Southern League (1964–present) explained

Southern League
Sport:Baseball
Teams:8
Country:United States
Champion:Tennessee Smokies (2023)
Most Champs:Birmingham Barons (7)
Classification:Double-A
Website:milb.com

The Southern League is a Minor League Baseball league that has operated in the Southern United States since 1964. Along with the Eastern League and Texas League, it is one of three circuits playing at the Double-A level, which is two grades below Major League Baseball (MLB).

The league traces its roots to the original Southern League (1885–1899), the Southern Association (1901–1961), and the original South Atlantic League (1904–1963). The later circuit was renamed the Southern League in 1964, and the league elected to maintain records from that season onward. Following MLB's reorganization of the minor leagues in 2021, it operated as the Double-A South for one season before switching back to its previous moniker in 2022. In its inaugural 1964 season, the Southern League consisted of eight teams from Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Following contractions, expansions, and relocations, the league consists of eight teams in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

A league champion is determined at the end of each season. The Birmingham Barons have won 7 Southern League titles, the most among all teams in the league, followed by the Jacksonville Suns (6) and the Montgomery Rebels (5).

History

Predecessor leagues (1885–1963)

The original Southern League was formed prior to the 1885 season as an eight-team circuit playing in the Southern United States. It operated at various times as a Class B league.[1] [2] Fraught with financial problems, teams regularly dropped out before the season's end. After being nonoperational in 1891, 1892, and 1897, it disbanded permanently after halting play during the 1899 season.[3]

The Southern Association was formed in 1901 as a Class B circuit operating in nearly the same footprint as the first Southern League. It was elevated to Class A in 1902, Class A1 in 1936, and Double-A in 1946.[2] The Southern Association remained a premier Southern baseball league until Major League Baseball radio and television broadcasts began to undercut attendance in the 1950s. The league disbanded after 1961.[3]

The original South Atlantic League, nicknamed the "SALLY League" and not related to the current South Atlantic League (formerly the Western Carolinas League), was formed in 1904. It operated at Class C until it was elevated to Class B in 1921 and Class A in 1946.[4] A year after the Southern Association's disbandment, the SALLY League took its place at the Double-A level in 1963.[4]

The modern league (1964–present)

The Double-A SALLY League was reorganized as the Southern League in 1964. It elected to start with a clean slate and not maintain records prior to the 1964 season. The newly minted league wanted to distance itself from the SALLY League's past history in the low minors (Class C was roughly equivalent to an Advanced Rookie league today, while Class B was roughly equivalent to short-season Class A). Additionally, many leagues had contributed to its legacy.[3] In its inaugural campaign, the six-team Southern League consisted of the Asheville Tourists, Birmingham Barons, Charlotte Hornets, Chattanooga Lookouts, Columbus Confederate Yankees, Knoxville Smokies, Lynchburg White Sox, and Macon Peaches.[1] Sam C. Smith, previously president of the SALLY League, served as its president.[3]

From 1967 to 1969, the league was reduced to six teams.[1] It went back to eight clubs in 1970, but dropped to seven in 1971.[1] [5] With an odd number of teams, the Southern League joined forces with the Double-A Texas League as the Dixie Association in 1971. The two leagues played an interlocking schedule with individual league champions determined at the end of the season. Up to this point, the Southern League champions had been simply the regular season pennant winners. For the first time, the top two Southern League teams met in a best-of-three series to determine champions. The Charlotte Hornets defeated the Asheville Tourists, 2–1, and then defeated the Texas League champion Arkansas Travelers, 3–0, to win the Dixie Association championship.[6] The partnership was dissolved after the season.[6]

President Smith died suddenly in April 1971, and Billy Hitchcock became the new president that August.[3] Hitchcock introduced a number of changes that are still in use today. In 1972, the Southern League was split into two divisions, Eastern and Western. The playoffs, which began in the Dixie Association, were continued and expanded to a best-of-five series. The league also began selecting postseason All-Star teams and issuing awards for the Most Valuable Player, Most Outstanding Pitcher, and Manager of the Year.[7] [8] In 1976, it introduced a split-season format with the schedule divided in half and first and second half champions from each division being crowned. This expanded the playoffs to two rounds with the winners of each half competing for each division's championship and those winners meeting for the league championship. With the addition of two teams in 1978, the Southern League grew to 10 teams.[1] Other improvements under Hitchcock's presidency included stadium refurbishments and efforts to make the league more family-friendly. Attendance figures rose dramatically during his tenure.[3]

