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Valley League Baseball

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About Valley League Baseball

 

The Valley League was founded on May 15, 1897, in Edinburg, Virginia, and included charter members Winchester, Woodstock, Strasburg, Front Royal, and Edinburg.

 

It evolved in the early years from a Class D minor league to an NCAA-sanctioned league in 1961, operating under NCAA rules. The league adopted wooden bats in 1993. Each team plays a 42-game schedule June through early August, concluding with a top-eight-team playoff to determine the Lineweaver Cup Championship.

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The VBL is funded in part by a grant from Major League Baseball and is a member of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NACSB), a national affiliation of 13 collegiate summer leagues. The Valley League has produced well over 1,000 professional baseball players, included a league record 79 former players drafted in the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. In 2021, 25 Valley League alumni were playing in the Major Leagues, and 21 were selected in the 20-round MLB draft.

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In 2011, the VBL transitioned to not-for-profit status. All teams as well as the overall League are now not-for-profit organizations supported by numerous volunteers and sponsors. The Valley League name is derived from the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, which is nestled between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the East and the Alleghany Mountains to the West.

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In 2023, the league will consist of 12 teams playing a one division format. Current franchises include teams in Charlottesville, Covington, Culpeper, Front Royal, Harrisonburg, New Market, Purcellville, Staunton, Strasburg, Waynesboro, Winchester, and Woodstock.

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Each team will play a 44-game schedule beginning June 1, with playoffs slated to begin the last week in July and extending into early August. The last possible date for play is August 9.

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History (1994-2021)

What follows is the list of top teams, MVPs, Pitchers of the Year, Managers of the Year, batting champions, and ERA champs for each Valley League season from 1994 to 2021. This information is as complete as possible; some years the league did not name a Pitcher of the Year, and other seasons no Manager or Coach of the Year was named. The batting and ERA champ are listed only if the league officially recognized them.

 
2021

  • Playoff Champion- Strasburg (Defeated Waynesboro two games to zero)

  • Regular Season Title- Charlottesville (30-10)

  • MVP- Austin Bulman, Winchester

  • Pitcher of the Year- Reed Mascolo, New Market

  • Manager of the Year- Kory Koehler, Charlottesville

 
2019

  • Playoff Champion- Charlottesville (Defeated Strasburg two games to zero)

  • Regular Season Title- Waynesboro (31-11)

  • MVP- Aidan Nagle, Woodstock

  • Pitcher of the Year- Tristen Bayless, Woodstock

  • Manager of the Year- Zac Cole, Waynesboro

 
2018

  • Playoff Champion- New Market (Defeated Charlottesville two games to zero)

  • Regular Season Title- Covington (26-16)

  • MVP- Andrew Eyster, New Market

  • Pitcher of the Year- Jared Wetherbee, Charlottesville

  • Manager of the Year- Alex Kotheimer, Covington

 
2017

  • Playoff Champion- Charlottesville (Defeated Strasburg two games to one)

  • Regular Season Title- Charlottesville (32-10)

  • MVP- Michael Wielansky, Charlottesville

  • Pitcher of the Year- Thomas Sutera, Purcellville

  • Manager of the Year- Corey Hunt, Charlottesville

 
2016

  • Playoff Champion- Strasburg (Defeated Waynesboro two games to zero)

  • Regular Season Title- Strasburg and Waynesboro (30-12)

  • MVP- Zach Sterry, Waynesboro

  • Pitcher of the Year- Erne Valdes, Front Royal

 
2015

  • Playoff Champion- Strasburg (Defeated Staunton two games to one)

  • Regular Season Title- Staunton and Harrisonburg (29-13) (Staunton won one game playoff for overall top seed)

  • MVP- Shane Billings, Harrisonburg

  • Pitcher of the Year- Hayden McCutcheon, Charlottesville

 
2014

  • Playoff Champion- Waynesboro (Defeated Charles Town two games to one)

  • Regular Season Title- Harrisonburg (29-13)

