The International League (IL) is a minor league baseball league which operates in the eastern United States and Canada. Like the Pacific Coast League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. The league was created from the mergers of member teams from three precursor leagues, the Eastern League, founded in 1884, the New York State League, formed in 1885, and the Ontario League, also organized in 1885. The New York State and Ontario Leagues merged in 1886 to form the International League, and in 1887 when the Eastern League was absorbed to create a 10-club league.
The league collapsed soon afterwards, when the northern teams claimed that it was too onerous to travel to the south, and formed the International Association. Teams and league names came and went over the years. In 1954, a franchise was awarded to Havana, Cuba, but it had to be moved in the middle of the 1960 season because of political upheaval in that country. It was moved to Jersey City, New Jersey. Another foray into the Caribbean failed when the newly-created team in San Juan, Puerto Rico, added in 1961, had to be moved to Charleston, West Virginia in mid-season.
In 1971, an International League all-star team beat the New York Yankees in an exhibition game in Rochester, New York, before 11,000 people. In 1984, the all-stars lost to the Cleveland Indians in 11 innings before 11,032 fans in Columbus, Ohio to commemorate the league's 100th Anniversary.
In 1988, the International League and the American Association, another Triple-A league which operated in the Midwest, voted to play interleague games. The league also split into two divisions in the same year. The interleague concept ended in 1992, but the two league divisions remained.
In 1998, with the addition of three new teams from the disbanded American Association and the Durham Bulls moving up to Triple-A from Class-A, the league reorganized into three divisions, the North Division, South Division, and West Division.
At the end of each season, the three divisional leaders and a wild card team square-off in best-of-5 playoffs, with the winning team of the finals awarded the Governors' Cup, the league's championship trophy.
Current Member Teams and Stadiums
North Division
- Buffalo Bisons (affiliate of the Cleveland Indians) Dunn Tire Park
- Lehigh Valley IronPigs (affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies) Coca-Cola Park
- Pawtucket Red Sox (affiliate of the Boston Red Sox) McCoy Stadium
- Rochester Red Wings (affiliate of the Minnesota Twins) Frontier Field
- Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (affiliate of the New York Yankees) Lackawanna County Stadium
- Syracuse Chiefs (affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays) Alliance Bank Stadium
South Division
- Charlotte Knights (affiliate of the Chicago White Sox) Knights Stadium
- Durham Bulls (affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays) Durham Bulls Athletic Park
- Norfolk Tides (affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles) Harbor Park
- Richmond Braves (affiliate of the Atlanta Braves) The Diamond
West Division
- Columbus Clippers (affiliate of the Washington Nationals) Cooper Stadium
- Indianapolis Indians (affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates) Victory Field
- Louisville Bats (affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds) Louisville Slugger Field
- Toledo Mud Hens (affiliate of the Detroit Tigers) Fifth Third Field
Playoffs
2006
- Round one:
- Charlotte Knights @ Toledo Mud Hens (best-of-five series)
- Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons @ Rochester Red Wings (best-of-five series)
- Round two:
- Rochester Red Wings @ Toledo Mud Hens (best-of-five series)
- Champion:
- Toledo Mud Hens
Affiliate changes for 2007 season
Several franchises shifted their Major League affiliations for the 2007 season:
Washington Nationals
- 2006: New Orleans Zephyrs (Pacific Coast League)
- 2007: Columbus Clippers
New York Yankees
- 2006: Columbus Clippers
- 2007: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees
Philadelphia Phillies
- 2006: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons
- 2007: Ottawa Lynx (moving to Allentown to become the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in 2008)
Baltimore Orioles
- 2006: Ottawa Lynx
- 2007: Norfolk Tides
New York Mets
- 2006: Norfolk Tides
- 2007: New Orleans Zephyrs (PCL)
See also
- List of International League champions
- Sports league attendances
- Triple-A World Series
- Governors' Cup
- List of defunct International League teams (1912-)
- A list of defunct team from International, Eastern, New York State, International Assn and
Eastern Assn teams from 1884 to the present day. (Some data be may be out of date.)
