Appalachian League


The Appalachian League of Professional Baseball is a Rookie-class Minor League Baseball league that began play in 1911. It operated as a Class D league,, and before becoming a Rookie league in 1963. Teams are located in the Appalachian regions of Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Tennessee. The league's season starts in June, after major league teams have signed players they selected in the annual amateur draft, and ends in September.
Along with the Pioneer League, it forms the second-lowest rung on the minor league ladder. Although classified as a Rookie league, the level of play is slightly higher than that of the two Rookie leagues based at the parent clubs' spring training complexes, the Gulf Coast League and Arizona League. Unlike these two leagues, Appalachian League games charge admission and sell concessions.

History

The original Appalachian League only existed for four seasons from 1911-1914 and all teams were independent with no MLB affiliation. The original league consisted of the Asheville Moonshiners, the Bristol Boosters, the Cleveland Counts, the Johnson City Soldiers, the Knoxville Appalachians, and the Morristown Jobbers.
The second Appalachian League existed for five seasons from 1921-1925, and, as before, it consisted entirely of independent teams: the Bristol State-Liners, the Cleveland Manufacturers, the Greeneville Burley Cats, the second iteration of the Johnson City Soldiers, the Kingsport Indians, and the Knoxville Pioneers. Two of the 1921 locations have present-day teams in the Appalachian League: Kingsport, Tennessee, with the present-day Kingsport Mets, and Greeneville, Tennessee, with the present-day Greeneville Reds.
The third iteration of the Appalachian league, which started in 1937, was shifted to D-level minor league, the lowest level in the pre-1963 MLB. It consisted of four teams: the Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox, the third iteration of the Johnson City Soldiers, the Newport Canners, and the Pennington Gap Lee Bears.
The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before ultimately being cancelled on June 30.

Current teams

DivisionTeamMLB AffiliationCityStadiumCapacity
EastBluefield Blue JaysToronto Blue JaysBluefield, West Virginia and
Bluefield, Virginia		Bowen Field at Peters Park3,000
EastBurlington RoyalsKansas City RoyalsBurlington, North CarolinaBurlington Athletic Stadium3,500
EastDanville BravesAtlanta BravesDanville, VirginiaAmerican Legion Field2,588
EastPrinceton RaysTampa Bay RaysPrinceton, West VirginiaH. P. Hunnicutt Field3,000
EastPulaski YankeesNew York YankeesPulaski, VirginiaCalfee Park2,500
WestBristol PiratesPittsburgh PiratesBristol, Virginia and Bristol, TennesseeBoyce Cox Field at DeVault Memorial Stadium2,000
WestElizabethton TwinsMinnesota TwinsElizabethton, TennesseeJoe O'Brien Field2,000
WestGreeneville RedsCincinnati RedsTusculum, TennesseePioneer Park4,000
WestJohnson City CardinalsSt. Louis CardinalsJohnson City, TennesseeTVA Credit Union Ballpark3,800
WestKingsport MetsNew York MetsKingsport, TennesseeHunter Wright Stadium2,000

Current team rosters

Complete team list

1911–14

Champions

League champions have been determined by different means since the Appalachian League's formation in 1911. Before 1984, the champions were usually the league pennant winners. With only a few early exceptions, champions since 1984 have been the winner of postseason playoffs.

Hall of Fame

The Appalachian League Hall of Fame was started in 2019.