View source for Appalachian League

{{Short description|US collegiate summer baseball league}}
{{Infobox sports league
| title           = 
| logo            = AppalachianLeagueLogo.PNG
| pixels          = 119px
| caption         = 
| sport           = [[Baseball]]
| founded         = 1911
| president       = Dan Moushon<ref>[http://www.milb.com/documents/6/9/4/307607694/2019_Appalachian_League_Media_Guide.pdf 2019 Appalachian League Media Guide]</ref>
| teams           = 10
| country         = United States
| champion        = [[Bluefield Ridge Runners]] (2025)
| most_champs     = [[Bluefield Blue Jays]] (14)
| classification  = {{ubl
 |[[Collegiate summer baseball|Collegiate summer]] (2021–present)
 |[[Rookie League|Rookie]] (1963–2020)
 |[[Class D (baseball)|Class D]] (1911–1914, 1921–1925, 1937–1955, 1957–1962)
 }}
| website         = [https://www.appyleague.com/ appyleague.com]
| streaming = AWRE Sports<ref>{{Cite press release|url=https://www.mlbdraftleague.com/news/awre-sports-announces-multi-year-agreement-with-mlb-draft-league-and-appalachian-league-as-official-camera-and-streaming-provider|title=AWRE Sports announces multi-year agreement with MLB Draft League and Appalachian League as official camera and streaming provider|publisher=MLB Draft League|date=April 22, 2025}}</ref>
}}

The '''Appalachian League''' is a [[Collegiate summer baseball|collegiate summer baseball league]] that operates in the [[Appalachia]]n regions of [[Tennessee]], [[Virginia]], [[West Virginia]], and [[North Carolina]]. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden [[baseball bat|bats]], its season runs from June through August. The league is part of [[Major League Baseball]] and [[USA Baseball]]'s Prospect Development Pipeline. 

Between 1911 and 2020, the Appalachian League operated as part of [[Minor League Baseball]] and various of its teams were low-level affiliates of [[Major League Baseball]] franchises. It operated as a [[Class D (baseball)|Class D]] league during four stints through 1962, then was classified as a [[Rookie League|Rookie Advanced league]] from 1963 to 2020.

==History==
The original Appalachian League existed for four seasons from 1911 to 1914 and was classified as a [[Class D (baseball)|Class D]] circuit.<ref name=SCAppy1>{{cite web|title=Appalachian League (1911 to 1955)|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/l-APPY1|website=Stats Crew|access-date=September 26, 2020}}</ref>  All teams were independent with no [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) affiliation in the era. The charter Appalachian League teams were the [[Asheville Moonshiners]], Bristol Boosters, [[Cleveland Counts]], [[Johnson City Soldiers]], [[Knoxville Appalachians]], and [[Morristown Jobbers]], playing in the inaugural season.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|title=Minor League Baseball: the Appalachian League (Advanced-Rookie Classification)|url=http://billsportsmaps.com/?p=21368%3E.|website=Billssportsmaps.com|access-date=30 July 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20140731233909/http://billsportsmaps.com/?p=21368%3E.|archive-date=31 July 2014}}</ref> After a six-year absence, the league reorganized for five seasons from 1921 to 1925, and, as before, it consisted entirely of independent teams at the Class D level.<ref name=SCAppy1/> Following an 11-year period of inactivity, the third iteration of the Class D Appalachian League played from 1937 to 1955.<ref name=SCAppy1/> The league went dormant in 1956, but was revived in 1957.<ref name=SCAppy>{{cite web|title=Appalachian League (1957 to 2019)|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/l-APPY|website=Stats Crew|access-date=September 26, 2020}}</ref>

Along with a reorganization of Minor League Baseball in 1963, the Appalachian League reformed and was classified as a [[Rookie League|Rookie]]-level league.<ref name=SCAppy/> In its final years as an MLB-affiliated league, the Appalachian League was one of two "Rookie Advanced" minor leagues along with the [[Pioneer League (baseball)|Pioneer League]]. As such, it occupied the second-lowest rung in the minor league ladder. 
Although classified as a Rookie league, the level of play was slightly higher than that of the two "complex" Rookie leagues, the [[Gulf Coast League]] and [[Arizona League]]. Unlike the complex leagues, Appalachian League teams charged admission and sold concessions. It was almost exclusively the first fully professional league in which many players competed; most of the players had just been signed out of high school and were further along in their development than players in the "complex" leagues. It was a short-season league that competed from late June (when major league teams signed players whom they selected in the amateur draft) to early September.

