 | |
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| President | Bradley Rifkin |
| Commissioner | Jason Woodward |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country | USA |
| Most recent champion(s) | Bethesda Big Train (10) |
| Official website | www.calripkenleague.org |
The Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League (CRSCBL) is a collegiate summer baseball league located in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland metropolitan areas. The CRSCBL is a member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NACSB).
Founded in 2005, [1] the league was named for Cal Ripken, Sr. (1935-1999), a longtime player and manager in the Baltimore Orioles system. It is not associated with the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation. [2]
The league's founding teams were the Bethesda Big Train, College Park Bombers, Maryland Redbirds, Rockville Express, Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts, and Youse's Maryland Orioles.
The Herndon Braves joined in 2007 and the Alexandria Aces in 2008, expanding the league into Northern Virginia. [2] Before the 2010 season, the College Park Bombers left the league and the Southern Maryland Nationals, formerly the Southern Maryland Cardinals, joined. [3] [4] The Maryland Redbirds changed their name to the Baltimore Redbirds.
In 2011, the Vienna River Dogs became the ninth team in the league and the third in Northern Virginia. The league expanded into Washington, D.C., when the D.C. Grays joined for the 2012 season. In 2013, the Baltimore Pressman Cardinals and the Gaithersburg Giants joined the League. In 2014, the Southern Maryland Nationals shut down and the Cardinals were replaced by the Baltimore Dodgers.[ citation needed ] Youse's Maryland Orioles left after the season. In 2015, the League changed to a two-division format with a playoff. After the 2018 season, the Baltimore Redbirds, Rockville Express, Baltimore Dodgers, and Loudoun Riverdogs left the League. Cropdusters Baseball jointed the League in 2022 and the Southern Maryland Senators joined in 2023.
In 2011, Perfect Game USA ranked the Bethesda Big Train the best team in summer baseball. [5]
On July 15, 2009, teams of all-stars from the CRSCBL and the Valley Baseball League, a collegiate wooden-bat league based in Virginia, met to play a game dubbed the Mid-Atlantic Classic in Waldorf, Maryland. The Ripken League prevailed, 2–1. [6] A planned 2010 rematch was rained out. On July 11, 2011, the leagues held the second Mid-Atlantic Classic at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The Ripken League won again, 6–3. [6]
In 2017, 2018, and 2019, the CRSCBL sent all-star teams to North Carolina to participate in the Southern Collegiate Prospect Showcase against teams from the Florida Collegiate Summer League, the Southern Collegiate Baseball League, the Sunbelt Baseball League, and the Valley Baseball League.[ citation needed ]
A team of Ripken League players traveled to Cuba after the 2016 season. The team played three of Cuba's top teams in the week before the start of the Cuban National Series in some of Cuba's classic ballparks. On August 3, the Ripken League team upset the 2015 champions of the Cuban major leagues. The Ripken League team defeated the Pinar del Rio Vegueros, 3-2, at Estadio Capitan San Luis before a boisterous crowd of 400. On August 4, the Ripken League team lost to the Matanzas Cocodrilos 6-2 at Estadio Victoria de Giron (Victory at the Bay of Pigs). On August 5, Industriales defeated the Ripken League team 6-4 in a rain-shortened game in Havana's iconic Estadio Latinoamericano where the March 2016 exhibition game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban National Team had been played. Brady Anderson and B.J. Surhoff, who played for the Baltimore Orioles in Cuba in 1999, coached the team along with Ripken League co-founder Dean Albany."[ citation needed ]
As part of its exhibition series to prepare for the Olympics in Japan, the Israel National Baseball Team played three games against Ripken League competition in July 2021. On July 16, Israel defeated a Ripken League all-star team made up of players from the Braves, Giants, and Grays at FNB Field on City Island in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. On July 18, Israel came from behind in the final inning to beat the Bethesda Big Train, 8-7, before a standing-room-only crowd of 835 at Shirley Povich Field in Rockville, Maryland. On July 19, a Ripken League all-star team of players from the Aces, Big Train, and Thunderbolts defeated Israel, 9-3, at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Maryland.[ citation needed ]
| Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Team | Joined | City | Stadium |
| North | ||||
| Bethesda Big Train | 2005 [lower-alpha 1] | Bethesda, Maryland | Shirley Povich Field | |
| Cropdusters Baseball | 2022 | Olney, Maryland | First Responder Field by ServPro | |
| Gaithersburg Giants | 2013 | Gaithersburg, Maryland | Criswell Automotive Field at Kelley Park | |
| Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts | 2005 [lower-alpha 2] | Silver Spring, Maryland | Montgomery Blair Stadium | |
