Northwoods League Part 1

The Northwoods League has done a lot to improve Wisconsin baseball.  The teams usually sign a few local players to fill up the roster while waiting for some colleges to finish their seasons.  Sometimes those players do enough to earn a spot for the full year.  We are now up to six Wisconsin teams in the Northwoods League.

Carson Park, Home of the Express

The Eau Claire Express have been around since 2005 and are the defending champions.  They were also ranked #1 by Perfect Game  in their ranking of summer league teams.  Pretty impressive considering not too long ago the Northwoods league was considered inferior to the east coast summer leagues.  Follow them on twitter for all the latest news.

In 2007 the Green Bay Bullfrogs started play. They went through 45 different players last year for a variety or reasons but still finished a respectable 39-31.  The Titletown Entertainment Group is hoping to have a new stadium ready in time for the 2012 season.  Follow that link and check out the photo section.  It's going to be a pretty cool looking stadium.  The Bullfrogs recently signed three Wisconsin natives to return this summer.  Paul Hoenecke and Greg Blohowiak are coming from UWM while Joe Betcher is from the University of Illinois-Chicago.  You can follow Green Bay on twitter also. 

Bobby Juan

The La Crosse Loggers were formed in 2003.  The Lumberyard at Copeland Park has pulled in over 100,000 fans each of the last five seasons.  Three out of the last four MLB drafts have had a former Logger taken in the first round.  2010 Gatorade Wisconsin State Player of the Year and La Crosse native Bobby Juan will be coming home to play for the Loggers this summer.  You can receive text alerts from the Loggers.

Founded in 2001, the Madison Mallards blow away the competition when it comes to attendance.  Already averaging almost 6,000 fans a game, look for that number to increase as they renovate their stadium.  The Mallards will have a new field manager this season as they named former Rochester Honkers manager Greg Labbe to the position.  Madison has also unveiled a new mascot and logo for this season.