A History Of The Valley Baseball League
The Valley League was founded May 15, 1897, in Edinburg, Virginia, and included charter members Winchester, Woodstock, Strasburg, Front Royal, and Edinburg.
It evolved in the early years from a Class D minor league to an NCAA-sanctioned league in 1961 operating under NCAA rules. The league adopted wooden bats in 1993. Each team plays a 36-game schedule, late May through the middle of July concluding with a top-eight-team play-off to determine the Lineweaver Cup Championship.
The VBL is funded in part by a grant from Major League Baseball and is a member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball, a national affiliation of 13 collegiate summer leagues. The Valley League has produced well over 1,300 professional baseball players, including a record 79 former players drafted in the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. In 2015, 30 Valley League alumni were playing in the Major Leagues and 15 alumni were either playing or serving in an executive capacity in 2014 with one of the MLB Post Season teams. In 2015, 46 current players or alumni were drafted and in 2017, 44 were drafted.
In 2011, the VBL transitioned to not-for-profit status. All teams as well as the League are now not-for-profit organizations supported by numerous volunteers. The Valley League name is derived from the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, which is nestled between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Allegheny Mountains to the west in Virginia and West Virginia; a short drive from Washington D.C.
The league consists of 12 teams playing a two division format. Current franchises include Covington Lumberjacks, Harrisonburg Turks, New Market Rebels, Staunton Braves, Waynesboro Generals, Charlottesville Tom Sox, Front Royal Cardinals, Purcellville Canons, Strasburg Express, Winchester Royals, Woodstock River Bandits, and Culpeper Cavaliers.
Each team will play a 36-game schedule beginning May 30, with the playoffs starting in the middle of July.
Valley Baseball League Discrimination Policy
The Valley Baseball League will not tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, citizenship, military or veteran status. The VBL supports all of our teams in addressing these issues at their individual ballparks.