By Tim Stephens, The Herald-Dispatch
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — After a 28-year hiatus, the Appalachian League is back.
The Appy League and Marshall University announced Thursday a partnership that will put a team at Jack Cook Field in the summer of 2024. The club, to be named, will be part of the college wood bat circuit and features freshmen and sophomores.
“We are thrilled that the Appy League will be returning to Huntington and looking forward to partnering with Marshall University and the rest of the Huntington community on this new team,” said Brian Graham, executive director of the league. “Marshall’s new baseball facilities will provide players with one of the best summer collegiate experiences in the country and further our goal of making the Appy League the destination for elite college players in the summer.”
The setup is different than between 1990 and 1995, when the Huntington Cubs, and later the River City Rumblers, were part of the Appalachian League. The circuit no longer features minor league affiliates of teams in Major League Baseball. Many of the same cities that made up the league then remain, including Bluefield, West Virginia, Burlington, North Carolina, Tennessee towns Bristol, Elizabethton, Greenville, Johnson City and Kingsport, and Virginia cities Pulaski and Danville.
