International League
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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 AAA (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 ten-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 four new teams from the disbanded American Association, 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
(2006 MLB affiliates in parentheses)North Division
- Buffalo Bisons (Cleveland Indians)
- Ottawa Lynx (Baltimore Orioles)
- Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston Red Sox)
- Rochester Red Wings (Minnesota Twins)
- Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (Philadelphia Phillies)
- Syracuse SkyChiefs (Toronto Blue Jays)
South Division
- Charlotte Knights (Chicago White Sox)
- Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Devil Rays)
- Norfolk Tides (New York Mets)
- Richmond Braves (Atlanta Braves)
West Division
- Columbus Clippers (New York Yankees)
- Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh Pirates)
- Louisville Bats (Cincinnati Reds)
- Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers)
See also
- List of International League champions
- Sports league attendances
- Triple-A World Series
- Governors' Cup
- List of defunct International League teams (1912-)
External Links
| International League | ||||
| North Division | South Division | West Division | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bisons | Ottawa Lynx | Pawtucket Red Sox | Rochester Red Wings | Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons | Syracuse SkyChiefs | Charlotte Knights | Durham Bulls | Norfolk Tides | Richmond Braves | Columbus Clippers | Indianapolis Indians | Louisville Bats | Toledo Mud Hens | ||
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