Everything about The International League totally explained
The
International League (
IL) is a
minor league baseball league which operates in the eastern
United States. Like the
Pacific Coast League, it plays at the
Triple-A level, which is one step below
Major League Baseball. It was so-named because it had teams in both the
United States and
Canada (and for several years in the 1950s, in
Cuba as well.) Its name is currently a
misnomer: since the
Ottawa Lynx relocated to
Allentown, Pennsylvania at the end of the 2007 season, the league now has teams only in the
United States.
History
The International League was created from the mergers of member teams from three precursor leagues: the
Eastern League, founded in ; the
New York State League, formed in ; and the
Ontario League, also organized in 1885. The New York State and Ontario leagues merged in to form the
International League, and in the Eastern League was absorbed to create a 10-club league.
The league collapsed soon afterwards, when the Northern teams claimed that it was too onerous to travel to the South and formed the
International Association. Teams and league names came and went over the years. In, a franchise was awarded to
Havana, Cuba, but due to political upheaval in that country it had to be moved — to
Jersey City, New Jersey — in the middle of the season. Another foray into the
Caribbean failed when the newly-created team in
San Juan, Puerto Rico, added in, had to be moved to
Charleston, West Virginia in mid-season.
In, an International League all-star team beat the
New York Yankees in an exhibition game in
Rochester, New York, before 11,000 people. In, the all-stars lost to the
Cleveland Indians in 11 innings before 11,032 fans in
Columbus, Ohio, to commemorate the league's 100th anniversary.
The International League and the
American Association, another Triple-A league that operated in the Midwest, voted in to play interleague games. The league also split into two divisions that year. The interleague concept ended in, but the two league divisions remained.
In further interleague play, in 1988, the three Triple-A leagues, the other being the
Pacific Coast League, met to play the first
Triple-A All-Star Game. One team was made up of All-Stars from
American League affiliates and the other of
National League affiliates. Beginning in, a team of IL All-Stars faced off against a team of PCL All-Stars.
Also in 1998, with the addition of three new teams from the disbanded American Association and the
Durham Bulls moving up to Triple-A from Class-A, the league reorganized into three divisions: the
North Division,
South Division, and
West Division.
At the end of each season, the three divisional leaders and a
wild card team square off in
best-of-5 playoffs, with the winning team of the finals awarded the
Governors' Cup, the league's championship trophy.
Since the league champion has met to play the PCL champion in the
Bricktown Showdown, a single Triple-A Championship game. Previous class championship series included the
Junior World Series and the
Triple-A World Series.
Current teams
| Division |
Team |
MLB Affiliation |
City |
Stadium |
Capacity |
| North | Buffalo Bisons |
Cleveland Indians |
Buffalo, New York |
Dunn Tire Park |
19,500
|
| Lehigh Valley IronPigs |
Philadelphia Phillies |
Allentown, Pennsylvania |
Coca-Cola Park |
10,000 |
| Pawtucket Red Sox |
Boston Red Sox |
Pawtucket, Rhode Island |
McCoy Stadium |
10,031 |
| Rochester Red Wings |
Minnesota Twins |
Rochester, New York |
Frontier Field |
10,868 |
| Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees |
New York Yankees |
Moosic, Pennsylvania |
PNC Field |
10,982 |
| Syracuse Chiefs |
Toronto Blue Jays |
Syracuse, New York |
Alliance Bank Stadium |
11,117 |
| South | Charlotte Knights |
Chicago White Sox |
Fort Mill, South Carolina |
Knights Stadium |
10,002
|
| Durham Bulls |
Tampa Bay Rays |
Durham, North Carolina |
Durham Bulls Athletic Park |
10,000 |
| Norfolk Tides |
Baltimore Orioles |
Norfolk, Virginia |
Harbor Park |
12,067 |
| Richmond Braves1 |
Atlanta Braves |
Richmond, Virginia1 |
The Diamond2 |
12,134 |
| West | Columbus Clippers |
Washington Nationals |
Columbus, Ohio |
Cooper Stadium3 |
15,000
|
| Indianapolis Indians |
Pittsburgh Pirates |
Indianapolis, Indiana |
Victory Field |
15,500 |
| Louisville Bats |
Cincinnati Reds |
Louisville, Kentucky |
Louisville Slugger Field4 |
13,131 |
| Toledo Mud Hens |
Detroit Tigers |
Toledo, Ohio |
Fifth Third Field |
10,300 |
» 1 The Braves will be relocated to
Gwinnett County,
Georgia, in 2009.
2 To be replaced in 2009 by a new stadium currently named "
Gwinnett County Ballpark"
» 3 To be replaced in 2009 by a new stadium named "
Huntington Park"
4 Hosting 2008
Triple-A All-Star Game
Current team rosters
Final 2007 season standings
North Division
South Division
y-Wild Card team
West Division
Playoffs
2007
Affiliate changes
Franchises often shift their Major League affiliations:
Washington Nationals
2006: New Orleans Zephyrs (Pacific Coast League)
2007: Columbus Clippers
New York Yankees
2006: Columbus Clippers
2007: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees
Philadelphia Phillies
2006: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons
2007: Ottawa Lynx
2008: Lehigh Valley IronPigs (relocation from Ottawa)
Baltimore Orioles
2006: Ottawa Lynx
2007: Norfolk Tides
New York Mets
2006: Norfolk Tides
2007: New Orleans Zephyrs (PCL)Further Information
Get more info on 'International League'.
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