The Northern League (NL)

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The Northern League
FormerlyMidwest Collegiate League
SportBaseball
Founded2010
No. of teams6
Country United States
Most recent
champion(s)		Joliet Generals
(2021)
Most titlesNorthwest Indiana Oilmen (3)
Official websitethenorthernleague.com

The Northern League is a Collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams made up of college players and players looking for places to play from North America and beyond to develop their talent to the next level. It was named the Midwest Collegiate League (MCL) from 2010 to 2021.

History[]

Formed in 2010, as a four-team summer collegiate wood bat league, MCL played their first season in the summer of 2011. The original four members were Chicago Zephyrs, Rockford Foresters, Southland Vikings and Will County CrackerJacks. Teams play a 30-45 game schedule with league playoffs. The league all-star game is played sometime around mid-season.

The league quickly expanded to eight teams for their second season in 2012, with the addition of DeKalb County Liners, DuPage County Hounds, Illinois Lincolns and Northwest Indiana Oilmen. Two of teams (Illinois and Will County) failed to complete the season schedule.

Six teams made up the 2013 season as the league welcomed the Lexington Snipes, replacing DeKalb County.

MCL stayed steady with six teams with the addition of Joliet Admirals (2014) and Michigan City Lakers (2015) replacing teams (Rockford in 2014; Chicago in 2015) who ceased operations.

Before the 2016, season Lexington Snipes announced that they would sit out the season. The league continued with six teams with the addition of the Bloomington Bobcats.[1][2]

The Crestwood Panthers, the newest team in the Midwest Collegiate League, replaced the Michigan City Lakers before the 2017 season.

Before the 2018 season, the Joliet Admirals became the Joliet Generals.

During the 2019 season, the MCL Minutemen made their debut and stayed in the league for three seasons.

After the 2021 season, the Midwest Collegiate League rebranded itself to the Northern League. The Northern League was a name used by several baseball leagues between 1902 and 2010 as is described on the pages listed at Northern League.

Current Teams[]

Team City Home Ballpark Year Joined
Chicago American Giants Chicago, Ill. De La Salle High School/Ed Glancy Field 2021
Crestwood Panthers Hammond, Ind. Dowling Park 2017
Lake County Corn Dogs 2022
Joliet Generals Wheaton, Ill. 2014
Northwest Indiana Oilmen Whiting, Ind. Oil City Stadium 2012
Southland Vikings Dowling Park 2011

Teams in 2021 (Record)[]

  • Northwest Indiana Oilmen (24-11)
  • Joliet Generals (24-14) * MCL Champions *
  • Crestwood Panthers (23-20)
  • Southland Vikings (20-20)
  • Chicago American Giants (16-22)
  • MCL Minutemen (10-30)

Former teams[]

  • Chicago Zephyrs (2011-14)
  • DeKalb County Liners (2012)
  • Illinois Lincolns (2012)
  • Michigan City Lakers (2015-16)
  • Rockford Foresters (2011-13)
  • Will County CrackerJacks (2011-12)

Champions[]

Championship series are a best-of three.

Season Winner Runner-up Result
2011 Will County CrackerJacks Rockford Foresters 2-1
2012 Northwest Indiana Oilmen DeKalb County Liners 2-0
2013 Southland Vikings[3] Northwest Indiana Oilmen 2-0
2014 Southland Vikings[4] DuPage County Hounds 2-0
2015 DuPage County Hounds[5] Lexington Snipes 2-1
2016 Northwest Indiana Oilmen DuPage County Hounds 2-1
2017 Southland Vikings Bloomington Bobcats 2-1
2018 Northwest Indiana Oilmen DuPage County Hounds 2-1
2019 Bloomington Bobcats Northwest Indiana Oilmen 2-0
2020 DuPage County Hounds Northwest Indiana Oilmen 2-1
2021 Joliet Generals Northwest Indiana Oilmen 2-1

References[]

  1. ^ "New for 2016: Bloomington Bobcats". Ballpark Digest. 26 January 2016.
  2. ^ "Bloomington Bobcats set to return". The Pantagraph. 27 January 2016.
  3. ^ "Southland rides Chigas to MCL title". Northwest Indiana Times. 4 August 2013.
  4. ^ "Local products carry standard on field for Northwest Indiana Oilmen". Chicago Tribune. 30 May 2015.
  5. ^ "Matt Wollnik hones his batting eye playing with DuPage County Hounds". Chicago Tribune. 9 August 2015.

External links[]

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