CICL and Prospect League To Merge

The Prosect League Era

So, with the news we've read about some of the Central Illinois Collegiate League joining the new teams in the upstart Prospect League on Ballpark Digest, perhaps this would be a good time to get in my first thoughts about this new league the Chillicothe paints will be a part of.

At first glance, this will be just like what Richmond Roosters fan Tom Arnett told me, this will be just like old times for the most part. What I mean by that is there will be numerous markets that used to field Frontier League teams. Since of course they've bowed out of the league. This will be paying some type of homage to the early days of the Frontier League, when they were just starting out.

Consider these markets; Chillicothe, Richmond, Lorain, Dubois County, Slippery Rock. Would they be more than legit for a summer collegiate league? Yes they would. Though the economy has been a real pain (and let's be honest, it has), the fact that a place like Chillicothe can get something that is close and similar to the Frontier League style of play even with the swan dive that the team took the final few months of last year, has to be saying something.

So throw in places like Danville, Quincy, Hannibal, Butler and Dupage County, and you have something to work with. This has been a topic that FL commissioner Bill Lee has been thinking about. When going over the options in the more than crowded Chicagoland area to try to expand the FL, we find that some of those markets have been in talks (but just talks) with the Northwoods League, the best summer collegiate league out there right now. The Prospect League here is intending to be a farm system for the Frontier League.

Is the Prospect League a step down from the FL? Yes it is, but it's not as big as a demotion as you might assume. Players do come out of summer collegiate league teams and make their way to afilliated baseball. Personally, I believe that it will be a different road to go through for everyone involved with this project, and the fan attendance and support still needs to come, but when this thing takes off, people will warm up to it. Basically, it's still baseball, and it's still fun family entertainment for anybody who goes to the games.

As for coverage of the Prospect League on this blog? I will make sure that I will report to you as much as I can. Whatever that's of note, I will be here to bring it to you. The Chillicothe Paints are gone from the Frontier League, but are not gone from baseball in general. V.A. Memorial Stadium is still a great place to see a game, (for any sport I should add), and I hope that the V.A. can finally hold up a championship banner of some sort, because the wait it getting alittle too long.

That's just my thoughts, though.