Can-Am League

From SoSH

Can-Am League

Founded:	2004
No. of Teams:	8
Class:	Independent
Most recent champion:	Nashua Pride

1 League Information
- 1.1 Current
- 1.2 History
2 Commonwealth Cup
3 Teams
- 3.1 Current
- 3.2 Past
4 Champions
5 External Links
6 See Also

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League Information

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Current

The Can-Am League was founded in 2004 as one of the many Independent Baseball Leagues that exist in Minor League Baseball. The Can-Am league's area is New England, Eastern Canada and New Jersey.

Although the level of Can-Am League play can be categorized at the Class A level, players in independent baseball are usually not scouted heavily by Major League teams. A few Major League alumni have called Can-Am League teams home in an effort to 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 Can-Am League, founded in 2004, is not to be confused with the Canadian-American League, a 20th-century predecessor which was also known as the "Can-Am League".

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History

The Can-Am League is an independent league with ties to two different 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. The Nashua Pride also moved from the Atlantic League to the Can-Am League prior to the 2006 season.

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 2006, 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.

In November 2007, both the New Haven County Cutters and the North Shore Spirit suspended operations, leaving the league's team total at eight. Many of the New Haven player contracts were sold to Nashua, while many of the former Spirit players were placed on waivers.

In December 2007, it was announced that Ottawa -- abandoned by the International League at the end of the 2007 season -- would be joining the Can-Am League as its eighth franchise, displacing the Grays. The currently unnamed team will play at Lynx Stadium.

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Commonwealth Cup

The Commonwealth Cup is a season long competition between the three Massachusetts teams in the Can-Am League - the North Shore Spirit, the Brockton Rox and the Worcester Tornadoes.

The North Shore Spirit are the 2-time (2006, 2007) defending Commonwealth Cup champions.

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