In 2008, the Frontier League drew 1.46 million fans to its 11 home clubs, as the Midwest team operated as a road team the entire year. For individual accomplishments, Traverse City’s Scott Dunn became the first pitcher in league history to win his first 14 decisions of the season, including a stretch of victories in nine consecutive starts, to run away with the Pitcher of the Year award. Frontier League commissioner Bill Lee said to have a relationship with Major League Baseball is "one of the greatest moments in league history." Former Grey Balbino Fuenmayor became the first FL alum to be selected for the MLB Futures Game, and following the season former Rockford Aviators Jose Martinez (Royals) and Josh Smoker (Mets) were added to their club’s 40-man MLB roster. Two major League milestones were set. For example, the … The Gateway Grizzlies won 16 out of 20 games in late July to jump into the race and finished with nine victories in their final 12 games to take the West Division title. The Washington Wild Things hosted the All-Star Game to a sellout crowd at Falconi Field. The East Division sent four teams to the playoffs, the Southern Illinois Miners (60-36), Evansville Otters (57-37), Washington Wild Things (57-39) and Lake Erie Crushers (52-43). The River City Rascals used a stretch of 12 wins in 13 games in late June to jump to the top of the West Division where they would remain for the remainder of the season. Burkhart singled in his first at bat off of Baltimore’s Mike Mussina. March 2, 2021 FORMER 10th ROUND PICK TO BOLSTER WILD THINGS STAFF. The River City Rascals defeated Florence then Southern Illinois to return to the Championship Series for the fifth time in the last seven seasons. The new Ottawa team is operated by Sam Katz and the Ottawa… While the two division winners were set with more than a week remaining in the regular season, five clubs entered the final series of the year within reach of a wild card spot. Torres’ streak, which began on June 1, 2011, eventually ended on July 29 at 339 games. The All-Star events also saw the induction of Richard Austin, Willie Edwards, Charlie Lisk, Joey Metropoulos, and Matt Schweitzer along with recognition of long-time umpire Max McLeary as a Special Contributor and acknowledgement of Brian Tollberg becoming the first former Frontier League player to advance to the Major Leagues as the Significant Moment. March 3, 2021 MINERS BRING BACK STELZER AND MITCHELL, SIGN MANG. Ottawa becomes the 15th Frontier League team and the third in Canada, joining the Quebec Capitales and Trois-Rivieres Aigles. The new Ottawa team is operated by Sam Katz and the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group (OSEG). The 2010 season saw the opening of another new ballpark (The Corn Crib, home of the Normal CornBelters), two record winning-streaks, and a new Frontier League all-time home run king. This translated to an average attendance of 2,713, the highest per game attendance in League history. What initiatives will you share with MLB? Two weeks into the inaugural season, Tri-State and West Virginia folded their operations and the remaining six owners fought to keep the League above water. The finals were a rematch of the 2010 season, with a Traverse City sweep giving the Beach Bums their first title. 2011 saw several on-field achievements highlighted by Joliet’s Andrew Moss tossing the 15th no-hitter in Frontier League history against the Lake Erie Crushers. Veterans can earn up to $2,500 per month, and each team's highest-paid player can make as much as $4,000 a month with only one-third of the salary counting against the cap.[4]. (more…) Continue Reading. Chris Smith, who came out of the 2010 Frontier League draft and saw action with the Lake Erie Crushers, Traverse City Beach Bums, and Washington Wild Things, was promoted by the Toronto Blue Jays as bullpen support for the last week of the regular season. The championship series began in O’Fallon with a 5-1 victory for the home team. The Richmond Roosters won their second consecutive FL title, the first franchise to do that. More impressively, the Boomers were either tied or trailing at some point after the start of the 7th inning in all six games. Chillicothe’s VA Memorial Stadium hosted the first All-Star Game, which the West Division won 3-2 on August 2. The 2018 season featured a new all-time hit leader, two more Major League debuts, a record number of alumni in the Majors, and the closest championship series since the best-of-five format was introduced for the 2000 season. The Washington Wild Things also received national publicity, as a story on Pete Rose featured pictures of the Hit King wearing a Wild Things uniform during an appearance at CONSOL Energy Park. The St. Louis Cardinals will use GCS Credit Union Ballpark in Sauget, Illinois, as their Alternate Training… READ MORE. The league expanded to 14 teams in the offseason. This was important because it took the League into major metropolitan areas (St. Louis and Chicago) and both franchises were building new facilities. Much of the attendance increase was due to new facilities in Rockford, Illinois and Traverse City, Michigan. The Frontier League has announced the granting of an expansion membership to Ottawa, Ontario, to begin play in the 2021 season. The Frontier League, though, is considered to be more on par with High-A, with some Double-A quality players. Former River City Rascal, Josh Kinney, was the 13th former FL player to play in the Major Leagues. On the pitching side, River City’s Nick Kennedy became the career leader for games pitched with 255 outings over his six seasons with the Rascals. Further expansion in the Frontier League has been a given for a while, and it came to fruition on Friday. The Rascals advanced to their sixth championship series in the past eight seasons to face the Otters, who advanced for the first time since their 2006 Championship. Following the season, former Zanesville Grey and Springfield Capital Darren Bush was named Bullpen Coach for the Oakland Athletics, becoming the first former Frontier League player to be part of a Major League coaching staff. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. Over 5,800 fans were at The Corn Crib on June 1 when professional baseball returned to the Bloomington-Normal area for the first time in 70 years. Also, Canton native Mark Haidet purchased the London franchise and moved it to Canton and Thurman Munson Stadium. All members of the League will be working together to help strengthen all aspects of the Frontier League. The moves to Richmond and Evansville ultimately opened the door to the western expansion of the League. Steve Delabar of the Toronto Blue Jays, who spent part of the 2008 season with the Florence Freedom, became the third former Frontier League player to be selected a MLB All-Star when he won the fan’s Final Vote contest for the American League. PRESS RELEASE – The Frontier League has announced the granting of an expansion membership to Ottawa, Ontario, to begin play in the 2021 season. The Florence Freedom won 13 of their final 14 games to take the top Wild Card spot while the Southern Illinois Miners qualified for the playoffs for the fourth time in the past five seasons. With the playoff field expanding from four teams to six, a tight playoff race ensued. Teams were relocated to Richmond and Evansville, Indiana as well as Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Two former FL pitching coaches, Mark Dewey (Washington) and Chris Hook (Florence) were named co-pitching coordinators for the Milwaukee Brewers while former Evansville pitcher and long-time FL pitching coach Brendan Sagara was hired as the Chicago Cubs’ pitching coordinator. The League again saw changes for the 2002 season. The Boomers rebounded from a league-worst 41-55 record in 2016 to a 66-30 mark, the third most wins in Frontier League history. Southern Illinois comfortably won the West wild card, while the East wild card came down to the final series with Lake Erie and Traverse City facing each other for the right to advance to the playoffs. McAfee, a native of nearby Plum High School and West Virginia University, brought the national audience from his Barstool Sports show to Wild Things Park. Chillicothe Paints shortstop Travis Garcia earned the League’s Morgan Burkhart Award as the Most Valuable Player. The league expanded to 14 teams in the offseason. The ten RBI set a new league single-game record. August began with no team no more than three games out of a playoff spot, and the tight races continued to the final weekend. The League saw five more graduates reach the Major Leagues as Zanesville’s Terry Pearson made the Detroit Tigers roster, Ohio Valley’s Brendan Donnelly was called up by the Anaheim Angels and eventually gained a World Series win, J.J. Trujillo advanced to the Padres, and the Cardinals called up both Jason Simontacchi and Matt Duff.