American Association of Independent Professional Baseball

This article is about The American Association of Independent Professional Baseball founded in 2005. For other uses, see American Association.
American Association
Sport Baseball
Founded 2005
No. of teams 12
Countries United States
Canada
Most recent champion(s) Laredo Lemurs (2015)
Most titles Fort Worth Cats (2)
Official website Official website

The American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, based in Durham, North Carolina, is a professional baseball league founded in 2005 and independent of Major League Baseball (MLB). It operates in the states of Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas, along with the Canadian province of Manitoba, mostly in cities not served by MLB teams or their minor league affiliates. Miles Wolff is the league commissioner.

History

The American Association was founded in October 2005 when the St. Paul Saints, Lincoln Saltdogs, Sioux City Explorers, and Sioux Falls Canaries announced they were leaving the Northern League. Around the same time, the Central Baseball League announced it was disbanding after four seasons. The Fort Worth Cats, Shreveport-Bossier Sports, Pensacola Pelicans, Coastal Bend Aviators, and El Paso Diablos joined the four former Northern League teams and the expansion St. Joe Blacksnakes to form the American Association as a ten-team league. The new league began play in 2006, with a 96-game schedule.

2008 saw the league lose the Blacksnakes and Aviators, with the Grand Prairie AirHogs and Wichita Wingnuts joining in their place. In 2011 and 2012 the league went through a significant shift. Fort Worth left the league to join United League Baseball, while Shreveport and Pensacola both relocated. The Pelicans moved to Amarillo, Texas and became the Amarillo Sox (later the Amarillo Thunderheads) while Shreveport, who had changed their name to the Shreveport-Bossier Captains, moved to Laredo, Texas and became the Laredo Lemurs. In addition, four more Northern League franchises (Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks, Gary SouthShore RailCats, Kansas City T-Bones, and Winnipeg Goldeyes) joined the American Association as that league's stability came into question.

For the 2012 season, the American Association began interleague play with the Can-Am League.[1] The two leagues are both headquartered in Durham, North Carolina, and both have Miles Wolff as their commissioner. This was similar to interleague play in Major League Baseball, but American Association and Can-Am League are separate legal entities and have separate playoffs/championships.

At the end of the 2013 season, due to the Tucson Padres relocating to their city, the El Paso Diablos suspended operations. The team was eventually revived and relocated, currently operating as the Joplin Blasters.

On November 19, 2015, Miles Wolff announced that there would no longer be interleague play. It also was announced that for the Amarillo Thunderheads and Grand Prairie AirHogs would operate as a joint team (Texas AirHogs) playing 25 games in Amarillo and 25 games in Grand Prairie to make up a 12-team league.[2][3]

Business model

Typically the American Association recruits college, ex-major and ex-minor players. Former affiliated league players that get injured or have other circumstances join the AA as an opportunity to get resigned by major league organization. Other former MLB players join the AA as a way to stay involved in baseball after their career as a major league player. Kevin Hooper, a former major league infielder that played for the Detroit Tigers, is now the manager for the AA team, Wichita Wingnuts. At 31, Hooper said his playing days are coming to an end.[4] Other players consist of college players that did not make it into the MLB, but want to take the opportunity of being seen by major league scouts and possibly get signed by major league organizations.

As of 2008, the salary cap for each league was $100,000, with a minimum salary of $800 per month.[5] The price of an expansion team is also about $750,000.[5] This is in stark contrast with the minor and major leagues. Commissioner Miles Wolff stated in an interview that “We have to pay the salaries of the players, which they don't in an affiliated [league]. It's a much riskier business. Just because of the longevity and tradition, we usually don't get the best cities, either, so some of the markets we're in are not great markets. But as I say, I think it's a better product.”[5]

Teams

Current teams

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball
Division Team First Season City Stadium Capacity
North
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 1996 Fargo, North Dakota Newman Outdoor Field 4,513
Sioux Falls Canaries 1993 Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls Stadium 4,500
St. Paul Saints 1993 Saint Paul, Minnesota CHS Field 7,210
Winnipeg Goldeyes 1994 Winnipeg, Manitoba Shaw Park 7,481
Central
Gary SouthShore RailCats 2002 Gary, Indiana U.S. Steel Yard 6,139
Kansas City T-Bones 2003 Kansas City, Kansas CommunityAmerica Ballpark 6,537
Lincoln Saltdogs 2001 Lincoln, Nebraska Haymarket Park 8,000
Sioux City Explorers 1993 Sioux City, Iowa Lewis and Clark Park 3,631
South
Laredo Lemurs 2012 Laredo, Texas Uni-Trade Stadium 6,000
Joplin Blasters 2015 Joplin, Missouri Joe Becker Stadium 4,200
Wichita Wingnuts 2008 Wichita, Kansas Lawrence-Dumont Stadium 6,400
Texas AirHogs 2016 Amarillo
Grand Prairie 		Potter County Memorial Stadium
QuikTrip Park 		8,500
5,445
Current AA team locations (North Division teams in red; Central Division teams in white; Southern Division teams in blue)

League timeline

Winnipeg Goldeyes Kansas City T-Bones Gary SouthShore RailCats Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks Wichita Wingnuts Grand Prairie AirHogs Sioux Falls Canaries Sioux City Explorers Laredo Lemurs Shreveport-Bossier Captains St. Paul Saints St. Joe Blacksnakes Amarillo Thunderheads Pensacola Pelicans Lincoln Saltdogs Fort Worth Cats Joplin Blasters El Paso Diablos Coastal Bend Aviators

League members Former Team

Former teams

Champions

Season Winner Runner-up Result
2006 Fort Worth Cats St. Paul Saints 3-2 (best-of 5)
2007 Fort Worth Cats St. Paul Saints 3-2 (best-of 5)
2008 Sioux Falls Canaries Grand Prairie AirHogs 3-1 (best-of 5)
2009 Lincoln Saltdogs Pensacola Pelicans 3-2 (best-of 5)
2010 Shreveport-Bossier Captains Sioux Falls Pheasants 3-0 (best-of 5)
2011 Grand Prairie AirHogs St. Paul Saints 3-2 (best-of 5)
2012 Winnipeg Goldeyes Wichita Wingnuts 3-0 (best-of 5)
2013 Gary SouthShore Railcats Wichita Wingnuts 3-1 (best-of 5)
2014 Wichita Wingnuts Lincoln Saltdogs 3-0 (best-of 5)
2015 Laredo Lemurs Sioux City Explorers 3-1 (best-of 5)

All-Star Game

The American Association hosted an annual All-Star Game from 2006 to 2010. The league's first All-Star game was played in El Paso, Texas, on July 18, 2006, which pit a team of American Association All-Stars against an All-Star team from the Can-Am League. Its current format pits the all-stars from each division against each other. There was no All-Star game in 2011, 2012, or 2013. The Winnipeg Goldeyes hosted the 2014 All-Star game.

Game results
Most Valuable Players

See also

References

  1. ↑ "RailCats release schedule, American Association announces crossover games with Can-Am League". NWI Times. November 30, 2011.
  2. ↑ "ThunderHeads, AirHogs to merge teams". Amarillo Globe-News. November 19, 2015.
  3. ↑ "American Association: 12 teams in 2016". Ballpark Digest. November 19, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Off Campus Access". search.proquest.com.mctproxy.mnpals.net. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 van der Horst, Roger (May 19, 2008). "All About Baseball: Wolff Happily Stays Independent". Proquest Newsstand. McClatchy-Tribune Business News. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  6. ↑ http://www.americanassociationbaseball.com/cgi-bin/dist/news_new.cgi?id=1319646773

External links

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