New England Collegiate Baseball League

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New England Collegiate
Baseball League

NECBL logo
Sport Baseball
Founded 1993
Motto Keep Your Eye on the Dream
No. of teams 12
Country(ies)  United States
Most recent champion(s) Sanford Mainers
Official website www.necbl.com

The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 12-team amateur wooden bat summer baseball league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 42-game schedule during June and July, with a playoff in early August. Like the Cape Cod Baseball League and other amateur leagues, the NECBL is a showcase for top college-level players, giving professional baseball scouts a chance to see prospective pros playing against each other. It is considered one of the top summer leagues in the country.

Founded in 1993, the NECBL began its direction under George Foster, former Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets All-Star and Major League Baseball home run leader, and Emmy Award-winning television producer/director Joseph Consentino. Play started in 1994 and today the NECBL has become a strong twelve-team league that plays in all six New England states. It recruits players attending U.S. colleges from New England, the other 44 states, and foreign countries, provided that they come from NCAA-sanctioned colleges or universities, are in good academic standing, have completed at least one year of athletic eligibility, and have at least one year of eligibility remaining.[1]

Contents

[edit] Season Structure

For the current season, the league is divided into two six-team divisions, the East Division and the West Division. During the regular season, teams play in-division opponents a total of six times, three games at home and three away. Teams play out-of-division opponents twice, one game at home and one away. These games make up the 42 game regular season schedule. The top four teams from each division qualify for the playoffs. In each divisions' semifinal round the first seeds play the fourth seeds and the second seeds play the third seeds, respectively, in best-of-three series. The winners of the division semifinals advance to the division finals, where they play a best-of-three series against their fellow division finalist. The division champions advance to the NECBL championship series, where they face each other in a best-of-three series to decide the NECBL champion.

[edit] Current Franchises

(see individual team websites below)

New England Collegiate Baseball League
Division Team Founded City Stadium Capacity
East Lowell All-Americans 2000 Lowell, Massachusetts Stoklosa Alumni Field 4,000
Manchester Silkworms 2000 Manchester, Connecticut Northwest Park
New Bedford Bay Sox 1997 New Bedford, Massachusetts Paul Walsh Field
Newport Gulls 1999 Newport, Rhode Island Cardines Field 3,250
North Shore Navigators* 1994 Lynn, Massachusetts Fraser Field 3,804
Sanford Mainers 2002 Sanford, Maine Goodall Park 950
Division Team Founded City Stadium Capacity
West Danbury Westerners 1995 Danbury, Connecticut Rogers Park
Holyoke Blue Sox 2001 Holyoke, Massachusetts Mackenzie Stadium 4,100
Keene Swamp Bats 1997 Keene, New Hampshire Alumni Field 4,800
North Adams SteepleCats 2002 North Adams, Massachusetts Joe Wolfe Field
Pittsfield American Defenders* 1994 Pittsfield, Massachusetts Nokona Stadium at Wahconah Park 4,500
Vermont Mountaineers 2003 Montpelier, Vermont Montpelier Recreation Field 1,200
  • An asterisk (*) denotes a charter franchise of the league

[edit] Former Teams

[edit] Relocated or Renamed Teams

Team City Stadium Capacity Years History
Berkshire Dukes Hinsdale, MA Dan Duquette Sports Academy[2] 2004 Became the Pittsfield Dukes.
Concord Quarry Dogs Concord, NH Memorial Field 1,200 2001-2007 Became the Holyoke Blue Sox.
Eastern Tides Willimantic, CT Eastern Baseball Stadium 1,500 1994-2001 Became the Thread City Tides
Holyoke Giants Holyoke, MA Mackenzie Stadium 4,100 2004-2007 Became the North Shore Navigators.
Middletown Giants Middletown, CT Palmer Field 1994-2003 Became the Holyoke Giants.
Mill City All-Americans Lowell, MA Stoklosa Alumni Field 2000-2006 Became the Lowell All-Americans.
Pittsfield Dukes Pittsfield, MA Wahconah Park 4,500 2005-2008 Became the Pittsfield American Defenders.
Rhode Island Gulls Cranston, RI Cranston Stadium 1998-2000 Became the Newport Gulls.
Rhode Island Reds West Warwick, RI McCarthy Field 2,500 1996-2000 Became the Riverpoint Royals.
Thread City Tides Willimantic, CT ECSU Stadium 2002-2003 Became the Berkshire Dukes
Torrington Twisters Torrington, CT Fuessenich Park 1,500 1997-2008 Became the New Bedford Bay Sox
Waterbury White Sox Waterbury, CT Municipal Stadium 6,000 1994 Became the Waterbury Barons.

[edit] Defunct Teams

Team City Stadium Capacity Years
Bristol Nighthawks Bristol, CT Muzzy Field 4,900 1994-1995
Central Mass Collegians Leominster, MA Doyle Field 6,200 1995-1999
Fairfield Stallions Fairfield, CT Alumni Baseball Diamond 1,000 1994
Riverpoint Royals West Warwick, RI McCarthy Field 2,500 2001-2004
Waterbury Barons Waterbury, CT Municipal Stadium 6,000 1995-1996

[edit] Past Champions

In the NECBL's fifteen year history, the all-time winningest teams are the Newport Gulls and the North Shore Navigators, each with three NECBL titles. North Shore captured all of their titles as the Middletown Giants. Four franchises have won two titles, the Keene Swamp Bats, the Sanford Mainers, the Vermont Mountaineers, and the defunct Central Mass Collegians. The Pittsfield American Defenders franchise has captured one title, when the team was known as the Eastern Tides, in the league's inaugural 1994 season.

