Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball
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| Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball | |
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| Founded | 2004 |
| Class | Independent |
| Based in | Durham, North Carolina |
| Commissioner | Miles Wolff |
| Official Website | Can-Am League |
The Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, based in Durham, North Carolina, is a professional, independent baseball league located in the Northeastern United States and the Canadian province of Quebec. It operates in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either.
The Can-Am League exists so that professional baseball players who are not signed by a Major or Minor League organization could have another chance at playing at a higher level. Although the level of CanAm League play can be categorized as between A and AA, players in independent baseball are usually not scouted heavily by Major League teams. Many Major League alumni have called Can-Am League teams home in an effort get back to the Majors. The league also caters to players who are not quite talented enough to play at a higher level.
Despite its nickname, the Association, founded in 2004, is not to be confused with the Canadian-American League, a 20th-century predecessor.
Contents |
[edit] 2007 Can-Am League Teams
[edit] League history
The Canadian-American Association is a new name for a league with ties to two independent leagues, the Northeast League (formed in 1995), and the Northern League. The two leagues merged in 1998, but after the 2002 season, the Northeast League was reestablished as a separate league.
For the 2005 season, the Northeast League reconstituted as the Canadian-American Association and acquired a new team in Worcester, Massachusetts, to replace the Allentown Ambassadors, who folded days before the 2004 season began and forced the league to field a traveling team called the Aces. The Bangor Lumberjacks, native to Bangor, Maine, folded only three weeks before the start of the 2005 season, forcing the team to create the traveling team The Grays.
For 2006, the Can-Am League added two teams. The Elmira Pioneers announced they were folding operations in the offseason between 2005 and 2006, with the Sussex Skyhawks replacing them. Prior to that, the Atlantic League's Nashua Pride announced that they would be leaving the AtL and join the CAL.
The League also announced that they were changing their playoff format for the 2006 campaign. Prior to that, the league was divided into two divisions (North and South), with the division winners in each half-season qualifying for the playoffs, with wild-card teams (based on record) added if necessary to equal four. Under the new format, the divisions have been scrapped. All eight teams will compete for 4 playoff spots. The first two will be for the first and second half division winners. The second two spots will be given to the teams with the best winning percentage after that. If necessary, 3 teams can qualify based on win percentage (but only if the first half winner also wins the second half).
In October 2006, the League announced that the Atlantic City Surf would be switching from the Atlantic League to the Can-Am League beginning in the 2007 season. In November of 2007, the league announced that it would revive the Grays franchise as a traveling team as the 10th team. The Grays were also a traveling team in 2005, but were not a member of the Can-Am League in 2006.
[edit] League champions
- 1995 Adirondack Lumberjacks
- 1996 Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs
- 1997 Elmira Pioneers
- 1998 New Jersey Jackals
- 1999 Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs (Northern League)
- 2000 Adirondack Lumberjacks (Northern League)
- 2001 New Jersey Jackals (Northern League)
- 2002 New Jersey Jackals (Northern League)
- 2003 Brockton Rox
- 2004 New Jersey Jackals
- 2005 Worcester Tornadoes
- 2006 Quebec Capitales
[edit] External link
| Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball | ||
| Atlantic City Surf | Brockton Rox | Nashua Pride | New Haven County Cutters | New Jersey Jackals North Shore Spirit | Quebec Capitales | Sussex Skyhawks | Worcester Tornadoes |
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| Professional Baseball | |
|---|---|
| Major League Baseball: American League, National League; Japanese baseball: Central League, Pacific League | |
| Winter League Baseball | |
| Dominican Republic | Mexico | Puerto Rico | Venezuela | Hawaii | |
| Minor League Baseball | |
| Triple-A: International League | Mexican League | Pacific Coast League Double-A: Eastern League | Southern League | Texas League Notable Independent Leagues: American Association | Can-Am League | Northern League |
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| Notable Defunct Leagues | |
| Negro Leagues | All-American Girls Professional Baseball League | |
