2023 Frontier League season
The 2023 Frontier League season was the 30th season of operation (29th season of play) of the Frontier League (FL). The regular season began on May 11, 2023, when the Florence Y'alls were hosting the Gateway Grizzlies at Thomas More Stadium.
| 2023 Frontier League season | |
|---|---|
| League | Frontier League |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | May 11 – September 3 (Playoffs: September 5 – September 17) |
| Number of games | 96 (768 games in total) |
| Number of teams | 16 |
| East Division | |
| League champions | Québec Capitales |
| West Division | |
| League champions | Evansville Otters |
| Frontier League Championship | |
| Champions | Québec Capitales |
| Runners-up | Evansville Otters |
The playoffs concluded on September 17, with the Québec Capitales defeating the Evansville Otters in the finals in five games, winning their second consecutive championship and 9th in franchise history.
Team and rule changes
The 16 teams in the league are split evenly between two divisions, East and West. The Empire State Greys return as a traveling team with a roster of players from the Empire Professional Baseball League.
The season will be played with a 96-game schedule; teams play either three or four series against their divisional rivals while facing the eight teams from the other division at least one series each. The top three teams in each division will qualify for the 2023 playoffs, with the first-place team already qualifying for the division championship, and the second and third place teams playing each other in a wild card game.
The league's player compensation budget increased by $230,000 compared to 2022. Teams were required to spend a maximum of $365,000 on their 24-player rosters with a minimum of $13,800 per player. Veterans could earn up to $22,800, and each team's highest-paid player could make as much as $27,300. For players aged 23 and younger, only 50% of their salary counts towards the cap.
Regular season standings
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | y – Québec Capitales | 95 | 60 | 35 | .632 | -- |
| 2 | x – New Jersey Jackals | 95 | 60 | 35 | .632 | -- |
| 3 | x – Sussex County Miners | 95 | 55 | 40 | .579 | 5.0 |
| 4 | e – Tri-City ValleyCats | 95 | 55 | 40 | .579 | 5.0 |
| 5 | e – New York Boulders | 96 | 54 | 42 | .563 | 6.5 |
| 6 | e – Ottawa Titans | 96 | 48 | 48 | .500 | 12.5 |
| 7 | e – Trois-Rivières Aigles | 95 | 38 | 57 | .400 | 22.0 |
| 8 | e – Empire State Greys | 95 | 18 | 77 | .189 | 42.0 |
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | y – Gateway Grizzlies | 96 | 59 | 37 | .615 | -- |
| 2 | x – Schaumburg Boomers | 95 | 54 | 41 | .568 | 4.5 |
| 3 | x – Evansville Otters | 96 | 52 | 44 | .542 | 7.0 |
| 4 | e – Washington Wild Things | 96 | 47 | 49 | .490 | 12.0 |
| 5 | e – Joliet Slammers | 96 | 46 | 50 | .479 | 13.0 |
| 6 | e – Windy City ThunderBolts | 95 | 43 | 52 | .453 | 15.5 |
| 7 | e – Florence Y'alls | 96 | 38 | 58 | .396 | 21.0 |
| 8 | e – Lake Erie Crushers | 96 | 37 | 59 | .385 | 22.0 |
- y – Clinched division
- x – Clinched playoff spot
- e – Eliminated from playoff contention[1]
Sussex County earned the second wild-card spot in the East Division because of a 7-2 head-to-head record against Tri-City.[2]
Statistical leaders
Hitting
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR | Keon Barnum, James Nelson | New Jersey Jackals, New Jersey Jackals | 30 |
| AVG | James Nelson | New Jersey Jackals | .388 |
| RBIs | Alfredo Marte, Josh Rehwaldt | New Jersey Jackals, New Jersey Jackals | 90 |
| SB | Jairus Richards | Gateway Grizzlies | 75 |
Pitching
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| W | Cole Cook | Joliet Slammers | 12 |
| ERA | Cole Cook | Joliet Slammers | 2.23 |
| SO | Collin Sullivan | Gateway Grizzlies | 135 |
| SV | Frank Moscatiello | Québec Capitales | 20 |
Awards
End of year awards
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | James Nelson | New Jersey Jackals |
| Pitcher of the Year | Cole Cook | Joliet Slammers |
| Rookie of the Year | Noah Myers | Evansville Otters |
| Manager of the Year | Steve Brook | Gateway Grizzlies |
Playoffs
Format
The second-place team hosted the third-place team from their division in a wild card game. The winners of these games faced their division winners in best-of-three divisional series, with the division winners hosting games 2 and 3 (if necessary). The championship series was a best-of-five format, with the team advancing with the best regular-season record hosting games 3, 4 and 5 (if necessary).[4]
Playoff bracket
| Wild Card Game | Division Series (best-of-three) | Championship Series (best-of-five) | |||||||||||||||||
East Division | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | New Jersey Jackals | 4 | 2 | 6 | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | Sussex County Miners | 0 | 1 | Québec Capitales | 3 | 14 | 15 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | New Jersey Jackals | 5 | E1 | Québec Capitales | 7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 12 | ||||||||||
West Division | W3 | Evansville Otters | 6 | 6 | 14 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Evansville Otters | 4 | 5 | 9 | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | Evansville Otters | 4 | 1 | Gateway Grizzlies | 3 | 15 | 7 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Schaumburg Boomers | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
See also
References
- "Frontier League - standings". frontierleague.com.
- "Miners Squeak in the Playoffs, Cats Just Miss Out". frontierleague.com.
- "Frontier League - stats". frontierleague.com.
- "2023 Playoff Format - Frontier League". frontierleague.com.