The 2018 season marked the Northwoods League’s 25th season.
Original Northwoods League logo
In June of 1994, amidst a relatively sparse summer collegiate baseball landscape, five teams in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa took the field as part of the upstart Northwoods League. The model: bring the promotional and entrepreneurial spirit of professional baseball to the summer collegiate market. In its first season, all five teams were owned by the League, and each played local town ball teams to fill out the 56-game schedule. Approximately 70,000 fans attended games that first season.
Fast forward twenty-five years, and the Northwoods League has distinguished itself among a prolific summer collegiate baseball landscape. It has grown to 20 affiliates across six states and one Canadian province. Teams play a 72-game season and the League’s attendance perennially exceeds 1 million. All games are broadcast with a 4-camera HD production, expanding the visibility of our players, teams and communities well-beyond the League’s geographic footprint. More than 185 alumni have made it to the Major Leagues – with three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (WAS), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist (CHC) and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (BOS), Jordan Zimmermann (DET) and Curtis Granderson (TOR) leading the way.
25 Memorable Moments in Northwoods League History
Northwoods League Alums Scherzer and Sale Face Off in 2017 MLB All-Star Game (released May 28)
Sale pitched two innings in the game allowing three hits and no runs while striking out two. Scherzer pitched one inning allowing one hit and had two strikeouts. Scherzer would go on to win his third Cy Young Award in 2017. He finished the year 16-6 with a 2.51 ERA and had 268 strikeouts in 200.2 innings pitched. Sale would finish second in the Cy Young voting in the American League behind Corey Kluber of the Indians. Sale went 17-8 with a 2.90 ERA and had 308 strikeouts in 214.1 innings pitched. Read Complete Story. |
Three Pitchers from 2014 Waterloo Bucks Selected in First Round of 2016 Draft (released May 24)
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Lakeshore Ownership Group Includes Ties to Cooperstown (released May 21)
With the addition of Lakeshore, the Northwoods League added a seventh team in the state of Wisconsin. The Chinooks make their home at Concordia University in Mequon, a northern suburb of Milwaukee. Concordia University is located on 200 acres of Lake Michigan shoreline. Read Complete Story. |
Northwoods League First Summer Collegiate League to Draw One Million Fans in Single Season (released May 17)
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Val Pascucci Throws First No-Hitter in Northwoods League (released May 14)
As a member of the Honkers in 1998, Pascucci (Oklahoma) had one of the most productive seasons in franchise history. Working both as an outfielder and pitcher, he played in all 62 games that season. He hit .289 with 11 doubles, 11 HR and 49 RBI and compiled a 2-3 record on the mound with a 3.06 ERA, 29 strikeouts and 18 walks. In addition to being named to both the mid-season and post-season All-Star teams, Pascucci earned the “Star of Stars” award as the All-Star Game MVP. Read Complete Story. |
La Crosse Stadium Built Specifically for Northwoods League Team (released May 10)
Kapanke, who was born and raised in La Crosse, firmly believed La Crosse could support a Northwoods League team. He and Radatz looked at several sites that day, none of which were ready to house an NWL team. Read Complete Story. |
Northwoods League Installs 4-Camera Webcasting System in All Ballparks (released May 7)
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Curtis Granderson Teams Up with Northwoods League Foundation (released May 3)
The agreement called for the Northwoods League and The Northwoods League Foundation to work in conjunction with Granderson to help promote his Grand Kids Foundation while also working to bring awareness to the newly formed Northwoods League Foundation and engaging Northwoods League alums. Read Complete Story. |
St. Cloud Sets Summer Collegiate Record with 50,000+ Fans in Single Season (released April 30)
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Tony Sanchez Drafted 4th Overall in MLB First-Year Player Draft (released April 27)
Sanchez, from Boston College, became the highest draft pick in Northwoods League history when he was selected 4th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Former St. Cloud River Bats pitcher Thomas Diamond previously held the mark as the 10th overall pick by the Texas Rangers out of the University of New Orleans in 2004. Outfielders Brett Jackson and Tim Wheeler joined Sanchez as first round picks marking the first draft where multiple NWL alumni were selected in the first round. Read Complete Story. |
First NWL Umpire Works a Major League Baseball Game (released April 23)
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The Twinkie Dog on Good Morning America (released April 19)
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2016 Home Run Derby at the Harbor (released April 16)
Eighteen of the top sluggers in the League, nine from each division, took their turn at bat in a nine-inning home run challenge that featured players hitting off the dock over an ‘outfield wall’ made of buoys and pool noodles. Read Complete Story. |
Introduction of the Major League Dreams Showcase (released April 12)
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Duluth Manager Terry Collins Named as New York Mets Manager (released April 9)
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Sale of First Northwoods League Franchise (released April 5)
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Jeff Weaver First NWL Alum to Make MLB Debut (released April 2)On April 14, 1999 Jeff Weaver pitched in his first Major League game with the Detroit Tigers. He was the first Northwoods League alum to debut in Major League Baseball. Weaver would go on to compile 104 wins and 1,214 strikeouts over an eleven-year career that included an appearance in the 2006 World Series. Read Complete Story. |
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig Speaks at Northwoods League All-Star Game (released March 29)
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Juan Pierre First NWL Alum to Win World Series Title (released March 26)
Pierre was first drafted in the 48th round of the 1996 draft by the Mariners but would return to school. He was then drafted again by the Rockies in the 13th round of the 1998 MLB June Amateur Draft. Read Complete Story. |
ESPN Broadcasts Northwoods League Games (released March 22)
“Northwoods Baseball Weekly” also aired to a national audience. Read Complete Story. |
Madison Mallards Draw 10,061 Fans for Single-Game (released March 19)
Buzz around the team had been steadily growing throughout its first three seasons, and continued into 2004 spurred by ballpark renovations, promotions and a solid team on the field. Read Complete Story. |
TJ Friedl Becomes the Highest Paid Non-Drafted Domestic Free Agent (released March 15)
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Wisconsin Rapids Sets Single-Season Wins Record (released March 12)
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NWL All-Stars Beat Team USA 1-0 (released March 8)
But 1,600 miles away, in St. Cloud, Minn., nearly 2,000 fans were witnessing their own unbelievable All-Star Game moment. In an exhibition game against the USA Baseball National Team, the Northwoods League All-Stars held Team USA scoreless, winning the game 1-0 in a 10-inning pitcher’s duel and handing the national team their first shutout in nearly a year. Read Complete Story. |
Opening Day 1994 (released March 5)
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Share the Glove | Northwoods League Foundation Donated $50,000 in Baseball and Softball Equipment
The Northwoods League Foundation celebrated its 25th season of the Northwoods League by donating $50,000 in youth Rawlings baseball and softball equipment through 20 grants. Each grant included two sets of catcher’s gear, ten gloves, eight batting helmets, six bats and one bucket of practice balls.
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