Southern League (baseball)
The Southern League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the Southern United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The original league was formed in 1885, and shut down in 1899. A new league, the Southern Association, was formed in 1900, consisting of twelve teams. The Association shut down after the 1961 campaign.
In 1964, the original South Atlantic League (nicknamed the "Sally League" and not related to the current league of the same name) changed its name to the Southern League. The original South Atlantic League was a mid- to higher-classification circuit that played from 1904 to 1917, 1919 to 1930 (when it was known as the South Atlantic Association), 1936 to 1942 and 1946 to 1963. The old South Atlantic League grew from Class C status to Class B (through 1942), then Class A (until 1962). In its final season, it was elevated to Double-A.
The Southern League is divided into two divisions, North and South. Before 2005, the divisions were East and West, but the move of the Greenville Braves to Mississippi after the 2004 season led to a realignment. The current league presidency is vacant due to the March 2012 death of former major league first baseman Don Mincher, who had held the position from 2000 to 2011 (the first year as an interim).
The Southern League maintains its headquarters in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, Georgia. Starting in the 2012 season, the Carolina Mudcats relocated to Pensacola, Florida to become the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. They will retain their Cincinnati Reds affiliation.
It is known popularly for the long bus rides players endure - leading to the injury Southern League Neck.
Read more about Southern League (baseball): Current Teams, Complete List of Teams (1964–present), South Atlantic League Teams (prior To 1964)
Famous quotes containing the words southern and/or league:
“My course is a firm assertion and maintenance of the rights of the colored people of the South according to the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, coupled with a readiness to recognize all Southern people, without regard to past political conduct, who will now go with me heartily and in good faith in support of these principles.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“Stereotypes fall in the face of humanity. You toodle along, thinking that all gay men wear leather after dark and should never, ever be permitted around a Little League field. And then one day your best friend from college, the one your kids adore, comes out to you.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)