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New York–Penn League

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 195.160.243.50 (talk) at 22:08, 4 February 2021 (→Franchises active at the time of the 2020 league cancellation). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"PONY League" redirects here. For the youth baseball and softball organization, see PONY Baseball and Softball.
For the original New York–Penn League, see New York–Pennsylvania League (1923–1937).
New York–Penn League
File:NewYorkPennLeagueLogo.png
ClassificationClass A Short Season
SportBaseball
Founded1939
Ceased2020
CountryUnited States
Last
champion(s)		Brooklyn Cyclones (2019)
Most titlesOneonta Yankees (12)
Official websitewww.milb.com/new-york-penn

The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league which operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major league teams signed their amateur draft picks to professional contracts, and ended in early September.

In 2019, its last season of operation, the NYPL had 14 teams from eight different states. In addition to New York and Pennsylvania, from which the league drew its name, the NYPL also had clubs in Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, Vermont, West Virginia, and Connecticut.

The Brooklyn Cyclones were the last NYPL champions, defeating the Lowell Spinners, two games to one, in 2019. The Oneonta Tigers won 12 championships, the most among all teams in the league, followed by the Auburn Mets/Twins/Phillies/Doubledays (8) and Jamestown Falcons/Expos (7)

History

The New York–Penn League was founded in 1939 as the Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League, generally shortened to PONY League, in a hotel in Batavia, New York. The original teams included the Batavia Clippers, Bradford Bees, Hamilton Red Wings, Jamestown Jaguars, Niagara Falls Rainbows, and Olean Oilers; all were based in or near Western New York. The Oilers, a Brooklyn Dodgers affiliate, won both the regular season and playoff championships. Batavia was the last remaining charter city in the league when it ceased operations after the 2020 season.

The Hamilton Red Wings folded early in the 1956 season, and with no more teams in Ontario, the circuit became the New York–Penn League in 1957. The league crossed back into Canada with the formation of the St. Catharines Blue Jays in 1986. They were joined by the Hamilton Redbirds in 1987 and the Welland Pirates in 1989, but all three clubs had moved back to the United States by 2000.

The New York–Penn circuit was originally a Class D league (the minors' lowest classification through 1962). It was a full-season Class A league from 1963 through 1966, and became a short-season Class A league in 1967.

The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being cancelled on June 30.[1][2]

League cancellation

On December 9, 2020, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced its list of 120 teams invited to be a part of the minors after restructuring for the 2021 season. As first reported in 2019, the NYPL ceased operations. The Aberdeen IronBirds, Brooklyn Cyclones, and Hudson Valley Renegades joined the new Mid-Atlantic League, becoming the new Class A-Advanced affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, and New York Yankees respectively. The Mahoning Valley Scrappers, State College Spikes, West Virginia Black Bears, and Williamsport Crosscutters moved to the new MLB Draft League for players wishing to showcase themselves to MLB teams in advance of the annual draft. The Tri-City ValleyCats moved to the independent Frontier League,[3] while the Batavia Muckdogs joined the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.[4] The Staten Island Yankees folded, while the Auburn Doubledays, Lowell Spinners, Norwich Sea Unicorns, and Vermont Lake Monsters have not announced future plans.[5][6][7]

Franchises active at the time of the 2020 league cancellation

class=notpageimage|
Current team locations:
  McNamara Division
  Pinckney Division
  Stedler Division
Division Team MLB Affiliation City Stadium Capacity 2021 League
McNamara Aberdeen IronBirds Baltimore Orioles Aberdeen, Maryland Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium 6,300 Mid-Atlantic League
Brooklyn Cyclones New York Mets Brooklyn, New York MCU Park 7,000 Mid-Atlantic League
Hudson Valley Renegades Tampa Bay Rays Fishkill, New York
(Poughkeepsie/Newburgh area) 		Dutchess Stadium 4,494 Mid-Atlantic League
Staten Island Yankees New York Yankees Staten Island, New York Richmond County Bank Ballpark 7,171 Folded
Pinckney Auburn Doubledays Washington Nationals Auburn, New York Falcon Park 2,800 Perfect Game League
Batavia Muckdogs Miami Marlins Batavia, New York Dwyer Stadium 2,600 Perfect Game League
Mahoning Valley Scrappers Cleveland Indians Niles, Ohio
(Youngstown area) 		Eastwood Field 6,000 MLB Draft League
State College Spikes St. Louis Cardinals University Park, Pennsylvania Medlar Field at Lubrano Park 5,570 MLB Draft League
West Virginia Black Bears Pittsburgh Pirates Granville, West Virginia
(Morgantown area) 		Monongalia County Ballpark 2,500 MLB Draft League
Williamsport Crosscutters Philadelphia Phillies Williamsport, Pennsylvania BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field 2,366 MLB Draft League
Stedler Lowell Spinners Boston Red Sox Lowell, Massachusetts Edward A. LeLacheur Park 4,767
Norwich Sea Unicorns Detroit Tigers Norwich, Connecticut Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium 6,270
Tri-City ValleyCats Houston Astros Troy, New York
(Capital District) 		Joseph L. Bruno Stadium 4,500 Frontier League
Vermont Lake Monsters Oakland Athletics Burlington, Vermont Centennial Field 4,400

