South Atlantic League

The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams along the Atlantic coastline of the United States from the Eastern Shore of Maryland to the South Carolina-Georgia border. It is a Class A league that plays a full season, and its teams are composed of players generally in their first or second year of professional play.

For the league of the same name that operated from 1904 to 1963, see South Atlantic League (1904–1963).
South Atlantic League
SportBaseball
Founded1980
PresidentEric Krupa[1]
No. of teams12
CountryUnited States
Most recent
champion(s)		Lexington Legends (2019)
Most titlesAsheville Tourists (4)
Augusta GreenJackets (4)
Greensboro Grasshoppers (4)
Greenville Drive (4)
Savannah Sand Gnats (4)
ClassificationClass A
Official websitewww.southatlanticleague.com

A number of different leagues known as the South Atlantic League have existed since 1904. The current league of that name adopted the moniker in 1980, having previously been the Western Carolinas League, founded in 1963. All of these have been nicknamed "Sally League".

History
Portion of plaque displaying likeness of John Henry Moss at Municipal Stadium, Hagerstown, Maryland

There have been several South Atlantic Leagues in the history of minor league baseball, spanning from 1904 to the present with a few breaks. The league ran from 1904 to 1917 as a class C league, then started up again in 1919, also class C. This time it ran from 1919 to 1930, moving up to class B beginning in 1921. William G. Bramham became league president in mid-1924 and served until 1930. The league was restarted again as a class B from 1936 to 1942, shut down as a result of World War II, and returned in 1946 as a class A league. The AA Southern Association (which never integrated) died after the 1961 season and so the SAL was promoted to AA in 1963 to take its place; a year later the name was changed to the Southern League. Out of the 51 seasons of operation, Augusta, Georgia competed in 46, Macon, Georgia was around for 46, and Columbia, South Carolina was in 45. Charleston, South Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; Savannah, Georgia; and Columbus, Georgia; each competed for at least 29 years also, making for a relatively stable lineup.

The South Atlantic League name went unused for 16 years, but in 1980 the Western Carolinas League brought back the name when it sought to change its identity. For nearly 60 years, 1948 through 2007, the dominant figure in the WCL/SAL was league founder and president John Henry Moss, who started the WCL as a young man in 1948, refounded it in 1960 and then led it into the new century. Moss retired at the close of the 2007[2] South Atlantic League season. He died at age 90 on July 1, 2009, at Kings Mountain, North Carolina—a town where he had also been mayor for 23 years.[3]

In 2005, the SAL had the highest attendance in 101 years with over 3,541,992 fans (while minor league baseball set a second straight record with 41,333,279 attendees). Currently, the league has 14 teams, divided into two divisions of seven clubs.

The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before ultimately being cancelled on June 30.[4][5] In late 2020, Major League Baseball's restructuring of the minor league system forced massive upheaval on the Class A and High-A levels. Of the fourteen teams that would have played the 2020 SAL season, five were promoted to the High-A Carolina League, one was also promoted to High-A but assigned to the new Mid-Atlantic League, five stayed, and three were forced out of affiliated baseball entirely. Seven teams from the old Carolina League were in turn demoted from High-A to Class A to fill out a new 12-team SAL for 2021.

Current teams
Current team locations:
  Northern Division
  Southern Division
Division Team MLB Affiliation City Stadium Capacity
Northern Carolina Mudcats Milwaukee Brewers Zebulon, North Carolina Five County Stadium 6,500
Delmarva Shorebirds Baltimore Orioles Salisbury, Maryland Arthur W. Perdue Stadium 5,200
Down East Wood Ducks Texas Rangers Kinston, North Carolina Grainger Stadium 4,100
Fredericksburg Nationals Washington Nationals Fredericksburg, Virginia New Fredericksburg Ballpark 5,000
Lynchburg Hillcats Cleveland Indians Lynchburg, Virginia Bank of the James Stadium 4,000
Salem Red Sox Boston Red Sox Salem, Virginia Salem Memorial Ballpark 6,300
Southern Augusta GreenJackets Atlanta Braves North Augusta, South Carolina SRP Park 4,000
Charleston RiverDogs Tampa Bay Rays Charleston, South Carolina Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park 6,000
Columbia Fireflies Kansas City Royals Columbia, South Carolina Segra Park 7,501
Fayetteville Woodpeckers Houston Astros Fayetteville, North Carolina Segra Stadium 4,786
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Chicago White Sox Kannapolis, North Carolina Atrium Health Ballpark 4,930
Myrtle Beach Pelicans Chicago Cubs Myrtle Beach, South Carolina TicketReturn.com Field 4,875

Current team rosters
Main article: South Atlantic League rosters

South Atlantic League teams (1980–present)

Notes: Bold font indicates that team is an active South Atlantic League team • An "^" indicates that team's article redirects to an article of an active team in the South Atlantic League or in a different league

League timeline (1980-present)
Bowling Green Hot RodsGreenville DriveRome BravesLake County CaptainsSouth Georgia WavesLexington LegendsJersey Shore BlueClawsDelmarva ShorebirdsKannapolis Cannon BallersHickory CrawdadsHagerstown SunsAlbany PolecatsColumbus CatfishAugusta GreenJacketsMyrtle Beach Blue JaysCape Fear CrocsWest Virginia PowerSumter BravesSavannah Sand GnatsColumbia FirefliesGreenville DriveGreenwood PiratesFlorence Blue JaysKannapolis Cannon BallersShelby RedsMacon BravesMacon PeachesGreensboro GrasshoppersGastonia RangersCharleston RiverDogsAsheville TouristsAnderson Braves

Current team Former team

League champions
Main article: List of South Atlantic League champions

South Atlantic League Hall of Fame
Main article: South Atlantic League Hall of Fame

The South Atlantic League Hall of Fame was started in 1994.

References
  1. "Contact Us". South Atlantic League. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  2. Baseball America, December 15, 2007
  3. Weber, Bruce (13 July 2009). "John Henry Moss, 90, Head of South Atlantic League for 50 Years, , Dies". Retrieved 20 March 2018 – via NYTimes.com.
  4. "A Message From Pat O'Conner". Minor League Baseball. March 13, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  5. "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved". Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
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