Northern League (collegiate summer baseball) explained

Northern League
Formerly:Midwest Collegiate League
Sport:Baseball
Founded:2010
President:Don Popravak[1] [2]
Teams:6
Countries:-->
Continent:or
Continents:-->
Champion:Northwest Indiana Oilmen[3]
Champ Season:2023
Most Champs:Northwest Indiana Oilmen (4)

The Northern League is a collegiate summer baseball league consisting of teams in Indiana. It was named the Midwest Collegiate League (MCL) from 2010 to 2021.

History

Formed in 2010, as a four-team summer collegiate wood bat league, MCL played their first season in the summer of 2011. The original four members were the Chicago Zephyrs, Rockford Foresters, Southland Vikings and Will County CrackerJacks.[4] Teams play a 45 game schedule with league playoffs. The league all-star game is played sometime around mid-season.

The league expanded to eight teams for their second season in 2012, with the addition of the DeKalb County Liners, DuPage County Hounds, Illinois Lincolns and Northwest Indiana Oilmen. Two of the teams (Illinois and Will County) failed to complete the season schedule.

Six teams made up the 2013 season as the league welcomed the Lexington Snipes, replacing DeKalb County.

MCL stayed steady with six teams with the addition of the Joliet Admirals (2014) and Michigan City Lakers (2015) replacing two teams (Rockford in 2014; Chicago in 2015) who ceased operations.

Before the 2016 season, the Lexington Snipes announced that they would sit out the season. The league continued with six teams with the addition of the Bloomington Bobcats.[5] [6]

The Crestwood Panthers, the newest team in the Midwest Collegiate League, replaced the Michigan City Lakers before the 2017 season.

Before the 2018 season, the Joliet Admirals became the Joliet Generals.

During the 2020 season, the MCL Minutemen made their debut[7] and stayed in the league for two seasons.[8] After the 2021 season, the Midwest Collegiate League rebranded itself to the Northern League. The Northern League was a name used by several baseball leagues between 1902 and 2010 as is described on the pages listed at Northern League.

For the 2023 season, the Joliet Generals relocated from Illinois to Griffith, Indiana as the Griffith Generals;[9] [10] the Crestwood Panthers moved to Highland, Indiana as the Indiana Panthers; and the Chicago American Giants were replaced by the Elkhart County Miracle in Nappanee, Indiana. With these changes, all of the league's teams are located in Indiana.

Teams

Current teams

TeamCityHome BallparkYear Joined
Elkhart County MiracleElkhart, Ind.Elkhart High School2023
Griffith GeneralsGriffith, Ind.Griffith High School2014
Indiana PanthersHighland, Ind.Highland High School2017
Lake County Corn DogsCrown Point, Ind.Legacy Fields2022
Northwest Indiana OilmenWhiting, Ind.Oil City Stadium2012
Southland VikingsHammond, Ind.Dowling Park2011

Former teams

Champions

Championship series are a best-of three.

SeasonWinnerRunner-upResult
2011Will County CrackerJacksRockford Foresters2-1
2012Northwest Indiana OilmenDeKalb County Liners2-0
2013Southland Vikings[11] Northwest Indiana Oilmen2-0
2014Southland Vikings[12] DuPage County Hounds2-0
2015DuPage County Hounds[13] Lexington Snipes2-1
2016Northwest Indiana OilmenDuPage County Hounds2-1
2017Southland VikingsBloomington Bobcats2-1
2018Northwest Indiana OilmenDuPage County Hounds2-1
2019Bloomington BobcatsNorthwest Indiana Oilmen2-0
2020DuPage County HoundsNorthwest Indiana Oilmen2-1
2021Joliet GeneralsNorthwest Indiana Oilmen2-1
2022Lake County Corn DogsNorthwest Indiana Oilmen2-0

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Quinn . Michelle L. . Crown Point debuts leadership for new Northern League baseball team; Lake County Corn Dogs still looking for players . February 7, 2023 . . January 21, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220121195332/https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/ct-ptb-crown-point-baseball-st-0122-20220121-4zhgefe2vfhqdlurupclfko25e-story.html . January 21, 2022.
  2. Web site: Don Popravak . The Northern League Baseball . February 7, 2023.
  3. Web site: Walk-Off Home Run Gives Oilmen the League Title . The Northern League Baseball . September 9, 2023 . August 12, 2023.
  4. New Midwest Summer Collegiate Wood Bat League Announced . The Northern League Baseball . Midwest Collegiate League . January 20, 2023 . February 7, 2011.
  5. News: New for 2016: Bloomington Bobcats . Reichard . Kevin . January 26, 2016 . Ballpark Digest . August Publications.
  6. News: Bloomington Bobcats set to return . Reinhardt . Randy . January 27, 2016 . . . subscription . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160306072724/https://pantagraph.com/sports/baseball/bloomington-bobcats-set-to-return/article_0df11bcf-9d25-5c53-9461-37c4488a631b.html . March 6, 2016.
  7. Web site: Meet the Minutemen: MCL Announces Team Name, Manager for Additional Club . The Northern League Baseball . September 19, 2022 . June 2, 2020.
  8. Web site: Krieger . Dan . Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report . OurSports Central . September 19, 2022 . en . July 18, 2022 . ...the MCL Minutemen, which was a league-operated team for the past two seasons..
  9. Northern League Announces Generals Relocation to Griffith . The Northern League Baseball . January 20, 2023 . January 9, 2023.
  10. News: Krieger . Dan . Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report . June 11, 2023 . OurSports Central . June 5, 2023 . en.
  11. News: Southland rides Chigas to MCL title . Oren . Paul . August 4, 2013 . . live . subscription . https://web.archive.org/web/20130808074859/https://www.nwitimes.com/sports/baseball/professional/minor/midwest-collegiate-league/southland-rides-chigas-to-mcl-title/article_9d5ba99b-ee48-5326-b026-f083cfda9197.html . August 8, 2013.
  12. News: Local products carry standard on field for Northwest Indiana Oilmen . Melton . Dave . May 30, 2015 . Chicago Tribune.
  13. News: Matt Wollnik hones his batting eye playing with DuPage County Hounds . Walker . Chris R. . August 9, 2015 . Chicago Tribune.