New York-Penn League

From SoSH

New York-Penn League

Founded:	1939
No. of Teams:	14
Class:	Low A Short-Season
Most recent champion:	Batavia Muckdogs

1 Overview

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Overview

The New York-Penn League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the northeastern United States. It is classified as a "short-season Class A" league; its season starts in June, after major-league teams have signed their amateur draft picks to professional contracts, and ends in early September. The league is divided into the McNamara Division, the Pinckney Division, and the Stedler Division.

The league was founded in 1939 with the name "Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York League". This was generally shortened to "PONY League". The original teams included the Batavia Clippers; the Bradford Bees; the Hamilton Red Wings; the Jamestown Jaguars; the Niagara Falls Rainbows; and the Olean Oilers. The Oilers, a Brooklyn Dodgers affiliate, won both the regular-season and playoff championships.

The Hamilton Red Wings folded early in the 1956 season, and with no more teams in Ontario, the league adopted its current name 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 stateside by 2000.

Currently the league includes teams in Maryland, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Vermont, as well as in New York and Pennsylvania.

The Red Sox affiliate is the Lowell Spinners.

The New York-Penn League currently consists of 14 teams, divided into 3 divisions (MLB affiliate in parenthesis):

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