Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league and the highest level of organized baseball in the United States and Canada. One of the big four major leagues, MLB comprises 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, making MLB the oldest major professional sports league in the world. 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.
Major League Baseball (MLB) has been broadcast on American television since the 1950s, with initial broadcasts on the experimental station W2XBS, the predecessor of the modern WNBC in New York. The World Series was televised on a networked basis since 1947, with regular season games broadcast nationally since 1953. Over the forthcoming years, MLB games became major attractions for American television networks, and each of the Big Three networks would air packages of baseball games at various times until the year 2000. Fox would rise to major network status, partially on its acquisition of MLB rights in 1996; Fox has been MLB's primary broadcast television partner ever since.
The KBO League, known as the Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most successful team, having won 11 of the 42 championships.
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at Pelicans Ballpark, which opened in 1999 and seats up to 6,599 people.
The Peninsula Pilots are an amateur baseball team in the Coastal Plain League, collegiate summer baseball league. The team plays its home games at the War Memorial Stadium in Hampton, Virginia. The Pilots first started participating in the Coastal Plain League in 2000. The Pilots are coached by Hank Morgan, a former player at Virginia Military Institute and Christopher Newport University.
The Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. (CBC) is an American media company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Capitol owns three television stations and nine radio stations in the Raleigh–Durham and Wilmington areas of North Carolina and the Durham Bulls minor league baseball team as well as the Coastal Plain League, a college summer baseball league. It is one of the few family-owned broadcasting companies left in the country, owned by four generations of the Fletcher-Goodmon family.
The Coastal Plain League was a Minor league baseball affiliated circuit which, except for the war years (1942–1945), operated in North Carolina between 1937 and 1952. It was classified as a "D" league. It grew out of a semi-pro league that operated from 1935 to 1936 under the same Coastal Plain League name. Today, the summer collegiate baseball league has adopted the Coastal Plain League moniker.
WCMC-FM is a sports radio station based in Raleigh, North Carolina and licensed to nearby Holly Springs. Its studios are located in north Raleigh along with WRAL-FM, an adult contemporary music station, two sports talk stations WDNC and WCLY (simulcasted on HD2 and HD3. All are owned and operated by Capitol Broadcasting Company which also owns NBC television affiliate WRAL-TV, Fox affiliate WRAZ-TV, and the Durham Bulls minor-league baseball team, among other properties.
The Edenton Steamers are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Edenton, North Carolina. Beginning in 2020 they will participate in the Tidewater Summer League. 2019 was the Steamers 22nd year as a member of the Coastal Plain League where they won 11 North Division titles and 7 East Division titles, three Petitt Cup Championships, and had a league-record 14-year streak (2004–2017) of posting a winning record, having made a playoff appearance in 13 of those seasons. Edenton also established a CPL standard by winning seven consecutive division-half titles from 2011 through the first half of 2014. In 2015 the Steamers capped the summer with its third Petitt Cup Championship, tied for the league record in that tally, and was named the Summer Collegiate Team of the Year by Perfect Game CrossChecker.
The Gastonia Grizzlies were a collegiate summer baseball team playing in the Coastal Plain League. The team played its home games at Sims Legion Park in Gastonia, North Carolina, where they were known for their unique promotional events and fireworks shows. It was reported in October 2020 that the team was moving to Spartanburg, South Carolina starting with the 2021 season. The team's new name was announced as the Spartanburgers.
The Wilmington Sharks are an American baseball team in the East Division of the Coastal Plain League (CPL), a collegiate summer baseball league. The Sharks play their home games at Buck Hardee Field at Legion Stadium in Wilmington, North Carolina. Buck Hardee Field is more commonly referred to as "The Shark Tank."
The Forest City Owls are a baseball team in the Coastal Plain League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The team played its inaugural 2008 season in Forest City, North Carolina after the same franchise, owned by Ken Silver, moved from Spartanburg, South Carolina in the offseason. The Owls play their home games at McNair Field, a new baseball stadium constructed near downtown Forest City by the municipal government utilizing town funds, private contributions, and more than $1 million in donations from Robert C. McNair, a Forest City native and owner of the NFL Houston Texans. The Owls won their home debut on Thursday, May 29, 2008, by a score of 4–2 over the Gastonia Grizzlies before 2,675 fans. McNair threw out the first pitch, and the Owls turned an ever-rare triple play in the top of the 6th inning.
Historic Hicks Field is a historic baseball stadium and national historic district located in Edenton, North Carolina,. The stadium is home to the John A. Holmes High School Aces as well as the Edenton Steamers of the Coastal Plain League.
The Morehead City Marlins are a collegiate summer baseball team playing in the Coastal Plain League (CPL). The team is based in Morehead City, North Carolina and plays its home games at O'Neal Field at Big Rock Stadium in Morehead City. The team began play in the CPL in the 2010 season and competes in the league's East division.
The Macon Bacon is a Georgia based wood-bat collegiate summer baseball team that began playing in the Coastal Plain League (CPL) in 2018. They have appeared in the league playoffs twice, and finished as the runner-up after a Championship appearance in their second season.
The Greenville Greenies was the primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Greenville, North Carolina between 1928 and 1951. Greenville teams played as members of the Eastern Carolina League from 1928 to 1929 and Coastal Plain League from 1934 to 1941 and 1946 to 1951.
The Tri-City Chili Peppers are a collegiate summer baseball team playing in the Coastal Plain League. The team plays its home games at Shepherd Stadium in Colonial Heights, Virginia. The team joined the league in 2020 but didn't play due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Their first ever game was played Friday, May 28, 2021 on the road against the Holly Springs Salamanders in North Carolina. Their first ever home game was played on Monday, May 31, 2021 against the Wilson Tobs.
Ting Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Holly Springs, North Carolina. It is home to the Holly Springs Salamanders, a collegiate summer baseball team in the Coastal Plain League, and to Wake FC, a collegiate summer soccer team in USL League Two. It is also used for recreational football, baseball, and soccer programs; and for rentals, concerts, festivals and other events. The stadium hosted the Coastal Plain League's 19th Annual All-Star Game in 2017.
The Edenton Colonials were a minor league baseball team based in Edenton, North Carolina. In 1951 and 1952, the Colonials played as members of the Class D level Virginia League in 1951 and Coastal Plain League in 1952, winning the 1952 league championship in their final season of play. The Edenton Colonials hosted home games at the Historic Hicks Field.
Minor league baseball teams based in Fayetteville, North Carolina played between 1910 and 1956. Fayetteville teams played as members of the 1910 Eastern Carolina Association, the Eastern Carolina League in 1909, 1911, 1928 to 1929 and Carolina League from 1953 to 1956. The early minor league teams preceded today's Fayetteville Woodpeckers, who resumed minor league play in 2019, as members of the Carolina League.