It continued to operate as a Rookie Advanced league through 2020, with the start of the 2020 season postponed due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] before ultimately being cancelled.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Message From Pat O'Conner|url=https://www.milb.com/milb/news/message-from-minor-league-baseball-president-ceo-pat-o-conner-313052288|website=Minor League Baseball|date=March 13, 2020|access-date=May 5, 2020}}</ref><ref name=2020can>{{cite web |title=2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved|url=https://www.milb.com/news/2020-minor-league-baseball-season-shelved|website=Minor League Baseball|date=June 30, 2020|access-date=July 1, 2020}}</ref> Thus, 2019 was the Appalachian League's last season of operation within Minor League Baseball, with the [[Johnson City Cardinals]] winning the league championship. Entering the [[2021 Major League Baseball season]], MLB stated that 29 of its 30 teams had players who had played in the Appalachian League when it was part of Minor League Baseball, with a total of 139 such players on [[Opening Day]] rosters.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/one-hundred-and-thirty-nine-appalachian-league-alumni-on-mlb-opening-day-rosters |title=One hundred and thirty-nine Appalachian League alumni on MLB Opening Day rosters |publisher=USA Baseball |website=MLB.com |date=April 19, 2021 |accessdate=May 29, 2021}}</ref>{{efn|With 26 active players on each MLB roster, the Appalachian League alumni represented 17.8% (139 of 780) of active players in MLB.}}

In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Appalachian League was converted to an amateur [[Collegiate summer baseball|collegiate summer baseball league]] designed for rising freshmen and sophomores.<ref name=BA2020>{{cite web|last=Cooper|first=J.J.|title=Appalachian League To Operate As Summer Wood-Bat League|url=https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/appalachian-league-to-operate-as-summer-wood-bat-league/|website=Baseball America|date=September 25, 2020|access-date=September 25, 2020}}</ref> The reconfigured league become a part of Major League Baseball's Prospect Development Pipeline, a collaboration between MLB and [[USA Baseball]]. It is scheduled to play a 48-game regular season and continue to host an annual All-Star Game. Each of the league's 10&nbsp;cities will continue to host teams in the new configuration of the Appalachian League.<ref>{{cite web|title=MLB, USA Baseball Announce New Format for Appalachian League|url=https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-mlb-usa-baseball-announce-new-format-for-appalachian-league|website=Major League Baseball|date=September 29, 2020|access-date=September 29, 2020}}</ref>

==Current teams==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Division
!Team
!City
!Stadium
!Capacity
|-
! rowspan="5" | East
|'''[[Bluefield Ridge Runners]]'''
|[[Bluefield, Virginia]]
|[[Bowen Field at Peters Park]]
|align="right" |3,000
|-
|'''[[Burlington Sock Puppets]]'''
|[[Burlington, North Carolina]]
|[[Burlington Athletic Stadium]]
|align="right" |3,500
|-
|'''[[Danville Otterbots]]'''
|[[Danville, Virginia]]
|[[American Legion Field (Danville)|American Legion Post 325 Field]]
|align="right" |2,588
|-
|'''[[Pulaski River Turtles]]'''
|[[Pulaski, Virginia]]
|[[Calfee Park|Motor Mile Field at Calfee Park]]
|align="right" |3,200
|-
|'''[[Tri-State Coal Cats]]'''
|[[Huntington, West Virginia]]
|[[Jack Cook Field]]
|align="right" |3,500
|-
! rowspan="5" | West
|'''[[Bristol State Liners]]'''
|[[Bristol, Tennessee]]
|[[Pioneer Park (stadium)|Pioneer Park]]
|align="right" |4,000
|-
|'''[[Elizabethton River Riders]]'''
|[[Elizabethton, Tennessee]]
|[[Northeast Community Credit Union Ballpark]]
|align="right" |2,000 
|-
|'''[[Greeneville Flyboys]]'''
|[[Greeneville, Tennessee]]
|[[Pioneer Park (stadium)|Pioneer Park]]
|align="right" |5,000
|-
|'''[[Johnson City Doughboys]]'''
|[[Johnson City, Tennessee]]
|[[TVA Credit Union Ballpark]]
|align="right" |3,800
|-
|'''[[Kingsport Axmen]]'''
|[[Kingsport, Tennessee]]
|[[Hunter Wright Stadium]]
|align="right" |2,500
|}