Champions

Main article: List of New York–Penn League champions

League champions were determined by different means during the New York–Penn League's 82-year run from 1939 to 2020. For a few seasons in the 1960s and 1970s, no playoffs were held and the league champions were simply the regular season pennant winners. Most seasons, however, ended with playoffs to determine a league champion.[8]

The Oneonta Tigers won 12 championships, the most among all teams in the league, followed by the Auburn Mets/Twins/Phillies/Doubledays (8) and Jamestown Falcons/Expos (7).[8]

Teams

Cities represented

Connecticut

Maryland

Massachusetts

New Jersey

New York

  • Auburn: 1958–1980, 1982–2020 (62 seasons)
  • Batavia: 1939–1953, 1957–1959, 1961–2020 (78 seasons)
  • Binghamton: 1964–1966 (3 seasons)
  • Brooklyn: 2001–2020 (20 seasons)
  • Corning: 1951–1960, 1968–1969 (12 seasons)
  • Elmira: 1957–1961, 1973–1995 (28 seasons)
  • Fishkill: 1994–2020 (26 seasons)
  • Geneva: 1958–1973, 1977–1993 (33 seasons)
  • Glens Falls: 1993 (1 season)
  • Jamestown: 1939–1957, 1962–1973, 1977–2014 (67 seasons)
  • Hornell: 1942–1957 (16 seasons)
  • Little Falls: 1977–1988 (12 seasons)
  • Lockport: 1942–1950 (9 seasons)
  • Newark: 1968–1979, 1983–1987 (17 seasons)
  • Niagara Falls: 1939–1940, 1970–1979, 1982–1985, 1989–1993 (21 seasons)
  • Olean: 1939–1959, 1961–1966 (27 seasons)
  • Oneonta: 1966–2009 (44 seasons)
  • Queens: 2000 (1 season)
  • Staten Island: 1999–2020 (22 seasons)
  • Troy: 2002–2020 (18 seasons)
  • Utica: 1977–2001 (25 seasons)
  • Watertown: 1983–1998 (16 seasons)
  • Wellsville: 1942–1961, 1963–1965 (23 seasons)

Ohio

Pennsylvania

  • Bradford: 1939–1942, 1944–1957 (18 seasons)
  • Erie: 1954–1963, 1967, 1981–1993, 1995–1998 (28 seasons)
  • State College: 2006–2020 (15 seasons)
  • Williamsport: 1968–1972, 1994–2020 (32 seasons)
  • York: 1923–1933, 1936 (moved to Trenton July 2) (12 seasons)

Vermont

West Virginia

Ontario

Hall of Fame

Main article: New York–Penn League Hall of Fame

The New York–Penn League Hall of Fame was established in 2012 to honor league players, managers, and executives for their accomplishments or contributions to the league in playing or administrative roles. The Hall of Fame inducted its first class of seven men in 2012. New members were elected before the start of each season.[9]

References

  1. ^ "A Message From Pat O'Conner". Minor League Baseball. March 13, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  2. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved". Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  3. ^ Singelais, Mark (2021-01-07). "Tri-City ValleyCats join Frontier League for 2021 season". Times Union. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  4. ^ Viquez, Marc (2021-01-12). "Baseball is Back in Batavia". Stadium Journey. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  5. ^ Madden, Bill (November 16, 2019). "Rob Manfred's plan to destroy minor league baseball". New York Daily News. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
  6. ^ Lacques, Gabe (December 10, 2020). "Major League Baseball issues invites for minor-league affiliates; here are teams that didn't make cut". USA Today. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  7. ^ Reichard, Kevin (2020-12-03). "Staten Island Yankees fold, will sue MLB". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  8. ^ a b "New York–Penn League Champsion". New York–Penn League. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  9. ^ "New York–Penn League Hall of Fame". New York–Penn League. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved August 8, 2017.
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