A fitting rebranding of a growing indy league

The Frontier League, long-standing independent league and one of four MLB Partner Leagues, announced a rebranding for the 2027 season. The league will be renamed to the National Association of Professional Baseball.

The new league name is a nod to the now-defunct National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (NAPBL), the originating and governing body of affiliated minor leagues that was summarily executed by MLB in 2021.

Read the official press release from the Frontier League here: The Longest Running MLB Partner League in North America Adopts Historic Moniker to Signal a New Era of Community Impact and Growth

Some excerpts:
“The Frontier League … announced today a comprehensive brand transformation. Beginning in the 2027 baseball season, the league will compete as the National Association of Professional Baseball (NAPB).

““With the tremendous growth over the past five years, highlighted by our expansion into Canada along with the Northeast and Southeast in the United States, our Board felt that it was the appropriate time for a detailed study of both our current role and future opportunities,” commented league commissioner Steve Tahsler. 

“The transition follows a landmark 2025 season where the league set its fourth consecutive attendance record and led the four Partner Leagues in player contracts transferred to MLB organizations. The league’s 34-year history, statistics, and records, along with those of the individual teams, will still remain.”

Here’s the part followers of this site are interested in:

“The new visual identity bridges the gap between baseball’s rich 1901 heritage and a clean, modern aesthetic. The new “NA” monogram, adorned with a signature pennant flag, will be featured prominently on all team uniforms, digital platforms, and league broadcasts beginning in the 2027 season. The visual identity also includes French versions, driving the inclusion of our teams in Canada.”

“The full set of marks will be unveiled during the 2026 Home Run Derby, being held on Tuesday, July 14 at Florence’s Thomas More Stadium.

“Fans can stay up to date on the 2026 season of the Frontier League and the transition to the National Association of Professional Baseball by visiting https://www.frontierleague.com/.”

So this will mean new regular-season balls for the league! It’s unclear if those will be revealed during the Home Run Derby as well, or if any will be available to the public prior to the 2027 season. It’s been our experience that none of the teams sell official game balls, but we’ll keep checking and let you know if that changes.

Congratulations to the league for its recent expansion and success and here’s to many more seasons!

-Tony Baseballs

Old Eagle Eye missed some details

Last time I said there was a new MiLB commemorative gamer available from the Richmond Flying Squirrels, and even posted bits from their X announcement. I saw what I thought was the same ball on eBay, but I didn’t look closely enough: turns out there are TWO new gamers!

Thanks to a tip from Friend of The Museum (FoTM) Tyler, we are now aware of a second commemorative gamer from the Squirrels! The one we posted last time has “Inaugural Season” on it. The second ball is for the Inaugural Game, complete with the date of April 7, 2026 in the design.

Currently the team is sold out of the Inaugural Game balls, but even so, they didn’t sell them online nor by phone, only at the stadium. The Game ball was used on April 7 (confirmed by someone who attended the game and picked up a foul ball) and the Season ball was used for the rest of their first homestand. AFAIK the Inaugural Season balls are still available for sale by phone, so call the team store and get yours quickly before those are gone too!

What’s funny is that not long ago I picked up a 2015 Atlantic League All-Star Game ball because I noticed a small detail (the Atl Lg logo on the south panel was surrounded by text, “Cushioned Cork Center”, that I’d not seen since they began stamping the league logo on the balls). But now I missed a rather obvious detail for the Squirrels balls. Needless to say, I’ll be double- and triple-checking everything from now on!

I would also like to publicly thank Tyler for keeping his eyes and ears open and for alerting me to my oversight. It warms my heart when we collectors look out for each other. Thank you, Tyler!

Look for both of these balls to be added to the Museum within the next couple of weeks.

-Tony Baseballs

Breaking news! The Richmond Flying Squirrels of the Double-A Eastern League announced this week the first commemorative game ball since those planned for the ill-fated 2020 season.

The team opens the 2026 season in a new ballpark, Carmax Park, with their First Flight campaign, a week-long celebration of their new home and redesigned logo. They’ve commissioned a special gamer to be used in all games on the first homestand. See the team’s Instagram announcement here.

From the announcement: “You could be lucky enough to snag one for yourself from game action or grab one in the Squirrels Nest Team Store starting tomorrow, April 7 as an in-stadium exclusive.” We have confirmed that the team store will ship them, so order yours now!

The ball looks great, featuring a minimal logo design and the lighter blue ink adopted with the redesigned MiLB logo from last year. This one snuck up on us here at the museum, we were unaware of any new MiLB commemoratives for 2026 and we couldn’t be more excited!

Let’s hope this heralds a return to the use of MiLB commemorative gamers. Keep your eyes open!

-Tony Baseballs