{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
<!-- [[File:MiLB Appalachian League team locations.png|thumb|'''Current team locations:'''{{Legend|#D12A2A|East Division}}{{Legend|#51B71E|West Division}}]] -->

{{col-break}}
{{OSM Location map
| float=left
| nolabels = 1  
| coord = {{coord|37.0603|-81.1198}}
| zoom = 6
| width = 475
| height = 225
| caption = Current Appalachian League Team Locations: {{Legend|#D12A2A|East Division}} {{Legend|#51B71E|West Division}}
| mark1 = Red pog.svg
| label1 = Ridge Runners
| mark-coord1 = {{coord|37.2480|-81.2491}}
| label-pos1 = top
| label-color1 = black
|mark2=green pog.svg
|shape-color2 = green
|label2 = State Liners
| mark-title2=Bristol State Liners 
|mark-coord2={{coord|36.5120|-82.2383}}
|label-pos2=right
|label-color2=black
| mark3 = Red pog.svg
| label3 = Sock Puppets
| mark-coord3 = {{coord|36.0872|-79.4099}}
| label-pos3 = right
| label-color3 = black
| mark4 = Red pog.svg
| label4 = Otterbots
| mark-coord4 = {{coord|36.5767|-79.3735}}
| label-pos4 = right
| label-color4 = black
|mark5=green pog.svg
|shape-color5 = green
| label5 = River Riders
|mark-title5=Elizabethton River Riders 
|mark-coord5={{coord|36.3487|-82.2107}}
|label-pos5=right
|label-color5=black
|mark6=green pog.svg
|shape-color6 = green
| label6= Flyboys
|mark-title6=Greeneville Flyboys 
|mark-coord6={{coord|36.1632|-82.8310}}
|label-pos6=left
|label-color6=black
|mark7=green pog.svg
|shape-color7 = green
| label7=Doughboys
|mark-title7=Johnson City Doughboys 
|mark-coord7={{coord|36.3134|-82.3535}}
|label-pos7=bottom
|label-color7=black
|mark8=green pog.svg
|shape-color8 = green
|label8 = Axmen
| mark-title8=Kingsport Axmen 
|mark-coord8={{coord|36.5484|-82.5618}}
|label-pos8=top
|label-color8=black
| mark9 = Red pog.svg
|color9 = 
| label9 = River Turtles
| mark-coord9 = {{coord|37.0390|-80.7759}}
| label-pos9 = right
| label-color9 = black
| label10 = Coal Cats
| mark-coord10 = {{coord|38.4261|-82.4222}}
| label-pos10 = bottom
| label-color10 = black
}}
{{col-end}}

==Teams timeline==
===1911–1914===
*[[Asheville Moonshiners]] (1911–1912) → [[Middlesboro Colonels]] (1913–1914)
*Bristol Boosters (1911–1913) → [[Harriman Boosters]] (1914)
*[[Cleveland Counts]] (1911–1913) → [[Morristown Jobbers]] (1913–1914)
*[[Johnson City Soldiers]] (1911–1913)
*[[Knoxville Appalachians]] (1911) → [[Knoxville Reds]] (1912–1914)
*[[Morristown Jobbers]] (1911–1912) → [[Rome Romans (Georgia baseball)|Rome Romans]] (1913)