Jim Bragan became president in 1981 after Hitchcock's retirement.[3] Over his 14 years leading the Southern League, attendance continued to grow as several cities built new ballparks.[3] In 1994, Arnie Fielkow succeeded Bragan as president, and Don Mincher took over in 2000.[3] Lori Webb became president in 2012 after Mincher's death that March.[3] [9]

COVID-19 impact and takeover by Major League Baseball (2020–present)

The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before ultimately being cancelled on June 30.[10] [11] As part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, the Southern League was reduced to eight teams and temporarily renamed the "Double-A South" for the 2021 season.[12] Following MLB's acquisition of the rights to the historical names of the minor leagues, the Double-A South was renamed the Southern League effective with the 2022 season.[13]

Current teams

DivisionTeamMLB AffiliationCityStadiumdata-sort-type="number"Capacity
NorthBirmingham BaronsChicago White SoxBirmingham, AlabamaRegions Field8,500[14]
Chattanooga LookoutsCincinnati RedsChattanooga, TennesseeAT&T Field6,362[15]
Rocket City Trash PandasLos Angeles AngelsMadison, AlabamaToyota Field7,000[16]
Tennessee SmokiesChicago CubsKodak, TennesseeSmokies Stadium6,412[17]
SouthBiloxi ShuckersMilwaukee BrewersBiloxi, MississippiKeesler Federal Park6,076[18]
Mississippi BravesAtlanta BravesPearl, MississippiTrustmark Park8,480[19]
Montgomery BiscuitsTampa Bay RaysMontgomery, AlabamaMontgomery Riverwalk Stadium7,000[20]
Pensacola Blue WahoosMiami MarlinsPensacola, FloridaCommunity Maritime Park5,038[21]

Structure and season

The Southern League is currently divided into two divisions, North and South, of four teams each.[22] Previously, from 1972 to 2004, the league was split into Eastern and Western divisions. There were no divisions in place from 1964 to 1970. As of 2020, each club had 140 games scheduled per season. Utilizing a split-season schedule, each half consisted of 70 games. The season typically began during the first or second week of April and concluded in the first week of September on Labor Day.[23]

All-Star Game

See main article: Southern League All-Star Game.

The Southern League All-Star Game was an annual midsummer game between two teams of the league's players, one made up of All-Stars from North Division teams and the other from South Division teams. First held in 1964,[24] the event predominantly consisted of a single team of the league's All-Stars versus a Major League Baseball team through 1998. The division versus division format was used continuously from 1999 to 2019. No game was held from 1991 to 1995 as the Southern League and the other two Double-A leagues, the Eastern League and Texas League, participated in the Double-A All-Star Game instead.

Teams timeline

DateFormat = yyyyImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20Period = from:1964 till:2025TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalPlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<#Colors = id:barcolor id:line value:pink id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a current league member id:Past value:rgb(0.4,0.80,0.67) # Use to indicate a stint in the Dixie Association (1971) id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another current league id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to a now defunct league

PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:Full from:1964 till:1967 text:Asheville Tourists (1964–66; 1968–75) bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1967 till:1968 bar:1 color:Full from:1968 till:1971 bar:1 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:1 color:Full from:1972 till:1976 bar:1 color:OtherC2 from:1976 till:1980 text:WCL bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:1980 till:2020 text:SAL bar:1 color:OtherC1 from:2021 till:end text:SAL

bar:2 color:Full from:1964 till:1966 text:Birmingham Barons (1964–65; 1967–75; 1981–present) bar:2 color:Full from:1967 till:1971 bar:2 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:2 color:Full from:1972 till:1976 bar:2 color:Full from:1981 till:2020 bar:2 color:Full from:2021 till:end

bar:3 color:Full from:1964 till:1971 text:Charlotte Hornets (1964–72) bar:3 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:3 color:Full from:1972 till:1973

bar:4 color:Full from:1964 till:1966 text:Chattanooga Lookouts (1964–65; 1976–present) bar:4 color:Full from:1976 till:2020 bar:4 color:Full from:2021 till:end

bar:5 color:Full from:1964 till:1967 text:Columbus Confederate Yankees (1964–66)

bar:6 color:Full from:1964 till:1968 text:Knoxville Smokies (1964–67) bar:6 color:Full from:1972 till:2020 text:Knoxville/Tennessee Smokies (1972–present) bar:6 color:Full from:2021 till:end

bar:7 color:Full from:1964 till:1965 text:Macon Peaches (1964; 1966–67) bar:7 color:Full from:1966 till:1968 bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1980 till:1988 text:SAL bar:7 color:OtherC1 from:1991 till:2003 text:SAL