| Division | Team | Joined | City | Stadium |
| South | ||||
| Alexandria Aces | 2008 | Alexandria, Virginia | Frank Mann Field at Four Mile Run Park | |
| D.C. Grays | 2012 | Washington, D.C. | Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy | |
| Metro SoCo Braves | 2007 [lower-alpha 3] | Lorton, Virginia | South County High School | |
| Southern Maryland Senators | 2023 | Waldorf, Maryland | Regency Furniture Stadium | |
| Season | League Champion | Regular Season Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Bethesda Big Train, Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts (co-champions) | Bethesda Big Train |
| 2006 | Silver Spring-Takoma Thunderbolts | Bethesda Big Train |
| 2007 | Rockville Express | Rockville Express, Youse's Maryland Orioles (Tie) |
| 2008 | Youse's Maryland Orioles | Youse's Maryland Orioles |
| 2009 | Bethesda Big Train | Bethesda Big Train |
| 2010 | Bethesda Big Train | Youse's Maryland Orioles |
| 2011 | Bethesda Big Train | Bethesda Big Train |
| 2012 | Baltimore Redbirds | Rockville Express |
| 2013 | Baltimore Redbirds | Bethesda Big Train |
| 2014 | Baltimore Redbirds | Bethesda Big Train |
| 2015 | Baltimore Redbirds | Bethesda Big Train |
| 2016 | Bethesda Big Train | Baltimore Redbirds |
| 2017 | Bethesda Big Train | Bethesda Big Train |
| 2018 | Baltimore Redbirds, Bethesda Big Train (co-champions) | Bethesda Big Train |
| 2019 | Bethesda Big Train | Bethesda Big Train |
| 2020 | None (season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic) | |
| 2021 | Bethesda Big Train | Bethesda Big Train |
| 2022 | Alexandria Aces | Alexandria Aces |
| 2023 | Bethesda Big Train | Alexandria Aces |
Every championship series from 2009 to 2018 pitted the Redbirds against the Big Train. [7] [8]
In 2007, CRSCBL alumnus Joe Smith earned a spot on a major league roster with the New York Mets. [9]
In May 2009, Brett Cecil, who pitched for the Thunderbolts in 2005, was called up by the Toronto Blue Jays, where he pitched for eight seasons. In 2013, he became the first Ripken League alum to play in an MLB All-Star game. [10] In November 2016 he signed a 4-year, $30.5 million contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. [11]
The 2008 MLB Draft saw 40 former or current players chosen. Some players drafted included former Big Train player Carlos Gutierrez, at 27th overall by the Minnesota Twins. Three other players got drafted in the first three rounds: former Big Train player Evan Frederickson, at 35th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers, and two former players from the Youse's Orioles, Derrik Gibson in the 2nd round by the Boston Red Sox, and L. J. Hoes in the 3rd round by the Baltimore Orioles.
In the 2009 MLB draft, 37 former Ripken Leaguers were chosen, with the highest being Ben Tootle in the 3rd round, by the Minnesota Twins.
In the 2010 MLB Draft, 31 former Ripken Leaguers were chosen, with the highest being Jarrett Parker in the 2nd round, by the San Francisco Giants. [12]
In the 2011 MLB Draft, 33 former Ripken Leaguers were chosen, with the highest being Jed Bradley in the 1st round (15th overall), by the Milwaukee Brewers. [13]
In the 2012 MLB Draft, 31 former Ripken Leaguers were chosen, with the highest being Kyle Zimmer in the 1st round (5th overall), by the Kansas City Royals. [14]
In the 2013 MLB Draft, 22 former Ripken Leaguers were chosen, with the highest being Hunter Renfroe in the 1st round (13th overall), by the San Diego Padres. [15]
In the 2014 MLB Draft, 26 former Ripken Leaguers were chosen, with the highest being Mark Zagunis in the 3rd round, by the Chicago Cubs. [16]
In the 2015 MLB Draft, 32 former Ripken Leaguers were chosen, with the highest being Brandon Lowe in the 3rd round, by the Tampa Bay Rays. [17]
In the 2017 MLB Draft, 42 former Ripken Leaguers were chosen, with the highest being Logan Warmoth in the 1st round (22nd overall), by the Toronto Blue Jays. [18]
In the 2018 MLB Draft, 44 former Ripken Leaguers were chosen, with the highest being Logan Gilbert in the 1st round (14th overall), by the Seattle Mariners. [19]
In the 2019 MLB Draft, 36 former Ripken Leaguers were chosen, with the highest being Logan Driscoll in the 2nd round (72nd overall), by the San Diego Padres. [20]
In the 2020 MLB Draft, 6 former Ripken Leaguers were chosen, with the highest being Jordan Westburg in the 1st round (30th overall) by the Baltimore Orioles. [21]
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the American League's eight charter teams in 1901, the franchise spent its first year as a major league club in Milwaukee as the Milwaukee Brewers before moving to St. Louis to become the St. Louis Browns in 1902. After 52 years in St. Louis, the franchise was purchased in 1953 by a syndicate of Baltimore business and civic interests led by attorney and civic activist Clarence Miles and Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. The team's current owner is American trial lawyer Peter Angelos. The Orioles' home ballpark is Oriole Park at Camden Yards, which opened in 1992 in downtown Baltimore.
Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr., nicknamed "the Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire 21-season career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his position's most productive offensive players, Ripken compiled 3,184 hits, 431 home runs, and 1,695 runs batted in during his career, and he won two Gold Glove Awards for his defense. He was a 19-time All-Star and was twice named American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP). Ripken holds the record for consecutive games played (2,632), having surpassed Lou Gehrig's streak of 2,130 that had stood for 56 years and that many deemed unbreakable. In 2007, he was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility with 98.53% of votes, the sixth-highest election percentage ever.
The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of the New York–Penn League from 1977 to 2020, and of the High-A East in 2021.
William Oliver Ripken, nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1987–1998 for the Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians (1995), and Detroit Tigers (1998). During his career, he batted and threw right-handed. He is the younger brother of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. He currently serves as a radio host for XM Satellite Radio and a studio analyst for MLB Network.
Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium is the home of the Aberdeen IronBirds, an affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles in the South Atlantic League. The stadium is located in Aberdeen, Maryland. The 6,300-seat Ripken Stadium held its first game on June 18, 2002. As of 2011 the team had sold out every home game at Ripken Stadium since it began playing there in 2002.
Peter George Angelos is an American trial lawyer and baseball executive from Baltimore, Maryland. Angelos is the majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles, a team in the American League of Major League Baseball.
Peter Louis Stanicek is a former Major League Baseball player. Primarily a second baseman and left fielder, Stanicek was a member of the Baltimore Orioles in 1987 and 1988. He was 5'11" and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg). He was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed.
Ryan Dale Minor was an American professional baseball third baseman, minor league baseball manager and professional basketball player. He played all or parts of four seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1998 to 2001, with the Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos.
The 1981 Baltimore Orioles season was the franchise's 28th season based in Baltimore and 81st overall season as a member of the American League. Games were suspended for 50 days due to the 1981 Major League Baseball strike, causing a split season. The Orioles competed as members of the American League East, finishing second in the first half of the season and fourth in the second half of the season; their overall record was 59 wins and 46 losses. The Orioles hit five grand slams, the most in MLB in 1981.
The Rockville Express is a collegiate summer baseball team based in Rockville, Maryland. Most of its players are drawn from the college ranks. The team is a member of the Maryland Collegiate Baseball League (MCBL) and a former member of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (CRCBL). The Express plays its home games at The Laytonia Sports Complex in Derwood, Maryland. The Express is operated by the non-profit Rockville Community Baseball, Inc.. As of the fall of 2018, the team left the Cal Ripken Collegiate League along with three other teams.. The Rockville Express joined the Maryland Collegiate Baseball League beginning with the 2019 season. It appears the three other teams that left the Cal Ripken League in the fall of 2018 have ceased collegiate operations. The Rockville Express has relocated its home field to the Laytonia Sports Complex, a brand new muti- million dollar facility located a few miles from its former home field at Montgomery College Rockville. The move coincided with its move to the Maryland Collegiate League. The Maryland Collegiate League is a ten-team league with teams located throughout Maryland from Baltimore to the Washington suburbs.
The Bethesda Big Train is a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bethesda, Maryland. The team is a member of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (CRCBL), and derives its name from the nickname of Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson, who was a Bethesda resident for ten years. The Big Train plays its home games at Shirley Povich Field. As of August 2023, more than 210 Big Train alumni have played professional baseball, including 22 in the major leagues.
The Silver Spring–Takoma Thunderbolts is a collegiate summer baseball team based in Silver Spring, Maryland. Most of its players are drawn from the college ranks. The team is a member of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (CRCBL). The Thunderbolts play their home games at Montgomery Blair Baseball Stadium. The Thunderbolts are funded through ticket sales, sponsorship, merchandise sales, donations, and other fundraising efforts at games.
Youse's Maryland Orioles are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Linthicum, Maryland. Most of its players are drawn from the college ranks. The team is a member of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League (CRSCBL). The Maryland Orioles play their weekday home games at Bachman Park and weekend games at Calvert Hall High School. Since its founding in 1952, the team has sent at least 48 players to the Major Leagues, including Hall of Famers Al Kaline and Reggie Jackson.
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It's the first time since the league's inaugural season in 2005 where two teams have been named co-champions, the same two teams who have met in the Championship Series 10 years in a row.
the Redbirds and Big Train are playing in the championship game/round for ninth straight summer.