===1921–1925===
*[[Bristol State Liners]] (1921–1925)
*[[Cleveland Manufacturers]] (1921–1922) → [[Morristown Roosters]] (1923–1925)
*[[Greeneville Burley Cubs]] (1921–1925)
*[[Johnson City Soldiers]] (1921–1924)
*[[Kingsport Indians]] (1921–1925)
*[[Knoxville Pioneers]] (1921–1924)

===1937–1955===
*[[Bluefield Blue-Grays]] (1946–1955)
*[[Bristol Twins]] (1940–1955)
*[[Elizabethton Betsy Red Sox]] (1937–1942) → [[Erwin Aces]] (1943) → [[Erwin Cubs]] (1944) → [[Elizabethton Betsy Cubs]] (1945–1948) → [[Elizabethton Betsy Local]] (1949–1950) → [[Elizabethton Phils]] (1951) → [[Pulaski Phillies]] (1952–1955)
*[[Erwin Mountaineers]] (1940)
*[[Greeneville Burley Cubs]] (1938–1942)
*[[Johnson City Soldiers]] (1937–1938) → [[Johnson City Cardinals]] (1939–1955)
*[[Kingsport Cherokees]] (1938–1941) → [[Kingsport Dodgers]] (1942) → [[Kingsport Cherokees]] (1943–1952) → [[Wytheville Statesmen]] (1953–1955)
*[[New River Rebels]] (1946–1950)
*[[Newport Canners]] (1937–1942)
*[[Pennington Gap Lee Bears]] (1937–1938) → [[Pennington Gap Bears]] (1939) → [[Pennington Gap Miners]] (1940)
*[[Pulaski Counts]] (1946–1950)
*[[Salem Rebels (baseball)|Salem Rebels]] (1955)
*[[Welch Miners]] (1946–1955) → [[Marion A's]] (1955)

===1957–2020===
*[[Bluefield Dodgers]] (1957) → [[Bluefield Orioles]] (1958–2010) → [[Bluefield Blue Jays]] (2011–2020)
*[[Bristol Tigers]] (1969–1994) → [[Bristol White Sox]] (1995–2013) → [[Bristol Pirates]] (2014–2020)
*[[Harlan Red Sox]] (1965) → [[Covington Red Sox]] (1966) → [[Covington Astros]] (1967–1976)
*[[Harlan Smokies]] (1961–1962) → [[Harlan Yankees]] (1963) → [[Johnson City Yankees]] (1964–1974) → [[Johnson City Cardinals]] (1975–2020)
*[[Johnson City Phillies]] (1957–1960) → [[Johnson City Cardinals]] (1961)
*[[Kingsport Cherokees]] (1955) → [[Kingsport Orioles]] (1957) → [[Kingsport Senators]] (1959) → [[Kingsport Pirates]] (1960–1963)
*[[Kingsport Royals]] (1969–1973) → [[Kingsport Braves]] (1974–1979) → [[Kingsport Mets]] (1980–1982, 1984–2020)
*[[Lynchburg Senators]] (1959)
*[[Marion Mets]] (1965–1976)
*[[Martinsville Phillies]] (1988–1998) → [[Martinsville Astros]] (1999–2003) → [[Greeneville Astros]] (2004–2017) → [[Greeneville Reds]] (2018–2020)
*[[Middlesboro Senators]] (1961–1962) → [[Middlesboro Cubsox]] (1963)
*[[Pikeville Brewers]] (1982) → [[Pikeville Cubs]] (1983–1984) → [[Wytheville Cubs]] (1985–1989) → [[Huntington Cubs]] (1990–1994) → [[River City Rumblers]] (1995) → [[Pulaski Rangers]] (1997–2002) → [[Pulaski Blue Jays]] (2003–2006) → [[Pulaski Mariners]] (2008–2014) → [[Pulaski Yankees]] (2015–2020)
*[[Princeton Pirates]] (1988–1989) → [[Princeton Patriots]] (1990) → [[Princeton Reds]] (1991–1996) → [[Princeton Devil Rays]] (1997–2008) → [[Princeton Rays]] (2009–2020)
*[[Pulaski Braves]] (1982–1992) → [[Danville Braves]] (1993–2020)
*[[Pulaski Cubs]] (1957–1958) → [[Morristown Cubs]] (1959–1961)
*[[Pulaski Phillies]] (1969–1977) → [[Paintsville Highlanders]] (1978) → [[Paintsville Yankees]] (1979–1982) → [[Paintsville Brewers]] (1983–1984) → [[Burlington Royals|Burlington Indians]] (1986–2006) → [[Burlington Royals]] (2007–2020)
*[[Salem Rebels (baseball)|Salem Rebels]] (1957–1967)
*[[Wytheville Cardinals]] (1957–1959) → [[Wytheville Senators]] (1960) → [[Wytheville Twins]] (1961–1963) → [[Wytheville A's]] (1964) → [[Wytheville Senators]] (1965) → [[Wytheville Reds]] (1967)
*[[Wytheville Senators]] (1969) → [[Wytheville Braves]] (1971–1973) → [[Elizabethton Twins]] (1974–2020)

