South Atlantic League


The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams along the Atlantic coastline of the United States from New Jersey to Georgia. It is a Class A league that plays a full season, and its teams are composed of players in their second or third year of professional play.
A number of different leagues known as the South Atlantic League have existed since 1904. The current league of that name adopted the moniker in 1980, having previously been the Western Carolinas League, founded in 1963. All of these have been nicknamed "Sally League".

History

There have been several South Atlantic Leagues in the history of minor league baseball, spanning from 1904 to the present with a few breaks. The league ran from 1904 to 1917 as a class C league, then started up again in 1919, also class C. This time it ran from 1919 to 1930, moving up to class B beginning in 1921. William G. Bramham became league president in mid-1924 and served until 1930. The league was restarted again as a class B from 1936 to 1942, shut down as a result of World War II, and returned in 1946 as a class A league. The AA Southern Association died after the 1961 season and so the SAL was promoted to AA in 1963 to take its place; a year later the name was changed to the Southern League. Out of the 51 seasons of operation, Augusta, Georgia competed in 46, Macon, Georgia was around for 46, and Columbia, South Carolina was in 45. Charleston, South Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; and Columbus, Georgia; each competed for at least 29 years also, making for a relatively stable lineup.
The South Atlantic League name went unused for 16 years, but in 1980 the Western Carolinas League brought back the name when it sought to change its identity. For nearly 60 years, 1948 through 2007, the dominant figure in the WCL/SAL was league founder and president John Henry Moss, who started the WCL as a young man in 1948, refounded it in 1960 and then led it into the new century. Moss retired at the close of the 2007 South Atlantic League season. He died at age 90 on July 1, 2009, at Kings Mountain, North Carolina—a town where he had also been mayor for 23 years.
In 2005, the SAL had the highest attendance in 101 years with over 3,541,992 fans. Currently, the league has 14 teams, divided into two divisions of seven clubs.
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
NorthernDelmarva ShorebirdsBaltimore OriolesSalisbury, MarylandArthur W. Perdue Stadium5,200
NorthernGreensboro GrasshoppersPittsburgh PiratesGreensboro, North CarolinaFirst National Bank Field7,499
NorthernHagerstown SunsWashington NationalsHagerstown, MarylandMunicipal Stadium4,600
NorthernHickory CrawdadsTexas RangersHickory, North CarolinaL. P. Frans Stadium5,092
NorthernKannapolis Cannon BallersChicago White SoxKannapolis, North CarolinaAtrium Health Ballpark4,930
NorthernLakewood BlueClawsPhiladelphia PhilliesLakewood, New JerseyFirstEnergy Park6,588
NorthernWest Virginia PowerSeattle MarinersCharleston, West VirginiaAppalachian Power Park6,200
SouthernAsheville TouristsColorado RockiesAsheville, North CarolinaMcCormick Field4,000
SouthernAugusta GreenJacketsSan Francisco GiantsNorth Augusta, South CarolinaSRP Park5,000
SouthernCharleston RiverDogsNew York YankeesCharleston, South CarolinaJoseph P. Riley, Jr. Park6,000
SouthernColumbia FirefliesNew York MetsColumbia, South CarolinaSegra Park8,500
SouthernGreenville DriveBoston Red SoxGreenville, South CarolinaFluor Field at the West End6,000
SouthernLexington LegendsKansas City RoyalsLexington, KentuckyWhitaker Bank Ballpark6,994
SouthernRome BravesAtlanta BravesRome, GeorgiaState Mutual Stadium5,105

Current team rosters

South Atlantic League teams (1980–present)

Notes: Bold font indicates that team is an active South Atlantic League team • An "^" indicates that team's article redirects to an article of an active team in the South Atlantic League or in a different league

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id:line value:pink
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bar:1 color:Past from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/1984 text:Anderson Braves
bar:2 color:Full from:01/01/1980 till:end text:Asheville Tourists
bar:3 color:Full from:01/01/1980 till:end text:Charleston Royals / Rainbows / RiverDogs
bar:4 color:Past from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/1992 text:Gastonia Cardinals / Expos / Jets / Tigers / Rangers
bar:5 color:Full from:01/01/1980 till:end text:Greensboro Hornets / Bats / Grasshoppers
bar:6 color:Past from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/1987 text:Macon Peaches / Redbirds / Pirates
bar:6 color:Past from:01/01/1991 till:12/31/2002 text:Macon Braves
bar:7 color:Past from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/1982 text:Shelby Pirates / Mets
bar:8 color:Past from:01/01/1980 till:12/31/1994 text:Spartanburg Phillies / Traders / Spinners / Suns / Phillies
bar:9 color:Past from:01/01/1981 till:12/31/1986 text:Florence Blue Jays
bar:10 color:Past from:01/01/1981 till:12/31/1983 text:Greenwood Pirates
bar:11 color:Past from:01/01/1983 till:12/31/2004 text:Columbia Mets / Capital City Bombers
bar:11 color:Full from:01/01/2016 till:end text:Columbia Fireflies
bar:12 color:Past from:01/01/1984 till:12/31/2015 text:Savannah Cardinals / Sand Gnats
bar:13 color:Past from:01/01/1985 till:12/31/1991 text:Sumter Braves
bar:14 color:Full from:01/01/1987 till:end text:Charleston Wheelers / AlleyCats / West Virginia Power
bar:15 color:Past from:01/01/1987 till:12/31/2000 text:Fayetteville Generals / Cape Fear Crocs
bar:16 color:Past from:01/01/1987 till:12/31/1992 text:Myrtle Beach Blue Jays / Hurricanes
bar:17 color:Full from:01/01/1988 till:end text:Augusta Pirates / GreenJackets
bar:18 color:Past from:01/01/1991 till:12/31/2008 text:Columbus Indians / Red Stixx / Catfish
bar:19 color:Past from:01/01/1992 till:12/31/1995 text:Albany Polecats
bar:20 color:Full from:01/01/1993 till:end text:Hagerstown Suns
bar:21 color:Full from:01/01/1993 till:end text:Hickory Crawdads
bar:22 color:Full from:01/01/1995 till:end text:Piedmont Phillies / Boll Weevils / Kannapolis Intimidators / Cannon Ballers
bar:23 color:Full from:01/01/1996 till:end text:Delmarva Shorebirds
bar:24 color:Full from:01/01/2001 till:end text:Lakewood BlueClaws
bar:25 color:Full from:01/01/2001 till:end text:Lexington Legends
bar:26 color:Past from:01/01/2001 till:12/31/2003 text:Wilmington Waves / South Georgia Waves
bar:27 color:Past from:01/01/2003 till:12/31/2009 text:Lake County Captains
bar:28 color:Full from:01/01/2003 till:end text:Rome Braves
bar:29 color:Full from:01/01/2005 till:end text:Greenville Bombers / Drive
bar:30 color:Past from:01/01/2009 till:12/31/2009 text:Bowling Green Hot Rods
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    League champions

South Atlantic League Hall of Fame

The South Atlantic League Hall of Fame was started in 1994.