Jan 8

Jan 8 ValleyCats join Frontier League

Spurned by Major League Baseball in the big reorganization of Minor League Baseball, the Tri-City ValleyCats will join the independent Frontier League for the 2021 season and beyond.

This agreement will allow the ValleyCats to maintain professional baseball in the Capital Region. Tri-City had been a member of the Short Season A NY-Penn League, but not included among the 120 teams invited to be part of the new Minor League Baseball.

“We are excited to join the Frontier League and eager to start this new chapter in ValleyCats baseball. We feel that this opportunity is the best fit for our fans, franchise, and facility as we look to the future,” said ValleyCats President Rick Murphy. “We would also like to thank Commissioner Bill Lee, the entire leadership of the Frontier League, and the fifteen other teams for welcoming us as new members.”

The Frontier League plays a 96-game schedule, which will include 48 home games for the ValleyCats at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium. The league features 16 clubs stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River and from the Ohio River to the St. Lawrence Seaway. The season is set to begin in mid-May with a complete schedule to be announced in the near future. The New York Boulders will be the closest geographical team at just over 120 miles away.

“We are honored and excited to welcome the Tri-City ValleyCats to our
League,” Frontier League Commissioner Bill Lee said in a press statement. “They enjoy a tremendous reputation in professional baseball for their strong ownership and exemplary management. The ValleyCats also have a great fan base. We are anxious for their fans to see Frontier League baseball. 2021 could not start better for the Frontier League than to have the ValleyCats join our family.”

“We are grateful for the continued support of our fans, partners, and the Capital Region community as a whole,” added ValleyCats General Manager, Matt Callahan. “We are thrilled to share this news and look forward to opening the gates for the start of the Frontier League season this spring.”

The ValleyCats will will continue to call Joseph L. Bruno Stadium home.