International League
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223657742
2008-07-05T03:15:37Z
Krazos
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/* 2007 */
{{Infobox sports league
| logo = Internationalleague.png
| pixels = 150px
| caption = International League logo
| sport = [[Baseball]]
| founded = 1885
| motto =
| teams = 14
| country = {{USA}}
| champion = [[Richmond Braves]]
| folded =
| website = [http://www.ilbaseball.com www.ilbaseball.com]
}}
The '''International League''' ('''IL''') is a [[minor league baseball]] league which operates in the eastern [[United States]]. Like the [[Pacific Coast League]], it plays at the [[AAA (baseball)|Triple-A]] level, which is one step below [[Major League Baseball]]. It was so-named because it had teams in both the [[United States]] and [[Canada]] (and for several years in the 1950s, in [[Cuba]] as well.) Its name is currently a [[misnomer]]: since the [[Ottawa Lynx]] relocated to [[Allentown, Pennsylvania]] at the end of the 2007 season, the league now has teams only in the [[United States of America|United States]].
==History==
The International League was created from the mergers of member teams from three precursor leagues: the '''Eastern League''', founded in {{by|1884}}; the '''New York State League''', formed in {{by|1885}}; and the '''Ontario League''', also organized in 1885. The New York State and Ontario leagues merged in {{by|1886}} to form the '''International League''', and in {{by|1887}} the Eastern League was absorbed to create a 10-club league.
The league collapsed soon afterwards, when the Northern teams claimed that it was too onerous to travel to the South and formed the '''International Association'''. Teams and league names came and went over the years. In {{by|1954}}, a franchise was awarded to [[Havana, Cuba]], but due to political upheaval in that country it had to be moved — to [[Jersey City, New Jersey]] — in the middle of the {{by|1960}} season. Another foray into the [[Caribbean]] failed when the newly-created team in [[San Juan, Puerto Rico]], added in {{by|1961}}, had to be moved to [[Charleston, West Virginia]] in mid-season.
In {{by|1971}}, an International League all-star team beat the [[New York Yankees]] in an exhibition game in [[Rochester, New York]], before 11,000 people. In {{by|1984}}, the all-stars lost to the [[Cleveland Indians]] in 11 innings before 11,032 fans in [[Columbus, Ohio]], to commemorate the league's 100th anniversary.
The International League and the [[American Association (20th century)|American Association]], another Triple-A league that operated in the Midwest, voted in {{by|1988}} to play interleague games. The league also split into two divisions that year. The interleague concept ended in {{by|1992}}, but the two league divisions remained.
In further interleague play, in 1988, the three Triple-A leagues, the other being the [[Pacific Coast League]], met to play the first [[Triple-A All-Star Game]]. One team was made up of All-Stars from [[American League]] affiliates and the other of [[National League]] affiliates. Beginning in {{by|1998}}, a team of IL All-Stars faced off against a team of PCL All-Stars.
Also in 1998, with the addition of three new teams from the disbanded American Association and the new [[Durham Bulls]] expansion team, the league reorganized into three divisions: the '''North Division''', '''South Division''', and '''West Division'''.
At the end of each season, the three divisional leaders and a [[wild card (sports)|wild card]] team square off in [[playoffs|best-of-5 playoffs]], with the winning team of the finals awarded the [[Governors' Cup]], the league's championship trophy.
Since {{by|2006}} the league champion has met to play the PCL champion in the [[Bricktown Showdown]], a single Triple-A Championship game. Previous class championship series included the [[Junior World Series]] and the [[Triple-A World Series]].
