Book Description

Discover the Appalachian League. The Advanced Rookie level of Minor League baseball where so many have gotten their start in professional baseball. This is a book of photographs with a dual purpose. One is to share with the reader different views of the ballparks to understand the charm and appeal of each team. In the late 1800s and early 1900s town ball spread across the country. Towns formed teams to compete with each other for bragging rights and fierce rivalries developed. The Appy League reminds me of about the closest example of Town Ball that we have today. Allen LaMountain published a definitive book on the history and background of the league as well as stories of many that made the majors after gaining their starts in the Appy. I hope this book serves to help the readers of LaMountains book (Appalachian League Baseball-Where Rookies Rise) to visualize some of the stories he describes. The second purpose is to present photos of the Appy players (although not all inclusive) from the 2015 season. Some of these young men will advance to higher levels of the minors and some all the way to the Major Leagues. But many might only advance a level or two and some may not advance at all. I have tried to provide photos of many so there might be a source for them to say, This is where I started my professional baseball career. (Over 400 young hopefuls played in the Appy in 2015) Team baseball card sets are produced by most Minor League teams. But the Appy League short season, late June through late August, makes it financially challenging to produce sets. By the time photos are taken and the turnaround time with the card companies, sometimes it is early to mid-August until the team has sets to sell at the ballpark. Required minimum orders can sometimes mean a loss in production costs. In 2015 only 5 of the ten Appalachian League teams produced card sets. But every player in every set produced is especially proud of his first card. So, if you find yourself in Eastern Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia or North Carolina and you are hungry for baseball in the middle of summer..Discover the Appalachian League. You will not be disappointed.