NECBL

New England Collegiate Baseball League

New England Collegiate Baseball League

U.S. collegiate summer baseball league

The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June and July, with a playoff in early August. Like the Cape Cod Baseball League and other amateur leagues, the NECBL is a showcase for top college-level players, giving professional baseball scouts a chance to see prospective pros playing against each other. Along with the Cape Cod Baseball League, Northwoods League, and Coastal Plain League, it is considered one of the top summer leagues in the country and is a part of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball. In 2019, the Collegiate Summer Baseball Register ranked the NECBL as the 2nd best collegiate summer baseball league, behind only the Cape Cod League.[1][2][3]

Quick Facts Sport, Founded ...

Founded in 1993, the NECBL began its direction under George Foster, former Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets All-Star and Major League Baseball home run leader, and Emmy Award-winning television producer/director Joseph Consentino. Play started in 1994 and today the NECBL plays in all six New England states.[4] It recruits players attending U.S. colleges from New England, the other 44 states, and foreign countries, provided that they come from NCAA-sanctioned colleges or universities, are in good academic standing, have completed at least one year of athletic eligibility, and have at least one year of eligibility remaining.

The NECBL's current commissioner is Sean McGrath, former general manager of the North Adams SteepleCats. McGrath replaced Mario Tiani, who retired following the 2012 season.

League structure

The NECBL became a 13-team league in 2013 with the addition of teams in Rhode Island (Ocean State Waves), Massachusetts (Plymouth Pilgrims) and New York (Saratoga Brigade) (the league's first team to operate outside New England), but reverted to 12 teams after the Brigade folded. On October 30, 2015, the league announced that the Upper Valley Nighthawks would begin play in 2016 in Hartford, Vermont, bringing the league back to 13 teams.[5] The Plymouth Pilgrims ceased operations after the 2018 season[6] but were replaced by the Martha's Vineyard Sharks, a former member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL). The New Bedford BaySox ceased after the 2019 season, replaced by the Bristol Blues, who also moved from the FCBL.[7] The North Shore Navigators returned to the league in 2021 after nine years in the FCBL.[8]

Teams

Current teams

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Blue Sox
Waves
Gulls
Mountaineers
Schooners
Sharks
Nighthawks
Mainers
Navigators
Westerners
SteepleCats
Swamp Bats
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Blues
  • West Division
  • North Division
  • Coastal Division
More information Division, Team ...
  • A caret (^) denotes an approximate capacity, including lawn seating.
  1. The Sharks played in the FCBL from 2010–2018.
  2. The Schooners are the only surviving charter franchise.
  3. The Navigators played in the FCBL from 2012–2020.
  4. The Blues played in the FCBL from 2015–2019.

Relocated or renamed teams

More information Team, City ...

Defunct teams

More information Team, City ...

Season structure

In the 2021 season, the league was divided into two seven-team divisions, the North Division and the South Division. During the regular season, teams played 44 regular-season games, solely against division opponents, because of COVID-19 travel concerns. Scheduled doubleheaders were seven-inning games.

The top four teams from each division qualified for the eight-team playoff bracket, in which teams played best-of-three series to determine the champion.

For 2022, the NECBL went to three divisions, with a single pair of games against each out-of-division team. The league retained the three-division format for the 2023 season.

Past champions

More information Franchise, Titles ...

In the NECBL's history, the most successful team is the Newport Gulls, with seven league championships and twelve championship series appearances (including one championship appearance as the Cranston, Rhode Island-based Rhode Island Gulls). The Keene Swamp Bats are next with five league titles and the North Shore Navigators have four.[14]

More information Year, Winning Team ...

All-Star Game

The All-Star Game usually takes place from mid- to late July. Prior to the game a Home Run Derby is held and, since the 2007 All-Star Game, a Special Skill Competition for Most Accurate Arm and Fastest Runner.

More information Year, Winning Team ...

Home Run Derby winners

More information Year, Winner ...

Notable alumni

The following former NECBL players have gone on to play in Major League Baseball.[35] Former NECBL players have reached the major league rosters of all thirty MLB teams, the thirtieth team being the Philadelphia Phillies when, in September 2015, Brian Bogusevic debuted with the team.[36]

More information Major League Baseball alumni of the New England Collegiate Baseball League ...

Media

All NECBL games are broadcast online through the NECBL Broadcast Network from Blueframe, with Pointstreak providing live stats for all games.[37]

On May 14, 2010, the league signed an agreement with Pointstreak. Pointstreak provides "real-time scoring, official statistics, and administration services" to the NECBL. A highlight of Pointstreak's services is Game Live, a real-time statistics feature providing play-by-play for every NECBL game.[38]

In 2020, the league announced that Blueframe would provide the official streaming service for the league.