bar:8 color:Full from:1964 till:1971 text:Lynchburg/Evansville White Sox; Columbus White Sox/Astros/Mudcats (1964–90) bar:8 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:8 color:Full from:1972 till:1991 bar:8 color:Full from:1991 till:2012 text:Carolina Mudcats (1991–2011) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2012 till:2020 text: Caro bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:2021 till:end text: Caro

bar:9 color:Full from:1965 till:1971 text:Montgomery Rebels (1965–80) bar:9 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:9 color:Full from:1972 till:1981

bar:10 color:Full from:1966 till:1967 text:Mobile A's (1966)

bar:11 color:Full from:1968 till:1971 text:Savannah Senators/Indians/Braves (1968–83) bar:11 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:11 color:Full from:1972 till:1984 bar:11 color:Full from:1984 till:2005 text:Greenville Braves (1984–2004) bar:11 color:Full from:2005 till:2020 text:Mississippi Braves (2005–24) bar:11 color:Full from:2021 till:2024 bar:11 color:Full from:2024 till:end text:Columbus (Ga.) (2025–)

bar:12 color:Full from:1970 till:1971 text:Jacksonville Suns/Expos/Jumbo Shrimp (1970–2019) bar:12 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:12 color:Full from:1972 till:2020 bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:2021 till:end text: IL bar:13 color:Full from:1970 till:1971 text:Mobile White Sox (1970)

bar:15 color:Full from:1973 till:2004 text:Orlando Twins/SunRays/Cubs/Rays (1973–2003) bar:15 color:Full from:2004 till:2020 text:Montgomery Biscuits (2004–present) bar:15 color:Full from:2021 till:end

bar:16 color:Full from:1976 till:1993 text:Charlotte O's/Knights (1976–92) bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:1993 till:2020 text:IL bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2021 till:end text:IL

bar:17 color:Full from:1978 till:1998 text:Memphis Chicks (1978–97) bar:17 color:Full from:1998 till:2020 text:West Tenn Diamond Jaxx; Jackson Generals (1998–2019)

bar:18 color:Full from:1978 till:1985 text:Nashville Sounds (1978–84) bar:18 color:OtherC2 from:1985 till:1998 text: AA bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:1998 till:2020 text:PCL bar:18 color:OtherC1 from:2021 till:end text:IL

bar:19 color:Full from:1985 till:2015 text:Huntsville Stars (1985–2014) bar:19 color:Full from:2015 till:2020 text:Biloxi Shuckers (2015–present) bar:19 color:Full from:2021 till:end

bar:20 color:Full from:1993 till:2020 text:Nashville Xpress; Port City Roosters; Mobile BayBears (1993–2019) bar:20 color:Full from:2021 till:end text:Rocket City Trash Pandas (2021–present)

bar:21 color:Full from:2012 till:2020 text:Pensacola Blue Wahoos (2012–present) bar:21 color:Full from:2021 till:end

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:2 start:1964TextData =

fontsize:L

textcolor:black

pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center)

text:^"Southern League Timeline"

  1. > If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

All-time teams

See main article: List of Southern League teams. A "^" indicates that team's article redirects to an article of an active team formerly of the Southern League

Champions

See main article: List of Southern League champions.

League champions have been determined by different means since the Southern League's formation in 1964.[25] Through 1970, champions were the regular-season pennant winners—the team with the best win–loss record at the conclusion of the regular season. The 1971 title was decided in a postseason series between the two teams with the best records. From 1972 to 1975, the winners of each of two divisions competed in a series to determine champions. The league operated using a split season format from 1976 to 2020. Under this format, the winners of each half within each division played for the division championship, and the division winners met to play for the SL title. The 2021 winner was crowned via a series between the two teams with the best full-season records.[26] The 2022 championship will be decided through the same split-season divisional format used for most of the league's existence.[27]

The Birmingham Barons have won 7 Southern League championships, the most among all teams in the league, followed by the Jacksonville Suns (6) and the Montgomery Rebels (5).[25]

Awards

The SL recognizes outstanding players and team personnel annually near the end of each season.

MVP Award

See main article: article and Southern League Most Valuable Player Award. The Most Valuable Player Award is given to honor the best player in the league.

Pitcher of the Year Award

See main article: article and Southern League Pitcher of the Year Award. The Pitcher of the Year Award, originally known as the Most Outstanding Pitcher Award, serves to recognize the league's best pitcher.

Manager of the Year Award

See main article: article and Southern League Manager of the Year Award. The Manager of the Year Award is given to the league's top manager.

Top MLB Prospect Award

The Top MLB Prospect Award, created in 2021, is given to the league's top rookie prospect.

