Frontier League

Frontier League

Frontier League logo
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1993
No. of teams	12
Country	United States
Most recent champion(s)	Evansville Otters
Official website	www.frontierleague.com

The Frontier League, based in Sauget, Illinois, is a professional, independent baseball organization located in the Midwestern United States. It operates mostly in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either. The league was formed in 1993, and is the oldest currently running independent league. The 2016 season will feature 12 teams in two divisions playing 96 game schedules.

Teams in the Frontier League must recruit and sign their own players, who usually are undrafted college players or one-time prospects who have been released by their teams. Frontier League rules limit teams to three "veterans" (those with three or more years of professional experience), two two-year players and seven one-year players (those with at least 150 professional at-bats or 50 innings pitched). The other half of the 24-man roster is confined to rookies. Players cannot be older than 27 as of January 1.

Pay in the Frontier League is minimal. As of the 2013 season, each team has a salary cap of $75,000, and the player salaries range from a minimum of $600 up to $1600 a month. Due to the low pay, players typically live with host families and receive meal money during the season.

The first league champions were the Zanesville Greys. Only five teams have won more than one championship: Springfield in 1996 and 1998, Johnstown in 1995 (as the Steal) and in 2000 (as the Johnnies), Richmond (now Traverse City) in 2001 and 2002, Windy City in 2007 and 2008, and the Schaumburg Boomers in 2013 and 2014. The Florence Freedom (including years as Erie and Johnstown) and the Rockford RiverHawks (including years as Portsmouth and Springfield) are currently tied for the most league championships with each franchise winning three.