List of Southern League champions

The Southern League (SL) of Minor League Baseball is a Double-A baseball league in the United States. A league champion has been determined at the end of each season since its inaugural 1964 campaign. Champions have determined by postseason playoffs, winning the regular season pennant, or being declared champion by the league office.

The 1982 Southern League champion Nashville Sounds

The Birmingham A's/Barons have won 7 SL championships, the most among all teams in the league, followed by the Jacksonville Suns (6) and Montgomery Rebels (5).

History

As of 2019, the first and second half winners within each division (North and South) met in a best-of-five series to determine division champions. Then, the North and South Division winners played a best-of-five series to determine a league champion.[1]

The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[2] and the league ceased operations before the 2021 season in conjunction with Major League Baseball's (MLB) reorganization of Minor League Baseball.[3] In place of the Southern League, MLB created the Double-A South, an 8-team circuit divided into two divisions.[4] Prior to the 2022 season, MLB renamed the Double-A South as the Southern League, and it carried on the history of the league prior to reorganization.[5] In 2021, the Double-A South held a best-of-five series between the top two teams in the league, regardless of division standings, to determine a league champion.[6]

League champions
Scores and runner-up teams are absent when no playoffs were held or pennant winners were declared champions.
Year Champion Score Runner-up
1964 Lynchburg White Sox ——
1965 Columbus Confederate Yankees ——
1966 Mobile Athletics ——
1967 Birmingham A's ——
1968 Asheville Tourists ——
1969 Charlotte Hornets ——
1970 Columbus Astros ——
1971 Charlotte Hornets 2–1Asheville Tourists
1972 Montgomery Rebels 3–0Asheville Orioles
1973 Montgomery Rebels 3–1Jacksonville Suns
1974 Knoxville Sox 3–2Jacksonville Suns
1975 Montgomery Rebels 3–0Orlando Twins
1976 Montgomery Rebels 3–1Orlando Twins
1977 Montgomery Rebels 2–0Jacksonville Suns
1978 Knoxville Sox 2–1Savannah Braves
1979 Nashville Sounds 3–1Columbus Astros
1980 Charlotte O's 3–1Memphis Chicks
1981 Orlando Twins 3–1Nashville Sounds
1982 Nashville Sounds 3–1Jacksonville Suns
1983 Birmingham Barons 3–1Jacksonville Suns
1984 Charlotte O's 3–0Knoxville Blue Jays
1985 Huntsville Stars 3–2Charlotte O's
1986 Columbus Astros 3–2Huntsville Stars
1987 Birmingham Barons 3–1Charlotte Knights
1988 Chattanooga Lookouts 3–0Greenville Braves
1989 Birmingham Barons 3–0Greenville Braves
1990 Memphis Chicks 3–2Orlando Sun Rays
1991 Orlando Sun Rays 3–1Birmingham Barons
1992 Greenville Braves 3–2Chattanooga Lookouts
1993 Birmingham Barons 3–1Knoxville Smokies
1994 Huntsville Stars 3–1Carolina Mudcats
1995 Carolina Mudcats 3–2Chattanooga Lookouts
1996 Jacksonville Suns 3–1Chattanooga Lookouts
1997 Greenville Braves 3–2Huntsville Stars
1998 Mobile BayBears 3–1Jacksonville Suns
1999 Orlando Rays 3–1West Tenn Diamond Jaxx
2000 West Tenn Diamond Jaxx 3–2Jacksonville Suns
2001[lower-alpha 1] Huntsville Stars
Jacksonville Suns		 ——
2002 Birmingham Barons 3–0Jacksonville Suns
2003 Carolina Mudcats 3–2Huntsville Stars
2004[lower-alpha 2] Mobile BayBears
Tennessee Smokies		 ——
2005 Jacksonville Suns 3–1West Tenn Diamond Jaxx
2006 Montgomery Biscuits 3–1Huntsville Stars
2007 Montgomery Biscuits 3–2Huntsville Stars
2008 Mississippi Braves 3–2Carolina Mudcats
2009 Jacksonville Suns 3–1Tennessee Smokies
2010 Jacksonville Suns 3–1Tennessee Smokies
2011 Mobile BayBears 3–1Tennessee Smokies
2012 Mobile BayBears 3–1Jackson Generals
2013 Birmingham Barons 3–2Mobile BayBears
2014 Jacksonville Suns 3–0Chattanooga Lookouts
2015 Chattanooga Lookouts 3–2Biloxi Shuckers
2016 Jackson Generals 3–0Mississippi Braves
2017[lower-alpha 3] Chattanooga Lookouts
Pensacola Blue Wahoos		 ——
2018 Jackson Generals 3–1Biloxi Shuckers
2019 Jackson Generals 3–2Biloxi Shuckers
2020 None (season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic)[2]
2021 Mississippi Braves[8] 3–2Montgomery Biscuits

Championship wins by team

Current SL teams appear in bold.

Wins Team Championship years
7 Birmingham A's/Barons 1967, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1993, 2002, 2013
6 Jacksonville Suns 1996, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2014
5 Montgomery Rebels 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977
4 West Tenn Diamond Jaxx/Jackson Generals 2000, 2016, 2018, 2019
4 Mobile BayBears 1998, 2004, 2011, 2012
3 Chattanooga Lookouts 1988, 2015, 2017
3 Huntsville Stars 1985, 1994, 2001
3 Knoxville Sox/Tennessee Smokies 1974, 1978, 2004
3 Orlando Twins/SunRays/Rays 1981, 1991, 1999
2 Carolina Mudcats 1995, 2003
2 Charlotte Hornets 1969, 1971
2 Charlotte O's 1980, 1984
2 Columbus Astros 1970, 1986
2 Greenville Braves 1992, 1997
2 Mississippi Braves 2008, 2021
2 Montgomery Biscuits 2006, 2007
2 Nashville Sounds 1979, 1982
1 Asheville Tourists 1968
1 Columbus Confederate Yankees 1965
1 Lynchburg White Sox 1964
1 Memphis Chicks 1990
1 Mobile Athletics 1966
1 Pensacola Blue Wahoos 2017

See also

Notes
  1. Huntsville and Jacksonville were declared co-champions after playoffs were cancelled in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
  2. Mobile and Tennessee were declared co-champions due to the threat of Hurricane Ivan.
  3. Chattanooga and Pensacola were declared co-champions after the playoffs were shortened due to the threat of Hurricane Irma.[7]

References

Specific

  1. "Playoff Procedures". Southern League. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  2. "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved". Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  3. Reichard, Kevin (February 12, 2021). "Minor League Baseball Overhaul Unveiled". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
  4. Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  5. "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  6. Heneghan, Kelsie (July 1, 2021). "Playoffs Return to the Minor Leagues". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  7. "Southern League Championship Series Canceled". Southern League. Minor League Baseball. September 6, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
  8. Sheehan, Stephanie (September 26, 2021). "Rangel Steers Braves to Double-A South Crown". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved October 8, 2021.

General

  • O'Neal, Bill (1994), The Southern League: Baseball in Dixie, 1885–1994, Eakin Press, pp. 320–321, ISBN 0890159521
  • "Southern League Past Champions". Southern League. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.