From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Current season, competition or edition:2023 Pioneer League season | |
Classification | Independent |
---|---|
Sport | Baseball |
Founded | 1939 (84 years ago) |
President | Mike Shapiro |
Commissioner | Jim McCurdy |
No. of teams | 10 |
Country | United States |
Most recent
champion(s) |
Grand Junction Rockies (2022) |
Most titles | Billings Mustangs (15) |
Official website | www.pioneerleague.com |
The Pioneer League is an independent baseball league that operates in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Its teams are not directly affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB). It is designated as an MLB Partner League.
From 1939 to 2020, the Pioneer League was affiliated with Minor League Baseball and its teams were affiliated with MLB teams. It operated as a Class C league from 1939 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1962. It was elevated to Class A for 1963 and was a Rookie-level league from 1964 to 2020.
History[edit][]
The Pioneer League began in 1939 with six teams in Idaho and Utah, operating at the Class C level. The original six teams were the Boise Pilots, Lewiston Indians, Ogden Reds, Pocatello Cardinals, Salt Lake City Bees, and Twin Falls Cowboys. With players in short supply due to World War II, the league suspended operations for the 1943 through 1945 seasons.
In 1948, the league expanded by adding two teams in Montana; the Billings Mustangs and Great Falls Electrics. In these early years, teams in the league either operated independently or were affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) or Pacific Coast League (PCL) parent clubs, as the PCL was attempting to grow (but ultimately failed) into a major league. When MLB's Los Angeles Dodgers displaced the PCL's Hollywood Stars in 1958, the Stars relocated and became the "new" Salt Lake City Bees, remaining in the PCL and taking away the Pioneer League's largest market.
By 1959, the Pioneer League was down to six teams; Billings and Great Falls along with the Boise Braves, Idaho Falls Russets, Missoula Timberjacks, and Pocatello Athletics. The league operated at the Class A level for one year (1963), before changing to Rookie league in 1964, when there were only four teams in the league; the Idaho Falls Angels, Magic Valley Cowboys, Pocatello Chiefs, and Treasure Valley Cubs. By 1978, the league had again grown to eight teams — Billings and Idaho Falls along with the Butte Copper Kings, Calgary Cardinals, Great Falls Giants, Helena Phillies, Lethbridge Dodgers, and Medicine Hat Blue Jays. With the exception of 1986 (when there were six teams), there have been eight teams in the league since then.
In 2016, total league attendance was 616,686, down slightly from the 2015 total of 633,622.
In its final years as an MLB-affiliated league, the Pioneer League was one of two "Rookie Advanced" minor leagues along with the Appalachian League. As such, it occupied the second-lowest rung in the minor league ladder. Although classified as a Rookie league, the level of play was slightly higher than that of the two "complex" Rookie leagues, the Gulf Coast League and Arizona League. Unlike the complex leagues, Pioneer League teams charged admission and sold concessions. It was almost exclusively the first fully professional league in which many players competed; most of the players had just been signed out of high school. It was a short-season league that competed from late June (when major league teams signed players whom they selected in the amateur draft) to early September.
After the 2018 season, the Helena Brewers relocated to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where they now play as the Rocky Mountain Vibes.
As the start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being cancelled on June 30, making the 2019 season the league's last as an MLB-affiliated league of Minor League Baseball.
In conjunction with the reorganization of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Pioneer League was converted to an independent baseball league and was granted status as an MLB Partner League. The reconfigured league continued with the same franchises using the same identities, with the exception of the Orem Owlz who relocated to Windsor, Colorado, as the Northern Colorado Owlz. The Boise Hawks also joined the Pioneer League in 2021 after moving from the Northwest League.
The Pioneer League announced a five-year naming rights deal between the league and ticket vendor TicketSmarter that would have the league go as The Pioneer Baseball League presented by TicketSmarter starting in time for the 2022 season.
Current teams[edit][]
Current team locations:
Division | Team | Founded | Joined | City | Stadium | Capacity |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Northern | Billings Mustangs | 1948 | Billings, Montana | Dehler Park | 5,000 | |
Glacier Range Riders | 2021 | 2022 | Kalispell, Montana | Flathead Field | 2,500 | |
Great Falls Voyagers | 1948 | Great Falls, Montana | Centene Stadium | 2,500 | ||
Idaho Falls Chukars | 1940 | Idaho Falls, Idaho | Melaleuca Field | 3,400 | ||
Missoula PaddleHeads | 1999 | Missoula, Montana | Ogren Park at Allegiance Field | 3,500 | ||
Southern | Boise Hawks | 1987 | 2021 | Boise, Idaho | Memorial Stadium | 3,452 |
Grand Junction Jackalopes | 1978 | Grand Junction, Colorado | Suplizio Field | 7,014 | ||
Northern Colorado Owlz | 2001 | 2022 | Windsor, Colorado | Future Legends Complex | 6,000 | |
Ogden Raptors | 1994 | Ogden, Utah | Lindquist Field | 8,262 | ||
Rocky Mountain Vibes | 2019 | Colorado Springs, Colorado | UCHealth Park | 8,500 |
New Teams
Oakland -2024
Davis, Ca- 2024
Pioneer League[]
Pioner League Teams (1939–present[]
Bold text indicates active teams.
