Frontier League

Infobox sports league

pixels = 150px
caption = Frontier League logo
sport = Baseball
founded = 1993
motto =
teams = 12
country = USA
champion = Windy City ThunderBolts
folded =
website = [http://www.frontierleague.com/ www.frontierleague.com]

The Frontier League, based in Troy, Illinois, is a professional, independent baseball organization located in the Midwestern United States and Western Pennsylvania. It operates mostly in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either. Though not part of the official minor league system, its level of play is considered about equal to A-level. The league was formed in 1993 by Charles "Bud" Bickel.

The Frontier League exists so that professional baseball players who are not signed by a Major or Minor League organization could have another chance at playing at a higher level. Although the level of Frontier League play can be categorized at the single A standard, players in independent baseball are usually not scouted heavily by Major League teams. The league also caters to players who are not quite talented enough to play at a higher level.

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

Frontier League rules limit teams to three "veterans" (those with three or more years of professional experience), two two-year players and seven one-year players (those with at least 150 professional at-bats or 50 innings pitched). The other half of the 24-man roster is confined to rookies. Players cannot be older than 27 as of Jan. 1.

Pay in the Frontier League is minimal, as each team has a salary cap of $60,000 and the league minimum is set at $600 per month. Due to the low pay, players typically live with host families.

The first league champions were Zanesville. Only four 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 (now Traverse City) in 2001 and 2002, and Windy City in 2007 and 2008. The Florence Freedom (including years as Erie and Johnstown) and the Rockford RiverHawks (including years as Portsmouth and Springfield) are currently tied for the most league championships with each franchise winning three.

Current franchises

Future franchises

*Normal, Illinois - slated to start at new stadium in 2010. [http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/06/03/news/doc4845baa05f059223025629.txt]

*Champaign, Illinois - slated to start in 2009. [http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2007/09/27/sports/doc46f9700a1c7b6433825731.txt]

Former franchises

*Dubois County, Indiana - Dubois County Dragons (2000 - 2002)
*Kenosha, Wisconsin - Kenosha Mammoths (2003)
*Springfield, Missouri - Springfield-Ozark Ducks (2004)
*Chillicothe, Ohio - Chillicothe Paints (1993 - 2008)

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

External links

* [http://www.frontierleague.com Frontier League]
* [http://flhistory.garmurdesign.com Frontier League History]