Independent Baseball

[South Atlantic]

Just want to see which is the best independent ball out there? I hear good things from the frontier league as well as the can-am (first year) should be fun. Just curious.

[Ken, Steelheads fan]

The Northern League is best. The Frontier League has an age limit. Players from that league often surface in the Northern League when their eligibility has expired.

Of course, I am biased. 8)

[BerkshireFan]

The Can-Am is just a renamed Northeast League which has been around since 1995 and is roughly on a par with the Central and Northern leagues. All three of those leagues operate under the same roster rules, but it is worthwhile pointing out that the the Northeast League champ swept the Northern League champ all four years that they squared off.

As far as talent level, the Atlantic League is hands down the best. Many major leaguers have done time in the AL including the Canseco brothers, Ricky Henderson, Ruben Sierra, Curtis Pride, Bill Pulsipher, Curtis Goodwin, Felix Jose, and a good number of others. Of the remaining players, you'll find most of them went farther up the affiliated ladder than those players in the other indy leagues.

I, however, have a soft spot for the Can-Am league.

[HeadFirst]

Hey, how about a blanket rating of the independent leagues, without any explanation of determination whatsoever?

1. Atlantic
2. Northern
3. Central
4. Can-Am
5. Frontier

I know nothing about the Golden League so I won't rank it. Oh, heck. Lots of people talk knowledgeably about things they know nothing about. Slot the GBL at No. 5, and bump the Frontier to No. 6.

I love the Frontier, though. I will not hear it dissed. Some of those guys can really play, and surface (as a previous poster mentioned) in the Northern or even Atlantic when they graduate from the FL.

[oldfatguy]

I too have a soft spot in the heart for the Frontier. One thing to remember is that they have a different mission than the Atlantic or Northern - Bill Lee is very adamant that the Frontier remain a developmental league, with the majority of players being just out of college or with a year or so of minor league experience. So the level of baseball talent overall is going to be slightly less, but that's by design.

That cuts out the Rickeys and Ozzies of the world, but it is good, solid baseball. They've had a few major league successes, always a good thing to sell. With that, their mission has been consistent and it works for them, so as a league, it's quite a success.