Tag Archives: Steve Tahsler

Independent Ball

Frontier League Adds New England Team

Leave a comment

The Frontier League adds a 16th permanent team for the 2024 season, ending the two year run of the Empire State Greys travel team.

Official League Statement

The Frontier League announced today that its Board of Directors has issued membership for a new team that will play at Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, Massachusetts beginning with the upcoming 2024 season. This continued growth of the Frontier League is especially noteworthy as it creates the league’s first team to play in New England. The New England club will play in the Eastern Division of the Frontier League beginning with the upcoming 2024 season and will bring the total number of permanent members of the league to sixteen teams. 

The New England expansion team is owned by Brian Kahn, who also holds ownership of the The Windy City ThunderBolts within the Frontier League. Windy City hosted the 2023 All-Star Game and was recently recognized as the Frontier League’s Organization of the Year.  Under Mr. Kahn’s leadership, the New England organization will be similarly steadfast in its mission to offer baseball as an affordable and enriching family entertainment experience. This commitment extends to enhancing community engagement, providing exceptional customer service, fostering innovation, investing in the professional growth of its dedicated team, and continuously improving the game-day experience for fans. 

“We are excited to be adding a tremendous sports market in Brockton and a great facility in Campanelli Stadium to the Frontier League,” said deputy commissioner Steve Tahsler.  “Windy City is one of our best regarded operations, and we are confident that the management and staff in Brockton will provide an amazing atmosphere and service to the Brockton community.”

Mayor Robert F. Sullivan expressed his enthusiasm for the news, “Brockton is a proud sports city and has a particularly long history in baseball as it is the birthplace of the catcher’s mitt. It is fitting that the next era of professional baseball in New England will call Brockton home. We are so excited for the return of pro ball to the City of Champions and look forward to welcoming fans across New England to Campanelli Stadium.

“I’d like to express my gratitude to the City of Brockton for their unwavering support and, of course, to the Frontier League for this exciting opportunity to bring high-quality, independent professional baseball to New England. Our aim is to create a team that unites the entire region and becomes a pivotal force in the Frontier League, enriching the vibrant sports culture of New England,” said Owner, Brian Kahn.  

The addition of Brockton removes the Empire State Greys from the schedule.  “We appreciate the dedication of the Empire League, Eddie Gonzalez, and Jerry Gonzalez over the past two seasons.  They are a quality organization who operated with strong integrity during their time playing in the Frontier League,” added Tahsler. 

Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement revealing the team’s name, as well as the appointment of its manager and coaching staff.

About the Frontier League

The Frontier League, a Professional Partner League of Major League Baseball, recently completed its 30th season as the largest and longest running independent league.  A league-record of more than 1.6 million fans saw Frontier League action in 2023.  The Frontier League features 16 teams stretching from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Ohio River north to the St. Lawrence Seaway in Canada. 

Independent Ball

Quebec Capitales Forfeit Game, Changes Playoff Race

Leave a comment

Friday evening, the Frontier League Announced that the Quebec Capitales were forced to forfeit a game win against the New York Boulders from August 31st.

The league released the following statement:

The Frontier League has determined that the Quebec Capitales improperly used a player in their game against the New York Boulders on August 31.  As a result, this game has been declared a forfeit loss for Quebec and a victory for New York.  All individual player statistics will remain intact. 

“We appreciate the honesty and transparency shown by manager Pat Scalabrini and the Capitales organization during our investigation of this unfortunate situation,” said deputy commissioner Steve Tahsler.  “While we do not believe that Quebec had any ill intent, unfortunately a violation occurred, and we need to enforce the associated rule.” 

Frontier League

After the September 1st games and decision from the Frontier League, that loss has the Quebec Capitales sitting tied for first place with the New Jersey Jackals while the win has moved the New York Boulders into the third and final playoff spot with only one weekend series remaining.

Our Sports Central reported that the forfeit was due to the use of recently signed “outfielder” Greg Bird.

Frontier League teams are not allowed to add players to the roster after August 14 barring a handful of exceptions. Quebec was in violation of the exception that a player who is ruled out for the season due to injury after the deadline can be replaced by a player of the same position.

Bird, the former New York Yankees first baseman, was signed as an injury replacement for an outfielder and was listed as such on the Capitales’ roster. The 6-foot-3 left-handed slugger would remain eligible so long as he played outfield and not first base, as he did Thursday night. Playing Bird out of position resulted in Quebec’s forfeiture of the game.

Our Sports Central

The New Jersey Jackals and the New York Boulders face off this weekend for two games, while the Quebec Capitales host the Ottawa Titans for two games.

There are also two teams, the Sussex County Miners and the Tri-City Valley Cats, tied for fourth place… both only a half a game behind third place New York and a playoff spot.

The Miners are set to face the Empire State Greys at home, while the Valley Cats are on the road against Trois-Rivieres. Both the Greys and Trois-Rivieres have been out of the playoffs for quite some time, but could play spoiler in the race to the final playoff spot.