Season!scope="col"
WinnerTeamOrganizationPosition
2021Mississippi BravesAtlanta BravesCatcher[28] [29]
2022Montgomery BiscuitsTampa Bay RaysPitcher[30] [31]
2023Montgomery BiscuitsTampa Bay RaysThird baseman[32] [33]

Presidents

Six presidents led the Southern League since its formation:[34]

See also

References

Specific
General

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Southern League (AA) Encyclopedia and History. Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. May 17, 2020.
  2. Web site: Southern Association (AA) Encyclopedia and History. Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. May 17, 2020.
  3. Web site: Southern League History. Southern League. Minor League Baseball. May 17, 2020.
  4. Web site: South Atlantic League (A) Encyclopedia and History. Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. May 17, 2020.
  5. Web site: 1971 Dixie Association. Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. May 18, 2020.
  6. Web site: 1971 Southern League (Dixie Association) Standings . Stats Crew . May 4, 2020.
  7. Web site: Southern League Award Winners. Southern League. Minor League Baseball. May 18, 2020.
  8. Web site: Southern League Postseason All-Star Teams. Southern League. Minor League Baseball. May 18, 2020.
  9. Web site: Southern League Names First Woman President. The Chattanoogan. July 20, 2012. May 18, 2020.
  10. News: A Message From Pat O'Conner. Minor League Baseball. March 13, 2020. May 5, 2020.
  11. News: 2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved. Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020. July 1, 2020.
  12. Web site: Mayo. Jonathan. MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues. Major League Baseball. February 12, 2021. February 12, 2021.
  13. Web site: Historical League Names to Return in 2022. Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. March 16, 2022.
  14. Web site: Regions Field Birmingham Barons. Minor League Baseball. January 27, 2012. May 4, 2015.
  15. Web site: AT&T Field. Graham. Knight. Baseball Pilgrimages. July 27, 2010. May 4, 2015.
  16. Web site: Gattis. Paul. Countdown is on: 1 year from today until first Trash Pandas game in Madison. AL.com. April 15, 2019. September 5, 2019.
  17. Web site: Smokies Park / Tennessee Smokies. Reichard. Kevin. May 1, 2015. Ballpark Digest. May 4, 2015.
  18. Web site: A Walking Tour of MGM Park. Chris. Harris. Minor League Baseball. February 12, 2015. May 4, 2015.
  19. Web site: Mississippi Braves Stadium Information. Minor League Baseball. November 13, 2008. May 4, 2015.
  20. Web site: Riverwalk Stadium Information. Minor League Baseball. February 25, 2013. May 4, 2015.
  21. News: Pensacola's Class AA Baseball Fever Still Going Strong. Dennis. Pillon. Press-Register. Mobile. April 20, 2012. May 4, 2015.
  22. Web site: Standings. Southern League. Minor League Baseball. May 17, 2020.
  23. Web site: Southern League 2020 Schedule. Southern League. Minor League Baseball. August 1, 2019. May 17, 2020.
  24. News: SL Sets First All-Star Tilt. Newspapers.com. The Montgomery Advertiser. Montgomery. July 13, 1964. 10.
  25. Web site: Southern League Past Champions. Southern League. Minor League Baseball. June 7, 2022. dead. January 2, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210102151939/https://www.milb.com/southern/history/past-champions.
  26. News: Kelsie . Heneghan . Playoffs Return to the Minor Leagues . Minor League Baseball . July 1, 2021 . July 2, 2021.
  27. Web site: MiLB Playoff Procedures. Minor League Baseball. June 8, 2022.
  28. Web site: Postseason All-Stars . Minor League Baseball . October 8, 2021 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211008130129/https://www.milb.com/fans/postseason-all-stars . October 8, 2021.
  29. Web site: Shea Langeliers Amateur, College & Minor Leagues Statistics & History . Baseball-Reference . Sports Reference . October 8, 2021.
  30. Web site: Terranova. Rob. Double-A Award Winners and All-Stars. Minor League Baseball. November 8, 2022. November 8, 2022.
  31. Web site: Taj Bradley Minor Leagues Statistics . Baseball-Reference . Sports Reference . November 8, 2022.
  32. Web site: Trezza. Joe. The 2023 Double-A All-Stars and Award Winners. Minor League Baseball. September 26, 2023. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20230926201452/https://www.milb.com/news/double-a-all-stars-and-award-winners-for-2023. September 26, 2023.
  33. Web site: Junior Caminero Minor Leagues Statistics. Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. September 26, 2023.
  34. Web site: Southern League President Lori Webb . Southern League . Minor League Baseball . February 7, 2020.

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