- Billings Mustangs
- Boise Braves
- Boise Hawks
- Boise Pilots
- Boise Yankees
- Butte Copper Kings
- Caldwell Cubs
- Calgary Cardinals
- Calgary Expos
- Casper Ghosts
- Casper Rockies
- Gate City Pioneers
- Glacier Range Riders
- Great Falls Dodgers
- Great Falls Electrics
- Great Falls Giants
- Great Falls Selectrics
- Great Falls Voyagers
- Great Falls White Sox
- Grand Junction Jackalopes
- Grand Junction Rockies
- Helena Brewers
- Helena Gold Sox
- Helena Phillies
- Idaho Falls A's
- Idaho Falls Angels
- Idaho Falls Braves
- Idaho Falls Chukars
- Idaho Falls Gems
- Idaho Falls Nuggets
- Idaho Falls Padres
- Idaho Falls Russets
- Idaho Falls Yankees
- Lethbridge Black Diamonds
- Lethbridge Dodgers
- Lethbridge Expos
- Lethbridge Mounties
- Lewiston Indians
- Magic Valley Cowboys
- Medicine Hat A's
- Medicine Hat Blue Jays
- Missoula Osprey
- Missoula PaddleHeads
- Missoula Timberjacks
- Northern Colorado Owlz
- Ogden Dodgers
- Ogden Raptors
- Ogden Reds
- Ogden Spikers
- Orem Owlz
- Pocatello A's
- Pocatello Bannocks
- Pocatello Cardinals
- Pocatello Chiefs
- Pocatello Gems
- Pocatello Giants
- Pocatello Pioneers
- Pocatello Posse
- Provo Angels
- Rocky Mountain Vibes
- Salt Lake City Bees
- Salt Lake City Giants
- Salt Lake City Trappers
- Treasure Valley Cubs
- Twin Falls Cowboys
Teams by city[edit][]
Teams by city | |||
---|---|---|---|
City, State or Province | Team(s) | Years | Seasons |
Billings, Montana | Mustangs | 1948–1963, 1969–present | 69 |
Boise, Idaho | Braves, Hawks, Pilots, Yankees | 1939–1942, 1946–1963, 2021–present | 24 |
Butte, Montana | Copper Kings | 1978–1985, 1987–2000 | 22 |
Caldwell, Idaho | Cubs, Treasure Valley Cubs | 1964–1971 | 8 |
Calgary, Alberta | Cardinals, Expos | 1977–1984 | 8 |
Casper, Wyoming | Ghosts | 2001–2011 | 11 |
Colorado Springs, Colorado | Rocky Mountain Vibes | 2019–present | 3 |
Great Falls, Montana | Dodgers, Electrics, Giants, Selectrics, Voyagers, White Sox | 1948–1963, 1969–present | 69 |
Grand Junction, Colorado | Rockies, Jackalopes | 2012–present | 10 |
Helena, Montana | Brewers, Gold Sox, Phillies | 1978–2000, 2003–2018 | 29 |
Idaho Falls, Idaho | A's, Angels, Braves, Chukars, Gems, Nuggets, Padres, Russets, Yankees | 1940–1942, 1946–present | 79 |
Kalispell, Montana | Range Riders | 2022–present | 1 |
Lethbridge, Alberta | Black Diamonds, Dodgers, Expos, Mounties | 1975–1998 | 24 |
Lewiston, Idaho | Indians | 1939 | 1 |
Medicine Hat, Alberta | A's, Blue Jays | 1977–2002 | 26 |
Missoula, Montana | Osprey, PaddleHeads, Timberjacks | 1956–1960, 1999–2019, 2020–present | 28 |
Ogden, Utah | Dodgers, Raptors, Reds, Spikers | 1939–1942, 1946–1955, 1966–1974, 1994–present | 51 |
Orem, Utah | Owlz | 2005–2020 | 15 |
Pocatello, Idaho | A's, Bannocks, Cardinals, Chiefs, Gems, Giants, Pioneers, Gate City Pioneers, Posse | 1939–1942, 1946–1965, 1984–1985, 1987–1991, 1993 | 32 |
Provo, Utah | Angels | 2001–2004 | 4 |
Salt Lake City, Utah | Bees, Giants, Trappers | 1939–1942, 1946–1957, 1967–1969, 1985–1992 | 27 |
Twin Falls, Idaho | Cowboys, Magic Valley Cowboys | 1939–1942, 1946–1957, 1961–1966, 1968–1971 | 36 |
Windsor, Colorado | Northern Colorado Owlz | 2022–present | 1 |