See also

Notes

  1. [1]
    Rogers, Kendall (July 20, 2007). "Kendall's Mailbag: Ducks in a row". Rivals.com College Baseball. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  2. [2]
    Nation, Boyd (September 21, 2010). "Talent Levels for the 2010 College Summer Leagues". Boyd's World. Archived from the original on March 7, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012. Overall, other than the clearcut win for the Cape, this leaves me a little fuzzy as to who's second, or to even who the second tier is. Overall, the NECBL, Jayhawk, and Northwoods leagues look good, but if you pay less attention to the D1% column (which may be reasonable, given the strength of the California JC ranks, for example), the California and West Coast leagues may join them.
  3. [3]
    "2012 Baseball Season Preview Part 1: Q&A with Head Coach Brett Boretti". GoColumbiaLions.com. Columbia University Athletics. February 23, 2012. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
  4. [4]
    "NECBL Goes with 10 Teams for 2012". BallparkDigest.com. February 11, 2012. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  5. [5]
    "on Pointstreak Sports Technologies". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  6. [6]
    Wolcott, David. "Plymouth Pilgrims baseball franchise ceases operations". Wicked Local Plymouth. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
  7. [7]
    "Back to Bristol; New England League Welcomes Bristol Blues to League for 2020". NECBL. November 7, 2019.
  8. [8]
    "North Shore Navigators Rejoining NECBL". North Shore Navigators (Press release). April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
  9. [9]
    "Vineyard Baseball Park – Martha's Vineyard Sharks". Stadium Journey.
  10. [10]
    "Old Mountain Field – Ocean State Waves". Stadium Journey.
  11. [11]
    "Maxfield Sports Complex – Upper Valley Nighthawks". Stadium Journey.
  12. [12]
    "Rogers Park Field – Danbury Westerners". Stadium Journey.
  13. [13]
    Berkshire Dukes Box Score, c. 2004 URL accessed June 5, 2009 Archived October 31, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  14. [14]
    NECBL Record Book at necbl.com, URL accessed July 22, 2009 Archived July 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  15. [15]
    Geoghegan, William (May 7, 2020). "Waves sidelined as NECBL cancels season". The Independent. Wakefield, RI. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  16. [16]
    "Welcome to the NECBL". Archived from the original on July 11, 2009. Retrieved February 17, 2009.
  17. [17]
    NECBL'S Nighthawks Defeat Best of Rest, 6-0 by Roberto Gonzalez, at pqasb.pqarchiver.com.
  18. [18]
    "Connecticut Sports Online".
  19. [19]
    http://www.necbl.com/2008Update/allstarinfo.htm [dead link]
  20. [20]
    "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved February 21, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. [21]
    "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved February 19, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. [22]
    "2005 All Star Game". Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
  23. [23]
    "NECBL". Archived from the original on October 10, 2007. Retrieved February 17, 2009.
  24. [24]
    "NECBL". Archived from the original on November 15, 2007. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  25. [25]
    "NECBL". Archived from the original on August 7, 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
  26. [26]
    "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 2, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  27. [27]
    "Rain Cuts Short 2015 NECBL All-Star Game". July 20, 2015.
  28. [28]
    "2016 NECBL All-Star Game - Newspaper Box Score".
  29. [29]
    "NECBL's 23rd All-Star Game Ends in 8-8 Tie".
  30. [30]
    "North, South Battle to 5-5 Tie in Star-Studded 2017 NECBL All-Star Game". NECBL.com. July 31, 2017.
  31. [31]
    "South Edges North, 4-3, in 2018 NECBL All-Star Game". July 29, 2018.
  32. [32]
    "Randy Taveras Named NECBL All-Star Game MVP". July 30, 2018.
  33. [33]
    Fitzsimmons, Jack (July 28, 2019). "NECBL All-Star Game Washed Out". WCAX.
  34. [34]
    "NECBL Annual Awards". NECBL.com.
  35. [35]
    "NECBL Alumni". NECBL. New England Collegiate Baseball League. Retrieved April 15, 2017.
  36. [36]
    "League". NECBL. New England Collegiate Baseball League. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  37. [37]
    NECBL Broadcast Network at necbl.com, URL accessed June 4, 2010. Archived June 4, 2010
  38. [38]
    NECBL Signs Agreement with Pointstreak at necbl.com, URL accessed June 4, 2010. Archived June 4, 2010

Team websites
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