'International (1886, 1890)(A 1887)(AA 1913-45)'(AAA 1946+)
Eastern (1884)(A 1892-1908) (AA 1909-11)
New York' 'State' (1885)
International Assn (A 1888-89)
'Eastern Assn' (A 1891)
Akron, OH: 1920
Albany, NY: 1885, 1888, 1891-93, 1932-36
Allentown, PA: 1884
"Arkansas": 1963
Atlanta, GA: 1962-65
Baltimore, MD: 1903-14, 1916-53
Baltimore/Lancaster, MD/PA: 1884
Baltimore/Harrisburg, MD/PA: 1915
Binghamton, NY: 1885-87, 1892-94, 1918-19
Binghamton/Allentown, NY/PA: 1894
Brooklyn, NY: 1884
Buffalo, NY: 1886-89, 1891-98, 1901-69
Buffalo/Montreal/Grand Rapids, NY/Que/MI: 1890
Buffalo/Winnipeg, NY/Man: 1970
Charleston, WV: 1971-83
Charlotte, NC: 1993+
Columbus, OH: 1955-70, 1977+
Detroit, MI: 1889-90
Elmira, NY: 1885, 1892
Erie, PA: 1893-94
“Gwinnett County”: 2009
Hamilton, Ont: 1886-89, 1918
Hamilton/Montreal/Grand Rapids, Ont/Que/MI: 1890
Harrisburg, PA: 1884
Harrisburg/York, PA: 1884
Hartford, CT: 1899-1901
Havana, Cuba: 1954-59
Havana/Jersey City, Cuba/NJ: 1960
Indianapolis, IN: 1963
Jacksonville, FL: 1962-68
Jersey City, NJ: 1887, 1902-15, 1918-33, 1937-50, 1961
Lebanon, PA: 1891
“Lehigh Valley”: 2008
London, Ont: 1888-90
Louisville, KY: 1968-72
“Maine": 1984-88
Memphis, TN: 1974-76
Miami, FL: 1956-60
Montreal, Que: 1898-1902, 1904-17, 1928-60
Newark, NJ: 1884, 1887, 1916-19, 1921-49
Newark/Harrisburg, NJ/PA: 1915
Newark/Providence, NJ/RI: 1925
New Haven, CT: 1891-92
Norfolk, VA: 1993+
Oswego, NY: 1885-87
Oswego/Scranton, NY/PA: 1887
Ottawa, Ont: 1951-54, 1993-2007
Pawtucket, RI: 1973-75, 1978+
"Peninsula": 1972-73
Philadelphia, PA: 1892
Providence, RI: 1891-1917
Reading, PA: 1919-20
Reading/Albany, PA/NY: 1932
“Rhode Island”: 1976
Richmond, VA: 1884, 1915-17, 1954-64, 1966+
Rochester, NY: 1885-89, 1891-92, 1895-96, 1898+
Rochester/Montreal, NY/Que: 1897
Saginaw, MI: 1890
San Juan/Charleston, P.R./WVA: 1961
Scranton, PA: 1895-97
“Scranton-Wilkes Barre”, PA: 1989+
Springfield, MA: 1893-1900, 1950-53
Syracuse, NY: 1885-89, 1891-92, 1894-1900, 1920-27, 1935-55, 1961+
Syracuse/Brockton: NY/MA: 1901
Syracuse/Hamilton: NY/Ont: 1918
Syracuse/Utica, NY: 1894
“Tidewater”: 1969-92
Toledo, OH: 1889, 1923, 1965+
Toronto, Ont: 1886-90, 1895, 1897-1922, 1924-67
Toronto/Albany/Toronto, Ont/NY/Ont: 1896
Trenton, NJ: 1884
Troy, NY: 1888, 1891-94
Troy/Scranton, NY/PA: 1894
Utica, NY: 1885-87
Utica/Wilmington, NY/DE: 1894
Wilkes-Barre, PA: 1893-98
Wilmington, DE: 1884
Winnipeg, Man: 1971
Worcester, MA: 1899-1900, 1902
Worcester/Montreal, MA/Que: 1902
External links
| International League | ||||
| North Division | South Division | West Division | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bisons | Ottawa Lynx | Pawtucket Red Sox | Rochester Red Wings | Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees | Syracuse Chiefs | Charlotte Knights | Durham Bulls | Norfolk Tides | Richmond Braves | Columbus Clippers | Indianapolis Indians | Louisville Bats | Toledo Mud Hens | ||
| Professional Baseball | |
| Americas | |
| Major League Baseball | American League • National League |
| Minor League Baseball | *Triple A : International League • Mexican League • Pacific Coast League
|
| Mexican League Affilates | *Double A : Nothern Mexico League
|
| Winter | *Affilliated: Arizona Fall League • Dominican Winter Baseball League • Mexican Pacific League • Parallel Leaguee • Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
|
| Defunct | *Major :National Association • American Association • Union Association • Player's League •
Federal League • Negro League baseball • All-American Girls Professional Baseball League • Continental League • Cuban League • National Association of Base Ball Players
|
| Asia | |
| Japan | Nippon Professional Baseball : Central League • Pacific League
|
| South Korea | Korea Professional Baseball
|
| Taiwan | Chinese Professional Baseball League |
| China | China Baseball League |
| Defunct | Japanese Baseball League • Taiwan Major League • Israel Baseball League |
| Europe | |
| Italy | Italian Baseball League |
| Netherlands | Honkbal Hoofdklasse |
| Oceania | |
| Australia | Australian Baseball |
| Defunct | Australian Baseball (1989-1999) • International Baseball League of Australia • Hawaii Winter Baseball |