South Atlantic League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The South Atlantic League, or "Sally League," is a minor league baseball league which operates mostly in the southeastern United States, although it now has teams in New Jersey and Ohio. It is a Class A league that plays a full season; its players are typically a mixture of newly-signed draftees (especially late in the season) and players promoted from rookie leagues.
The SAL had the highest attendance in 101 years with over 3,541,992 fans. In fact, minor league baseball set a second straight attendance record in 2005 with 41,333,279 fans.
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[edit] Divisions
The league is divided into a Northern Division and a Southern Division. Current member teams (with 2006 MLB affiliates in parentheses) are:
[edit] Northern Division
- Delmarva Shorebirds (Baltimore Orioles)
- Greensboro Grasshoppers (Florida Marlins)
- Hagerstown Suns (New York Mets)
- Hickory Crawdads (Pittsburgh Pirates)
- Lake County Captains (Cleveland Indians)
- Lakewood BlueClaws (Philadelphia Phillies)
- Lexington Legends (Houston Astros)
- West Virginia Power (Milwaukee Brewers)
[edit] Southern Division
- Asheville Tourists (Colorado Rockies)
- Augusta GreenJackets (San Francisco Giants)
- Charleston RiverDogs (New York Yankees)
- Columbus Catfish (Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
- Greenville Drive (Boston Red Sox)
- Kannapolis Intimidators (Chicago White Sox)
- Rome Braves (Atlanta Braves)
- Savannah Sand Gnats (Washington Nationals)
[edit] Heritage: The Former 'Sally League'
The current Class A South Atlantic League came into being in 1980 as the successor to the former Western Carolinas League.
The original SAL - often called the "Sally League" - was a higher-classification circuit that played from 1904-17, 1919-30, 1936-42 and 1946-63. The old Sally League grew from Class C status to class B (through 1942), then Class A (until 1962). In its final season, it was elevated to AA. The Sally League then morphed into the current AA Southern League in 1964 and the South Atlantic League name disappeared from the minor league baseball rolls through the end of the 1979 season.
[edit] Western Carolinas League / South Atlantic League teams
Since 1960:
- Albany Polecats
- Anderson Braves
- Anderson Giants
- Anderson Mets
- Anderson Rangers
- Anderson Senators
- Anderson Tigers
- Asheville Tourists
- Augusta GreenJackets
- Augusta Pirates
- Belmont Chiefs
- Cape Fear Crocs
- Capital City Bombers
- Charleston AlleyCats
- Charleston Patriots
- Charleston Pirates
- Charleston Rainbows
- Charleston RiverDogs
- Charleston Royals
- Charleston Wheelers
- Charlotte Twins
- Columbia Mets
- Columbus Catfish
- Columbus Indians
- Columbus RedStixx
- Delmarva Shorebirds
- Fayetteville Generals
- Florence Blue Jays
- Gastonia Cardinals
- Gastonia Expos
- Gastonia Jets
- Gastonia Pirates
- Gastonia Rangers
- Gastonia Rippers
- Gastonia Tigers
- Greensboro Bats
- Greensboro Grasshoppers
- Greensboro Hornets
- Greenville Bombers
- Greenville Braves
- Greenville Mets
- Greenville Rangers
- Greenville Red Sox
- Greenwood Braves
- Greenwood Pirates
- Hagerstown Suns
- Hickory Crawdads
- Hickory Rebels
- Kannapolis Intimidators
- Lake County Captains
- Lakewood BlueClaws
- Lexington Giants
- Lexington Indians
- Lexington Legends
- Lexington Red Sox
- Macon Braves
- Macon Peaches
- Macon Pirates
- Macon Redbirds
- Monroe Indians
- Monroe Pirates
- Myrtle Beach Blue Jays
- Myrtle Beach Hurricanes
- Newton-Conover Twins
- Orangeburg Cardinals
- Orangeburg Dodgers
- Piedmont Boll Weevils
- Piedmont Phillies
- Rock Hill Cardinals
- Rock Hill Indians
- Rock Hill Spinners
- Rock Hill Wrens
- Rome Braves
- Rutherford County Owls
- Salisbury Astros
- Salisbury Braves
- Salisbury Dodgers
- Salisbury Senators
- Savannah Cardinals
- Savannah Sand Gnats
- Shelby Colonels
- Shelby Mets
- Shelby Pirates
- Shelby Rebels
- Shelby Reds
- Shelby Senators
- Shelby Yankees
- South Georgia Waves
- Spartanburg Phillies
- Spartanburg Spinners
- Spartanburg Suns
- Spartanburg Traders
- Statesville Colts
- Statesville Indians
- Statesville Owls
- Statesville Tigers
- Sumter Astros
- Sumter Braves
- Sumter Flyers
- Sumter Indians
- Thomasville Hi-Toms
- West Virginia Power
- Wilmington Waves
[edit] Notable alumni
- Hank Aaron
- Walter Alston
- Sparky Anderson
- Steve Carlton
- Roger Clemens
- Ty Cobb
- Carlos Delgado
- Bob Gibson
- Vladimir Guerrero
- Ryan Howard
- Tommy Lasorda
- Eddie Murray
- Phil Niekro
- Mariano Rivera
- Frank Robinson
- Nolan Ryan
- C.C. Sabathia
- Enos Slaughter
- Willie Stargell
[edit] External links
| South Atlantic League | ||
| Northern Division | Southern Division | |
|---|---|---|
| Delmarva Shorebirds | Hagerstown Suns | Hickory Crawdads | Kannapolis Intimidators | Lake County Captains | Lakewood BlueClaws | Lexington Legends | West Virginia Power | Asheville Tourists | Augusta GreenJackets |Charleston RiverDogs | Columbus Catfish | Greensboro Grasshoppers | Greenville Drive | Rome Braves | Savannah Sand Gnats | |
