KIT League

KIT League
Sport Baseball
Founded 2004
No. of teams 7 (1 inactive)
Country(ies)  United States
Most recent champion(s) Tradewater Pirates
Official website KIT League Baseball

The Kentucky-Illinois-Tennessee League (KIT League) is a summer collegiate wooden bat league. The league's name is formed from the initials of the states that originally hosted the first iteration of the KIT League. However, since the league's latest formation in 2004, the KIT League has not had any teams in Illinois and has had two teams in Missouri.

Players in the KIT League are unpaid collegiate players who join the league to gain experience and to prepare themselves for other leagues. To date, several players from the league have gone on to sign contracts with major league ball clubs.

In previous years, each team in the KIT league was limited to 22 players and three coaches, but the rosters of each team were expanded to a maximum of 24 players beginning with the 2009 season. The league also poses limits on the age of players and the number of veteran players permitted on each team.

The league's season consists of 50 games for each team and normally runs from the beginning of June to the end of July with play-offs taking place at the end of July and in early August. The 2009 season started on May 29.

For the 2009 season, the league was intended to expand to eight active teams with the addition of the Western Kentucky Mavericks. This would have given the league the ability to divide the eight teams into two divisions with Sikeston, Farmington, Union City and Fulton in the Western Division and Marion, Owensboro, Tradewater, and Mayfield (Western Kentucky) in the Eastern Division. However, due to the withdrawal of the Farmington [1] team in April 2009, the league was reduced once again to six active teams for the 2009 season, with no divisions.

Contents

Current Teams

Team City Stadium
Farmington Firebirds* Farmington, MO Wilson Rozier Field
Fulton Railroaders Fulton, KY Lohaus Field
Marion Bobcats Marion, KY Marion City Park
Owensboro Oilers Owensboro, KY Panther Park at Kentucky Wesleyan College
Sikeston Bulls* Sikeston, MO VFW Memorial Stadium
Tradewater Pirates Dawson Springs, KY Riverside Park, Dawson Springs
Union City Greyhounds* Union City, TN Elam Stadium at LH Ladd Field

*For the 2009 season, the Firebirds are inactive. The Bulls were inactive in 2008, but have returned for the 2009 season. The Greyhounds are inactive starting with the 2010 season. [1]

History

The KIT League was formed in 2004 with teams in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri. Though the league was formed in 2004, its first season was in 2005.

The current league commissioner, Randy Morgan, has been the commissioner of the league since its inception.

The heritage for the KIT League is in the old KITTY League. This was a Class D Minor League that operated between 1903 and 1955. The KIT League consists of teams that have the same names as the original Class D Minor League teams, such as the Union City Greyhounds, a former Brooklyn Dodgers affiliate, and the Fulton Railroaders, a former Washington Senators affiliate. [2]

KIT League Champions

Notable events

Season standings

2008

Team W L  % GB
Tradewater 35 15 .700 -
Fulton 29 20 .591 5.5
Owensboro 27 20 .574 6.5
Union City 26 24 .520 9
Marion 20 28 .417 14
Farmington 8 38 .174 25

2007

Team W L  % GB
Fulton 32 18 .640 -
Union City 31 19 .620 1
Owensboro 25 23 .520 6
Tradewater 25 25 .500 7
Sikeston 17 30 .362 13.5
Farmington 17 32 .347 14.5

2005

Team W L  % GB
Farmington 31 8 .795 -
Union City 29 11 .725 2.5
Sikeston 12 27 .308 19
Fulton 7 33 .175 24.5

All-Star Games

The KIT League plays its All-Star games against the Central Illinois Collegiate League All-Stars. In 2007 and 2008, the games were held at League Stadium in Huntingburg, Indiana, home of the Dubois County Bombers.[4]

2008

The 2008 All-Star Game was played on Monday, July 21, 2008 and featured the annual Home Run Derby. Players for the 2008 All Star team were selected during a meeting of all KIT League team mangers and coaches on Monday, July 14, 2008.[3] The Central Illinois Collegiate League all-stars beat the KIT League all-stars with a final score of 7-6.[4]

2007

The 2007 All-Star Game was held on July 23, 2007. The Central Illinois Collegiate League all-stars beat the KIT League all-stars with a final score of 7-2.[5]

Notable players

Since its inception, the KIT League has produced several players who have been drafted by Major League baseball teams:

References

  1. ^ a b "KIT League's Farmington team folds after four seasons". Semosportsweb.Com. http://www.semosportsweb.com/stories/may2009/8.html. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  2. ^ "Chronology". Kittyleague.com. http://www.kittyleague.com/history/chronology.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  3. ^ "Sikeston Bulls Baseball". Sikestonbulls.com. http://www.sikestonbulls.com/index.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  4. ^ "2008 All-Star Game". Ciclbaseball.com. http://www.ciclbaseball.com/2008as/allstargame.html. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  5. ^ "KIT League vs CICL All-Stars (Jul 23, 2007)". Ciclbaseball.com. 2007-07-23. http://www.ciclbaseball.com/2007as/as.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  6. ^ "Martin Beno Stats, Bio, Photos, Highlights | Potomac Nationals Stats". Potomac.nationals.milb.com. 2009-10-21. http://potomac.nationals.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Martin%20Beno&pos=P&sid=t436&t=p_pbp&pid=458574. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  7. ^ "Five Cowboys Taken On Second Day Of MLB Draft - OKLAHOMA STATE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE". Okstate.com. 2009-06-10. http://www.okstate.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/061009aab.html. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ "Cardinals dial Hester in 17th". al.com. 2008-06-07. http://www.al.com/sports/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/sports/1212830125197850.xml&coll=1. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 
  10. ^ "2008 Kansas City Royals Picks in the MLB June Amateur Draft". Baseball-Reference.com. http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?query_type=franch_year&team_ID=KCR&year_ID=2008&draft_type=junreg. Retrieved 2010-05-21. 

External links