The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the High-A East before reassuming its original moniker in 2022.
Salisbury is a city in and the county seat of Wicomico County, Maryland, United States. Salisbury is the largest city in the state's Eastern Shore region, with a population of 33,050 at the 2020 census. Salisbury is the principal city of the Salisbury, Maryland Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is a commercial hub of the Delmarva Peninsula.
The Chesapeake Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. From 1993 to 2024, the team was known as the Bowie Baysox.
The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies mostly on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay. Nine counties are normally included in the region. The Eastern Shore is part of the larger Delmarva Peninsula that Maryland shares with Delaware and Virginia.
The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home games at Municipal Stadium which was opened in 1930 and seated 4,600 people. The team mascot was Woolie, a giant woolly bear caterpillar.
Arthur W. Perdue Stadium is a baseball stadium in Salisbury, Maryland. It is the home of the Baltimore Orioles Carolina League affiliate Delmarva Shorebirds. Named for the founder of Perdue Farms, Arthur Perdue, it features the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame. The stadium seats 5,200 fans and opened in 1996.
The Eastern Shore Baseball League was a class D minor league baseball league that operated on the Delmarva Peninsula for parts of three different decades. The league's first season was in 1922 and the last was in 1949, although the years were not consecutive, and featured teams from Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia. The first incarnation lasted from 1922 to mid-1928, the second from 1937 to 1941, and the third from 1946 to 1949. Though the level of play was competitive and many future major leaguers gained experience in the ESBL, funding the league remained a constant problem for the rural franchises.
The Salisbury Indians were a United States minor league baseball team which played in Salisbury, Maryland. The team began operation in 1922 as a founding member of the Eastern Shore League, which operated out of cities on the Delmarva Peninsula.
The Sumter Braves were a minor league baseball team located in Sumter, South Carolina. The team played in the South Atlantic League, and were affiliated with the Atlanta Braves. Their home stadium was Riley Park.
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 Albany Polecats were a minor league baseball team in Albany, Georgia. They were a low-A-class team that played in the South Atlantic League and were a farm team affiliated with both the Montreal Expos and the Baltimore Orioles during the franchise's tenure in Albany. They played all of their home games at the Paul Eames Sports Complex. While at Paul Eames Sports Complex during their tenure, the stadium was dubbed "Polecat Park," even though the venue was officially named after Paul Eames, a minor-league baseball legend. During the team’s four years in the South Atlantic League, the Polecats never finished higher than eighth overall in the fourteen-team league. Subpar performance coupled with poor attendance proved too much to bear for the struggling franchise. Prior the 1996 season, the Albany Polecats were sold and moved north to Salisbury, Maryland, where the franchise became the current-day Delmarva Shorebirds.
Below are select minor league players and the rosters of the minor league affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles:
Arthur W. Perdue (1885–1977) was an American businessman and the founder of Perdue Farms along with his wife Pearl in 1920. The business was started in his backyard, and at the time only produced table eggs from chickens, but eventually grew into a $4.1 billion company.
Hunter Luke Harvey is an American professional baseball relief pitcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals.
Dayton Lane Hall is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Baltimore Orioles.
Grayson Greer Rodriguez is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Orioles selected Rodriguez in the first round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. He made his MLB debut in 2023.
Cadyn Thomas Grenier is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played college baseball for the Oregon State Beavers, and played for the Baltimore Orioles organization from 2018 to 2023.
Jackson Matthew Holliday is an American professional baseball infielder for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was selected first overall by the Orioles in the 2022 MLB draft and made his MLB debut in 2024. He is the son of former MLB All-Star Matt Holliday.
