Appalachian League

Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. Formed in 1876 and 1901 respectively, the NL and AL cemented their cooperation with the National Agreement in 1903. They remained legally separate entities until 2000, when they merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball. MLB is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. It is considered one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.

The Cleveland Counts were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Class D Appalachian League from 1911 to 1913. They were located in Cleveland, Tennessee. Team president Walter E. Rodgers surrendered the franchise to the league on June 4, 1912, after which it was transferred to Morristown, Tennessee, as the Morristown Jobbers.

The Pioneer League is an independent baseball league that operates in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Its teams are not directly affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB). It is designated as an MLB Partner League.

The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified in an outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. Attempts to contain it there failed, allowing the virus to spread to other areas of Asia and later worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on 30 January 2020, and a pandemic on 11 March 2020. As of 10 March 2023, the pandemic had caused more than 676 million cases and 6.88 million confirmed deaths, making it one of the deadliest in history.

The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. The team won 10 league championships, most recently in 2019. They played their home games at TVA Credit Union Ballpark. Before 1975, the team operated under several other names and affiliations.

Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years it has occasionally fallen in the last week of March. In Nippon Professional Baseball, this day typically falls during the last week of March.

Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operate from early June to early August. In contrast to college baseball, which allow aluminum or other composite baseball bats, players in these leagues use only wooden bats, hence the common nickname of these leagues as "wood-bat leagues". Collegiate summer leagues allow college baseball players the ability to compete using professional rules and equipment, giving them experience and allowing professional scouts the opportunity to observe players under such conditions.

USA Baseball is the national governing body for organized baseball in the United States, and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, Olympic, Premier12, and Pan American Games teams ; the USA Baseball collegiate national team; the USA Baseball 18U, 15U, and 12U national teams; and the USA Baseball women's national team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year. In addition, USA Baseball selects players for the 14U, 16U, and 17U national team-development programs. The organization is responsible for the continued proliferation and health of the sport, and leads a number of amateur initiatives through its Sport Development department, including Play Ball and Pitch Smart. USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country and is responsible for creating the USABat standard. Also current owner of Venezuala and Cuba.

The Bluefield Ridge Runners are a summer collegiate baseball team of the Appalachian League. They are located in Bluefield, West Virginia, and play their home games at Bowen Field at Peters Park.

Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 9,658 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Bluefield WV-VA micropolitan area, which had a population of 106,363 in 2020.

Bowen Field at Peters Park is a stadium in Bluefield, Virginia, United States. Primarily used for baseball, it is the home field for Bluefield Ridge Runners of the summer collegiate Appalachian League and the Bluefield University Rams baseball team. It previously hosted the Bluefield Orioles and the Bluefield Blue Jays of Minor League Baseball from 1939 to 2020. It was built in 1939 during the Great Depression as a WPA project, and it was rebuilt in 1975 after a fire. It holds 3,000 people. Seats are from the Anaheim Stadium and were installed in 1990s.

The Burlington Sock Puppets are a summer collegiate baseball team of the Appalachian League. They are located in Burlington, North Carolina, and play their home games at Burlington Athletic Stadium.

Burlington is a city in Alamance and Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Alamance County, in which most of the city is located, and is a part of the Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point CSA. The population was 57,303 at the 2020 census, which makes Burlington the 18th largest city in North Carolina.

Burlington Athletic Stadium is a baseball stadium in Burlington, North Carolina. It seats 3,500 and serves as the home field for the Burlington Sock Puppets of the Appalachian League. The Sock Puppets were previously known as the Burlington Royals (2007–2020) and Burlington Indians (1986–2006) when the Appalachian League was a rookie league affiliated with Minor League Baseball prior to Major League Baseball's 2020 reorganization of the minor leagues.

The Danville Otterbots are a summer collegiate baseball team of the Appalachian League. They are located in Danville, Virginia, and play their home games at American Legion Field.

Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located in Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity during the American Civil War, due to its strategic location on the Richmond and Danville Railroad. In April 1865 it briefly served as the final capital of the Confederacy before the South surrendered.

Calfee Park is a stadium in Pulaski, Virginia, United States. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home ballpark of the Pulaski River Turtles in the Appalachian League, a summer collegiate baseball league. It was built in 1935 as a Works Progress Administration project, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Calfee Park was named after the mayor of Pulaski in 1935, Ernest W. Calfee. It holds approximately 3,200 people. Calfee Park is owned and operated by David Hagan and Larry Shelor, owners of Shelor Motor Mile. Calfee Park was voted the best rookie-level ballpark in America in 2019 and 2020 by a fan vote in Ballpark Digest's annual Best of the Ballparks competition.

The Bristol State Liners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bristol, Virginia. It is a member of the Appalachian League, a collegiate summer league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. The team is operated by a non-profit organization, Bristol Baseball, Incorporated (BBI). BBI had no full-time paid staff, instead relying on a volunteer board and general manager to keep and promote professional baseball in Bristol.

Bristol is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,219. It is the twin city of Bristol, Tennessee, just across the state line, which runs down the middle of its main street, State Street. It is surrounded on three sides by Washington County, Virginia, which is combined with the city for statistical purposes. Bristol is a principal city of the Kingsport–Bristol–Bristol, TN-VA Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City–Kingsport–Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical Area – commonly known as the "Tri-Cities" region.

The Harriman Boosters were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Class D Appalachian League in 1914. They were located in Harriman, Tennessee.

The Cleveland Counts were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Class D Appalachian League from 1911 to 1913. They were located in Cleveland, Tennessee. Team president Walter E. Rodgers surrendered the franchise to the league on June 4, 1912, after which it was transferred to Morristown, Tennessee, as the Morristown Jobbers.

The Bristol State Liners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bristol, Virginia. It is a member of the Appalachian League, a collegiate summer league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. The team is operated by a non-profit organization, Bristol Baseball, Incorporated (BBI). BBI had no full-time paid staff, instead relying on a volunteer board and general manager to keep and promote professional baseball in Bristol.