| Sport: | Baseball |
| Classification: | Class A Short Season |
| Country: | United States |
| Champion: | Brooklyn Cyclones (2019) |
| Most Champs: | Oneonta Yankees (12) |
The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed their amateur draft picks to professional contracts, and ended in early September.
In 2019, its last season of operation, the NYPL had 14 teams from eight different states. In addition to New York and Pennsylvania, from which the league drew its name, the NYPL also had clubs in Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Vermont, West Virginia, and Connecticut.
The Brooklyn Cyclones were the last NYPL champions, defeating the Lowell Spinners, two games to one, in 2019. The Oneonta Yankees/Tigers won 12 championships, the most among all teams in the league, followed by the Auburn Mets/Twins/Phillies/Doubledays (8) and Jamestown Falcons/Expos (7).
The New York–Penn League was founded in 1939 as the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League, generally shortened to PONY League, in a hotel in Batavia, New York. The original teams included the Batavia Clippers, Bradford Bees, Hamilton Red Wings, Jamestown Jaguars, Niagara Falls Rainbows, and Olean Oilers; all were based in or near Western New York. The Oilers, a Brooklyn Dodgers affiliate, won both the regular season and playoff championships. Batavia was the last remaining charter city in the league when it ceased operations after the 2020 season.
The Hamilton Red Wings folded early in the 1956 season, and with no more teams in Ontario, the circuit became the New York–Penn League in 1957. The league crossed back into Canada with the formation of the St. Catharines Blue Jays in 1986. They were joined by the Hamilton Redbirds in 1987 and the Welland Pirates in 1989, but all three clubs had moved back to the United States by 2000.
The New York–Penn circuit was originally a Class D league (the minors' lowest classification through 1962). It was a full-season Class A league from 1963 through 1966, and became a short-season Class A league in 1967.
The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being cancelled on June 30.[1] [2]
Good Enough to Dream is a memoir by renowned baseball writer Roger Kahn, published in 1985. The book chronicles Kahn's experience as the owner of the Utica Blue Sox during the 1983 season. Good Enough to Dream was the recipient of the Casey Award in 1985.
Clubbie is a 2021 memoir by Greg Larson that recounts his experiences as a clubhouse attendant (or "clubbie") for the Aberdeen IronBirds during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. The book's depiction of players' financial struggles[3] is widely credited with inspiring changes to long-standing minor league compensation structures.[4] [5]
On December 9, 2020, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced its list of 120 teams invited to be a part of the minors after restructuring for the 2021 season. As first reported in 2019,[6] the NYPL ceased operations. The Aberdeen IronBirds, Brooklyn Cyclones, and Hudson Valley Renegades joined the new High-A East, becoming the new High-A affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, and New York Yankees respectively. The Mahoning Valley Scrappers, State College Spikes, West Virginia Black Bears, and Williamsport Crosscutters moved to the new MLB Draft League for players wishing to showcase themselves to MLB teams in advance of the annual draft. The Tri-City ValleyCats moved to the independent Frontier League,[7] while the Batavia Muckdogs and Auburn Doubledays joined the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.[8] [9] On February 25, 2021, the Vermont Lake Monsters announced that they would join the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) under new ownership,[10] and the Norwich Sea Unicorns joined the FCBL in late April.[11] The Staten Island Yankees folded,[12] while the Lowell Spinners were left without future plans[13] and eventually folded.
See main article: List of New York–Penn League champions.
League champions were determined by different means during the New York–Penn League's 82-year run from 1939 to 2020. For a few seasons in the 1960s and 1970s, no playoffs were held and the league champions were simply the regular season pennant winners. Most seasons, however, ended with playoffs to determine a league champion.[17]
The Oneonta Tigers won 12 championships, the most among all teams in the league, followed by the Auburn Mets/Twins/Phillies/Doubledays (8) and Jamestown Falcons/Expos (7).[17]
Connecticut
2010–2020 (16 seasons)
Maryland
2002–2020 (19 seasons)
Massachusetts
1996–2020 (25 seasons)
1989–2001 (13 seasons)
New Jersey
1994–2005 (12 seasons)
New York
1958–1980, 1982–2020 (62 seasons)
1939–1953, 1957–1959, 1961–2020 (78 seasons)
1964–1966 (3 seasons)
2001–2020 (20 seasons)
1951–1960, 1968–1969 (12 seasons)
1957–1961, 1973–1995 (28 seasons)
1994–2020 (26 seasons)
1958–1973, 1977–1993 (33 seasons)
1993 (1 season)
1939–1957, 1962–1973, 1977–2014 (67 seasons)
1942–1957 (16 seasons)
1977–1988 (12 seasons)
1942–1950 (9 seasons)
1968–1979, 1983–1987 (17 seasons)
1939–1940, 1970–1979, 1982–1985, 1989–1993 (21 seasons)
1939–1959, 1961–1966 (27 seasons)
1966–2009 (44 seasons)
2000 (1 season)
1999–2020 (22 seasons)
2002–2020 (18 seasons)
1977–2001 (25 seasons)
1983–1998 (16 seasons)
1942–1961, 1963–1965 (23 seasons)
Ohio
1999–2020 (22 seasons)
Pennsylvania
1939–1942, 1944–1957 (18 seasons)
1954–1963, 1967, 1981–1993, 1995–1998 (28 seasons)
2006–2020 (15 seasons)
1968–1972, 1994–2020 (32 seasons)
1923–1933, 1936 (moved to Trenton July 2) (12 seasons)
Vermont
1994–2020 (27 seasons)
West Virginia
2015–2020 (6 seasons)
Ontario
1939–1942, 1946–1956, 1988–1992 (20 seasons)
1940–1942 (2 seasons)
1986–1999 (14 seasons)
1989–1994 (5 seasons)
See main article: New York–Penn League Hall of Fame. The New York–Penn League Hall of Fame was established in 2012 to honor league players, managers, and executives for their accomplishments or contributions to the league in playing or administrative roles. The Hall of Fame inducted its first class of seven men in 2012. New members were elected before the start of each season.[18]