Year Winning Team Games Losing Team Games
1994 Eastern Tides 3 Bristol Nighthawks 2
1995 Central Mass Collegians 2 Waterbury Barons 0
1996 Central Mass Collegians 2 Danbury Westerners 1
1997 Middletown Giants 2 Torrington Twisters 1
1998 Middletown Giants 3 Torrington Twisters 1
1999 Middletown Giants 3 Danbury Westerners 1
2000 Keene Swamp Bats 2 Rhode Island Gulls 1
2001 Newport Gulls 2 Keene Swamp Bats 1
2002 Newport Gulls 2 Keene Swamp Bats 0
2003 Keene Swamp Bats 2 Torrington Twisters 0
2004 Sanford Mainers 2 Newport Gulls 1
2005 Newport Gulls 2 Vermont Mountaineers 0
2006 Vermont Mountaineers 2 Torrington Twisters 0
2007 Vermont Mountaineers 2 Newport Gulls 0
2008 Sanford Mainers 2 Newport Gulls 0

[edit] Notable alumni

The following former NECBL players have gone on to play in Major League Baseball.[3] Former NECBL players have reached the major league rosters of 27 of 30 MLB teams.

Player Pos. NECBL team MLB Debut team MLB Debut year
Joe Nathan P Fairfield Stallions San Francisco Giants 1999
Chad Paronto P Middletown Giants Cleveland Indians 2000
Scott Chaisson P Eastern Tides Chicago Cubs 2000
Alfredo Amezaga SS Keene Swamp Bats Pittsburgh Pirates 2002
Earl Snyder 1B/OF Danbury Westerners/Middletown Giants Boston Red Sox 2002
Mike Smith P Middletown Giants Toronto Blue Jays 2002
Mark Malaska P/OF Danbury Westerners Tampa Bay Devil Rays 2003
Matt White P Danbury Westerners Boston Red Sox 2003
Pete Zoccolillo OF Danbury Westerners Milwaukee Brewers 2003
Jason Szuminski P Newport Gulls San Diego Padres 2004
David Parrish C Torrington Twisters New York Yankees 2004
Jeff Keppinger 2B Keene Swamp Bats New York Mets 2004
Val Majewski OF Eastern Tides Baltimore Orioles 2004
Keith Reed OF Rhode Island Reds Baltimore Orioles 2005
Tim Stauffer P Keene Swamp Bats San Diego Padres 2005
Jason Bergmann P Danbury Westerners Washington Nationals 2005
Chris Denorfia OF Manchester Silkworms Cincinnati Reds 2005
Charlton Jimerson CF Torrington Twisters Houston Astros 2005
Doug Clark LF Middletown Giants San Francisco Giants 2005
Andre Ethier OF Keene Swamp Bats Los Angeles Dodgers 2006
Kurt Birkins P Torrington Twisters Baltimore Orioles 2006
Sean Green P Torrington Twisters Seattle Mariners 2006
Zach Jackson P Manchester Silkworms Milwaukee Brewers 2006
Jeff Fulchino P Keene Swamp Bats Florida Marlins 2006
Chris Iannetta C Newport Gulls Colorado Rockies 2006
Brian Wilson P Keene Swamp Bats San Francisco Giants 2006
Jonah Bayliss P Manchester Silkworms Pittsburgh Pirates 2006
Brian Slocum P Danbury Westerners Cleveland Indians 2006
Rajai Davis CF Middletown Giants Pittsburgh Pirates 2006
Mike Rabelo C Torrington Twisters Detroit Tigers 2006
Joe Smith P North Adams SteepleCats New York Mets 2007
Andy LaRoche IF Keene Swamp Bats Los Angeles Dodgers 2007
Matt DeSalvo P Danbury Westerners New York Yankees 2007
Kevin Slowey P Sanford Mainers Minnesota Twins 2007
Andy Sonnanstine P Sanford Mainers Tampa Bay Rays 2007
Matt Tupman C Concord Quarry Dogs/Mill City All-Americans Kansas City Royals 2008
Matt Joyce OF Danbury Westerners Detroit Tigers 2008
Bobby Wilson C North Adams SteepleCats Los Angeles Angels 2008
Chris Lambert P Concord Quarry Dogs Detroit Tigers 2008
Mike Ekstrom P North Adams SteepleCats San Diego Padres 2008
Luke Carlin C Keene Swamp Bats Arizona Diamondbacks 2008
Jesse Carlson P Middletown Giants Toronto Blue Jays 2008
Bryan LaHair 1B Keene Swamp Bats Seattle Mariners 2008
Jason Motte P Sanford Mainers Saint Louis Cardinals 2008
Mike Parisi P Middletown Giants/ Torrington Twisters Saint Louis Cardinals 2008
Mitchell Boggs P Newport Gulls Saint Louis Cardinals 2008
Jeff Baisley 3B Danbury Westerners Oakland Athletics 2008
Bobby Korecky P Torrington Twisters Minnesota Twins 2008
Ryan Hanigan C Lowell All-Americans Cincinnti Reds 2008
Ben Copeland OF Manchester Silkworms Oakland Athletics 2009
Joe Martinez P Danbury Westerners San Francisco Giants 2009
Andrew Bailey P Lowell All-Americans Oakland Athletics 2009
Jack Egbert P Danbury Westerners Chicago White Sox 2009

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] Team Websites

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ http://www.necbl.com/about.htm NECBL League Info Page, URL accessed December 20, 2008
  2. ^ Berkshire Dukes Box Score, c. 2004 URL accessed June 5, 2009
  3. ^ http://www.necbl.com/alumni.htm NECBL alumni archive, URL accessed June 30, 2009
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