferro Sports and Entertainment Complex, which also includes the Salem Civic Center and Salem Football Stadium (former location of the annual Stagg Bowl ). The Red Sox share their stadium with the NCAA Division III Roanoke Maroons and have previously hosted

1505-540: The passing Hale-Bopp comet that raced across the Roanoke Valley sky on April 4, 1997. Misty , a female saint bernard mascot who joined the team in 2005. As of 2021, Misty is no longer appearing at Red Sox games. Big Mo , the Salem Avalanche's Kid's Club mascot; a giant abominable snowman . The Baseball Nut , the Avalanche's first mascot, which resembled an almond . While the idea was original,

1548-456: The range lacks the tree line found at lower elevations in the northern half of the Appalachian range. Statistical modelling predicts that the alpine tree line would exist at above 7,985 feet (2434 m) in the climate zone and latitude of the southern Appalachians. The highest parts of the Blue Ridge are generally vegetated in dense Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forests . The area is host to many animals, including: The largest city located in

1591-562: The southern Appalachians and links two national parks: Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains . In many places along the parkway, there are metamorphic rocks ( gneiss ) with folded bands of light-and dark-colored minerals, which sometimes look like the folds and swirls in a marble cake. Most of the rocks that form the Blue Ridge Mountains are ancient granitic charnockites , metamorphosed volcanic formations, and sedimentary limestone. Recent studies completed by Richard Tollo,

1634-773: The term "Blue Ridge" is sometimes applied exclusively to the eastern edge or front range of the Appalachian Mountains, the geological definition of the Blue Ridge province extends westward to the Ridge and Valley area, encompassing the Great Smoky Mountains , the Great Balsams , the Roans , the Blacks , and other mountain ranges. In North Carolina, two lower elevation ranges to the east, referred to as foothills , are also often included as "spurs" of

1677-580: The two members of the 2022 induction class. Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Highlands range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland , West Virginia , Virginia , North Carolina , South Carolina , Tennessee , and Georgia . The province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near

1720-455: The valley, on the west side of the Blue Ridge, at the Treaty of Lancaster in 1744. The Blue Ridge Mountains have stunted oak and oak-hickory forest habitats , which comprise most of the Appalachian slope forests. Flora also includes grass, shrubs, hemlock and mixed-oak pine forests. While the Blue Ridge range includes the highest summits in the eastern United States, the climate is nevertheless too warm to support an alpine zone , and thus

1763-520: Was "on board for 2022" as an expansion franchise location, further fueling speculation that Salem would lose their affiliation status to Lowell. In 2022, the Low-A East became known as the Carolina League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization, and was reclassified as a Single-A circuit. On the 17th of March 2023, it was announced that their owners, FSG , sold them to Diamond Baseball Holdings who also own

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1806-765: Was affiliated with the Colorado Rockies (1995–2002) and Houston Astros (2003–2008). Prior to 1995, the franchise played under several other names and affiliations. The franchise debuted in 1955 and was initially known as the Salem Rebels, an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates . The franchise was owned from 1986 until 2006 by Kelvin Bowles, a cable television executive and scout in Major League Baseball . Bowles, who scouted for

1849-531: Was emphasized during the 2017 Carolina League All-Star Classic, hosted by Salem, that was represented by a logo featuring the iconic Mill Mountain Star . Salem is also located in the Blue Ridge Mountains , which are featured prominently on the team's logo and are clearly visible over Carilion Clinic Field's outfield walls. This mountain view includes the aforementioned star, visible on clear nights over

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