===From 2021===
*'''[[Bluefield Ridge Runners]]''' (2021–present)
*'''[[Bristol State Liners]]''' (2021–present)
*'''[[Burlington Sock Puppets]]''' (2021–present)
*'''[[Danville Otterbots]]''' (2021–present)
*'''[[Elizabethton River Riders]]''' (2021–present)
*'''[[Greeneville Flyboys]]''' (2021–present)
*'''[[Johnson City Doughboys]]''' (2021–present)
*[[Kingsport Axmen]] (2021) → [[Kingsport Road Warriors]] (2021) → '''[[Kingsport Axmen]]''' (2021–present)
*[[Princeton WhistlePigs]] (2021–2023)
*'''[[Pulaski River Turtles]]''' (2021–present)
*'''[[Tri-State Coal Cats]]''' (2024–present)

==Champions==
{{main|List of Appalachian League champions}}
League champions have been determined by different means since the Appalachian League's formation in 1911. Before 1984, the champions were usually the league pennant winners. With only a few early exceptions, champions since 1984 have been the winner of postseason playoffs.<ref name=champions>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/document/349339887/2017-Appalachian-League-Media-Guide|title=Standings|work=2017 Appalachian League Media Guide and Record Book|publisher=Minor League Baseball|access-date=August 11, 2017|pages=39–61|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510160331/https://www.scribd.com/document/349339887/2017-Appalachian-League-Media-Guide|archive-date=May 10, 2018}}</ref>

==Hall of Fame==
{{main|Appalachian League Hall of Fame}}

The league established a hall of fame in 2019; through 2022 elections, 46 people have been inducted.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mlb.com/appalachian-league/hall-of-fame|title=Hall of Fame|website=Appalachian League|publisher=Major League Baseball|accessdate=September 30, 2020}}</ref> Members of the 2021 Hall of Fame induction class included [[Orlando Cepeda]], Dotty Cox, Mahlon Luttrell, [[Joe Mauer]], [[Ron Necciai]], and [[Jimmy Rollins]]. [[CC Sabathia]] and [[Jim Leyland]] were the two members of the 2022 induction class.  

==See also==
*[[Sports league attendances]]
*{{section link|Baseball awards|U.S. minor leagues}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Appalachian League}}
* {{Official website|https://www.appyleague.com/}}

{{Appalachian League}}
{{College Summer Baseball}}

[[Category:Appalachian League| ]]
[[Category:Former minor baseball leagues in the United States]]
[[Category:Former professional sports leagues in the United States]]
[[Category:Collegiate summer baseball leagues]]
[[Category:College baseball leagues in the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States]]