The Empire Professional Baseball League (EPBL) is an

independent baseball league An independent baseball league is a professional baseball organization in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball and is outside the Minor League Baseball clubs affiliated to it. The Northern League (baseball, 19 ...

that began play in 2016. The Empire League plays a 40-game regular season followed by a five-game post season. The four-team league consists of four teams from

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York (state), New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upsta ...

. League offices are in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough ...

History

The Empire League is a replacement of the

North Country Baseball League The North Country Baseball League (NCBL) was an Independent baseball league, independent, professional baseball league located in the Northeastern region of the United States in 2015. Operating in cities not served by Major League Baseball or thei ...

, which folded after one season (and was itself a last-minute replacement for the East Coast Baseball League, which disbanded before the start of the 2015 season). The league fielded four teams based in the states of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

for its inaugural season. It is a low-budget league meant to give players recently graduated from college or with little professional experience an opportunity at staying in shape and providing them the chance at being signed to higher level league contracts with affiliated or independent teams. All league funding comes from advertisement sales, ticket sales and tryout revenue. The league is operated by Eddie Gonzalez, former professional baseball player and NAIA All-American at

Webber International University Webber International University (Webber or WIU) is a private university in Babson Park, Florida. History Webber International was founded as Webber College by Roger Babson, an entrepreneur and business theorist in the first half of the 20th cent ...

. Gonzalez is also a former NCBL executive. The Sullivan Explorers, despite finishing the regular season with a losing record, won the 2016 league championship over the regular season winner Watertown Bucks. Prior to the league's second season, the Watertown Bucks lost the lease to their stadium and were replaced by the Plattsburgh Redbirds. The New Hampshire Wild ceased operations and were replaced by a team from

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

; however, since a stadium deal in Puerto Rico had not yet been finalized, the team played the 2017 season as a travel team. The league expanded to six teams for the 2018 season with two new franchises selected from four of the nine interested parties visited in 2017. On February 23, 2018, the league announced that one team will be a revival of the New Hampshire Wild, and the sixth team would be the return of the New York Bucks, formerly known as the Watertown Bucks. On May 31, 2018, the league announced the Puerto Rico Islanders will play in Rincon, Puerto Rico, and the Sullivan Explorers would be known as the Aguada Explorers. For 2019, the Explorers would become a

traveling team Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel c ...

, and the Surge would move to

Saranac Lake, New York Saranac Lake is a village in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406, making it the largest community by population in the Adirondack Park. The village is named after Upper, Middle and Lower Saran ...

. Due to Covid-19, the 2020 Empire Professional Baseball League was held at

Consol Energy Park Wild Things Park is a 3,200-seat multi-purpose baseball stadium in North Franklin Township, a suburb of Washington, Pennsylvania. It hosted its first regular season baseball game on May 29, 2002, as the primary tenants of the facility, the Wa ...

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania. A part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball. The populat ...

Teams

Champions

References

External links

* {{Professional Baseball Independent baseball leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 2016 2016 establishments in the United States Professional sports leagues in the United States

History

Teams

Champions

See also

References

External links