5-771: The Winchester Royals are a collegiate summer baseball team in Winchester, Virginia . They play in the Northern division of the Valley Baseball League . Founded in 1979, the Royals are the most successful team in the history of the Valley League, with thirteen Championships won — in 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1997, 2001, 2003, and 2004. This is one more than the Harrisonburg Turks , and seven more than
10-539: The Waynesboro Generals , which are the second and third most winning teams in the history of the Valley League. The Royals play their home games at Bridgeforth Field, a 1,500-seat stadium located within the city-run Jim Barnett Park. Notable former players who went on to play in the major leagues include Jimmy Key , Reggie Sanders , Kevin Kouzmanoff , Tyler Thornburg , and Kyle Snyder . Dayton Moore served as
15-750: The Winchester manager in 1992 and 1993 and went on to become the general manager of the Kansas City Royals . Collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operate from early June to early August. In contrast to college baseball , which allow aluminum or other composite baseball bats , players in these leagues use only wooden bats, hence
20-486: The collegiate summer season. These draftees can remain with their collegiate summer team until they sign a professional contract. During the season, players are housed by volunteer host families and bussed to and from road games. The leagues vary greatly in their attendances, quality of play, and ability to attract scouts. The Alaska Baseball League (ABL) and the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) are considered
25-701: The common nickname of these leagues as "wood-bat leagues". Collegiate summer leagues allow college baseball players the ability to compete using professional rules and equipment, giving them experience and allowing professional scouts the opportunity to observe players under such conditions. To find a collegiate summer team, players work with their college coaches and prospective teams' general managers. They report to summer leagues after completing their spring collegiate season with their NCAA , NAIA , NJCAA , CCCAA , and NWAC teams. Some players arrive late due to their college team's postseason play, which sometimes runs into early June. In some cases, players are drafted during
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