Pioneer Baseball League
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| League foundation | 1939 |
| Teams | 8th |
| Country countries |
 United States
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| Title holder | Idaho Falls Chukars (2019) |
| Record champions | Billings Mustangs (15) |
| Website | Official website |
The Pioneer League is a minor league baseball league currently operating in the Rocky Mountains region . She has also worked in adjacent parts of Canada in the past . It is classified as a Rookie League. The Pioneer League is a short season league that takes place from June to early September.
Together with the Appalachian League , it forms the second lowest level of minor league baseball, the "Rookie Advanced" level.
history
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. Since the players were short of money due to the Second World War , the league stopped operations for the 1943 to 1945 seasons.
In 1948, the league expanded to include two teams in Montana . The new teams were the Billings Mustangs and Great Falls Electrics. In those early years, the league's teams either operated independently or were affiliated with a parent club of Major League Baseball (MLB) or Pacific Coast League (PCL). When the Los Angeles Dodgers ousted the Hollywood stars of the PCL in 1958 , the stars moved and became the "new" Salt Lake City Bees, stayed in the PCL and stole the largest market from the Pioneer League.
In 1959, the Pioneer League consisted of only six teams, the Billings and Great Falls and the Boise Braves, Idaho Falls Russets, Missoula Timberjacks and Pocatello Athletics. The league played for a year (1963) at "Class A" level before moving to the Rookie League in 1964, when there were only four teams in the league. By 1978 the league had grown back to eight teams. With the exception of 1986 (with six teams), there have been eight teams in the league since then and it is not expected that this will change without further expansion or contraction within Major League Baseball.
In 2018, the total number of league visitors was around 600,000.
After 2018, the Helena Brewers moved to Colorado Springs , Colorado . In Colorado they played under the name Rocky Mountain Vibes .
Current teams
| division | team | Major League Teams | city | Stadion | capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern | Billings Mustangs | Cincinnati Reds | Billings , Montana | Dehler Park | 5,000 |
| Great Falls Voyagers | Chicago White Sox | Great Falls , Montana | Centene Stadium | 2,500 | |
| Idaho Falls Chukars | Kansas City Royals | Idaho Falls , Idaho | Melaleuca Field | 3,400 | |
| Missoula Osprey | Arizona Diamondbacks | Missoula , Montana | Ogren Park at Allegiance Field | 3,500 | |
| west | Grand Junction Rockies | Colorado Rockies | Grand Junction , Colorado | Suplizio Field | 7.014 |
| Ogden Raptors | Los Angeles Dodgers | Ogden , Utah | Lindquist Field | 8,262 | |
| Orem Owlz | Los Angeles Angels | Orem , Utah | UCCU ball park | 5,000 | |
| Rocky Mountain vibes | Milwaukee Brewers | Colorado Springs , Colorado | UCHealth Park | 8,500 |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Pioneer League Attendance | Pioneer League stats. Retrieved November 1, 2018 .
- ^ Ballpark Digest Editors: New Name on Tap for Colorado Springs Pioneer League Team. In: Ballpark Digest. June 13, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2019 (American English).