==Current teams==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Division
!Team
!MLB Affiliation
!City
!Stadium
!Capacity
|-
! rowspan="6" | North
|'''[[Buffalo Bisons]]'''
|[[Cleveland Indians]]
|[[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]], [[New York]]
|[[Dunn Tire Park]]
|align="right" |19,500
|-
|'''[[Lehigh Valley IronPigs]]'''
|[[Philadelphia Phillies]]
|[[Allentown, Pennsylvania|Allentown]], [[Pennsylvania]]
|[[Coca-Cola Park]]
|align="right" |10,000
|-
|'''[[Pawtucket Red Sox]]'''
|[[Boston Red Sox]]
|[[Pawtucket, Rhode Island|Pawtucket]], [[Rhode Island]]
|[[McCoy Stadium]]
|align="right" |10,031
|-
|'''[[Rochester Red Wings]]'''
|[[Minnesota Twins]]
|[[Rochester, New York|Rochester]], [[New York]]
|[[Frontier Field]]
|align="right" |10,868
|-
|'''[[Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees]]'''
|[[New York Yankees]]
|[[Moosic, Pennsylvania|Moosic]], [[Pennsylvania]]
|[[PNC Field]]
|align="right" |10,982
|-
|'''[[Syracuse Chiefs]]'''
|[[Toronto Blue Jays]]
|[[Syracuse, New York|Syracuse]], [[New York]]
|[[Alliance Bank Stadium]]
|align="right" |11,117
|-
! rowspan="4" | South
|'''[[Charlotte Knights]]'''
|[[Chicago White Sox]]
|[[Fort Mill, South Carolina|Fort Mill]], [[South Carolina]]
|[[Knights Stadium]]
|align="right" |10,002
|-
|'''[[Durham Bulls]]'''
|[[Tampa Bay Rays]]
|[[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]], [[North Carolina]]
|[[Durham Bulls Athletic Park]]
|align="right" |10,000
|-
|'''[[Norfolk Tides]]'''
|[[Baltimore Orioles]]
|[[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]], [[Virginia]]
|[[Harbor Park]]
|align="right" |12,067
|-
|'''[[Richmond Braves]]'''<sup>1</sup>
|[[Atlanta Braves]]
|[[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], [[Virginia]]<sup>1</sup>
|[[The Diamond]]<sup>2</sup>
|align="right" |12,134
|-
! rowspan="4" | West
|'''[[Columbus Clippers]]'''
|[[Washington Nationals]]
|[[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]], [[Ohio]]
|[[Cooper Stadium]]<sup>3</sup>
|align="right" |15,000
|-
|'''[[Indianapolis Indians]]'''
|[[Pittsburgh Pirates]]
|[[Indianapolis, Indiana|Indianapolis]], [[Indiana]]
|[[Victory Field]]
|align="right" |15,500
|-
|'''[[Louisville Bats]]'''
|[[Cincinnati Reds]]
|[[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], [[Kentucky]]
|[[Louisville Slugger Field]]<sup>4</sup>
|align="right" |13,131
|-
|'''[[Toledo Mud Hens]]'''
|[[Detroit Tigers]]
|[[Toledo, Ohio|Toledo]], [[Ohio]]
|[[Fifth Third Field (Toledo)|Fifth Third Field]]
|align="right" |10,300
|}
:<sup>1</sup> The Braves will be relocated to [[Gwinnett County, Georgia|Gwinnett County]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], in 2009.
:<sup>2</sup> To be replaced in 2009 by a new stadium currently named "[[Gwinnett County Ballpark]]"
:<sup>3</sup> To be replaced in 2009 by a new stadium named "[[Huntington Park (Columbus, Ohio)|Huntington Park]]"
:<sup>4</sup> Hosting 2008 [[Triple-A All-Star Game]]
===Current team rosters===
* {{main|International League rosters}}
==Final 2007 season standings==
===North Division===
{| class="wikitable" width="40%"
|- align="center" bgcolor="#dddddd"
! width="40%" | North Division
! width="4%" | W
! width="4%" | L
! width="2.5%" | Pct.
! width="2.5%" | GB
|- align=center
|align=center| '''[[Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees]]''' || 84 || 59 || .587 || —
|- align=center
|align=center| [[Rochester Red Wings]] || 77 || 67 || .535 || 7½
|- align=center
|align=center| [[Buffalo Bisons]] || 75 || 67 || .528 || 8½
|- align=center
|align=center| [[Pawtucket Red Sox]] || 67 || 75 || .472 || 16½
|- align=center
|align=center| [[Syracuse Chiefs]] || 64 || 80 || .444 || 20½
|- align=center
|align=center| [[Ottawa Lynx]] || 55 || 88 || .385 || 29
|}
===South Division===
{| class="wikitable" width="40%"
|- align="center" bgcolor="#dddddd"
! width="40%" | South Division
! width="4%" | W
! width="4%" | L
! width="2.5%" | Pct.
! width="2.5%" | GB
|- align=center
|align=center| '''[[Durham Bulls]]''' || 80 || 63 || .559 || —
|- align=center
|align=center| y-[[Richmond Braves]] || 77 || 64 || .546 || 3.5
|- align=center
|align=center| [[Norfolk Tides]] || 69 || 74 || .484 || 11
|- align=center
|align=center| [[Charlotte Knights]] || 63 || 80 || .441 || 17
|}
y-Wild Card team
===West Division===
{| class="wikitable" width="40%"
|- align="center" bgcolor="#dddddd"
! width="40%" | West Division
! width="4%" | W
! width="4%" | L
! width="2.5%" | Pct.
! width="2.5%" | GB
|- align=center
| '''[[Toledo Mud Hens]]''' || 82 || 61 || .573 || —
|- align=center
| [[Louisville Bats]] || 74 || 70 || .514 || 8½
|- align=center
| [[Indianapolis Indians]] || 70 || 73 || .490 || 12
|- align=center
| [[Columbus Clippers]] || 64 || 80 || .444 || 18½
|}
==Playoffs==
===2007===
{{4TeamBracket
| RD1='''1st Round'''
| RD2='''[[Governors' Cup]]'''
| RD1-seed1=4
| RD1-team1='''[[Richmond Braves]]'''
| RD1-score1='''3'''
| RD1-seed2=1
| RD1-team2=[[Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees]]
| RD1-score2=1
| RD1-seed3=3
| RD1-team3='''[[Durham Bulls]]'''
| RD1-score3='''3'''
| RD1-seed4=2
| RD1-team4=[[Toledo Mud Hens]]
| RD1-score4=0
| RD2-seed1=4
| RD2-team1='''[[Richmond Braves]]'''
| RD2-score1='''3'''
| RD2-seed2=3
| RD2-team2=[[Durham Bulls]]
| RD2-score2=2
}}
==Affiliate changes==
Franchises often shift their Major League affiliations:
'''Washington Nationals'''
*2006: [[New Orleans Zephyrs]] ([[Pacific Coast League]])
*2007: [[Columbus Clippers]]
'''New York Yankees'''
*2006: [[Columbus Clippers]]
*2007: [[Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees]]
'''Philadelphia Phillies'''
*2006: [[Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees|Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons]]
*2007: [[Ottawa Lynx]]
*2008: [[Lehigh Valley IronPigs]] (relocation from Ottawa)
'''Baltimore Orioles'''
*2006: [[Ottawa Lynx]]
*2007: [[Norfolk Tides]]
'''New York Mets'''
*2006: [[Norfolk Tides]]
*2007: [[New Orleans Zephyrs]] (PCL)
==See also==
*[[List of defunct International League teams (1912-)]]
*[[List of International League champions]]
*[[Sports league attendances]]
==External links==
*[http://www.ilbaseball.com International League official website]
{{International League}}
{{Professional Baseball}}
[[Category:Organizations established in 1885]]
[[Category:International League| ]]
[[Category:Minor league baseball leagues]]
[[fr:Ligue internationale (baseball)]]
[[ja:インターナショナルリーグ]]
[[nl:International League]]