  • MVP- Gunnar McNeill, Staunton

  • Pitcher of the Year- Jake Harper, Front Royal

 
2013

  • Playoff Champion- Waynesboro (Defeated Strasburg two games to one)

  • Regular Season Title- Harrisonburg (32-12)

  • MVP- Jordan Tarsovich, Strasburg

  • Pitcher of the Year- Justin Camp, Harrisonburg

  • Manager of the Year- Phil Betterly, Woodstock

 
2012

  • Playoff Champion- Harrisonburg (Defeated Winchester three games to one)

  • Regular Season Title- Winchester and Waynesboro (31-13)

  • MVP- Julian Ridings, Waynesboro

 
2011

  • Playoff Champion- Covington (Defeated Rockbridge two games to one)

  • Regular Season Title- Harrisonburg (32-12)

  • MVP- Brad Zebedis. Strasburg

 
2010

  • Playoff Champion- Luray (Defeated Front Royal two games to zero)

  • Regular Season Title- Haymarket (30-14)

  • MVP- Cory Spangenberg, Winchester

 
2009

  • Playoff Champion- Haymarket (Defeated Covington three games to one)

  • Regular Season Title- Front Royal (29-15)

  • MVP- Greg Hopkins, Haymarket

 
2008

  • Playoff Champion- Luray (Defeated Covington three games to zero)

  • Regular Season Title- Luray and Waynesboro (30-14)

  • MVP- Tyler Townsend, Winchester

  • Coach of the Year- Lawrence Nesselrodt, Waynesboro

 
2007

  • Playoff Champion- Waynesboro (Defeated Luray four games to one)

  • Regular Season Title- Waynesboro (30-14-1)

  • MVP- Luke Greinke, Winchester

 
2006

  • Playoff Champion- Luray (Defeated Staunton three games to two)

  • Regular Season Title- New Market (32-10)

  • MVP- Tyler Kuhn, Luray

 
2005

  • Playoff Champion- Covington (Defeated New Market two games to one)

  • Regular Season Title- Luray (30-14)

  • MVP- Daniel Murphy, Luray

 
2004

  • Playoff Champion- Winchester (Defeated Staunton two games to zero)

  • Regular Season Title- Harrisonburg (30-14)

  • MVP- Jon Love, Front Royal, and Jeremy Terni, Winchester

  • Batting Champion- Joe Kemp, Harrisonburg

  • ERA Champion- Mike Wagner, Winchester

 
2003

  • Playoff Champion- Winchester (Defeated New Market three games to two)

  • Regular Season Title- Winchester (38-12)

  • MVP- Jeff Van Houten, Harrisonburg

  • Batting Champion- Jeff Van Houten, Harrisonburg

  • ERA Champion- Phil Bartleski, New Market

  • Manager of the Year- Jason Johnson, Winchester

 
2002

  • Playoff Champion- New Market (Defeated Covington three games to one)

  • Regular Season Title- Covington (26-14)

  • MVP- Jon Honce, Covington

  • Batting Champion- Justin Morgan, Luray

  • ERA Champion- Taylor Cobb, Staunton

  • Coach of the Year- Bob Wease, Harrisonburg

 
2001

  • Playoff Champion- Winchester (Defeated Covington three games to two)

  • Regular Season Title- Winchester (28-12)

  • MVP- Wes Timmons, Winchester

  • Hitting Award- Wes Timmons, Winchester

  • Pitching Award- Chris Kees, Winchester

  • Coach of the Year- Joe McNamee, Covington

 
2000

  • Playoff Champion- Harrisonburg (Defeated Staunton three games to one)

  • Regular Season Title- Staunton (28-12)

  • MVP- Joe Hastings, Staunton

  • Hitting Award- Chris Durbin, Harrisonburg

  • Pitching Award- BJ Benik, Front Royal

 
1999

  • Playoff Champion- Staunton (Defeated Winchester three games to zero)

  • Regular Season Title- Staunton (27-13)

  • MVP- Ernie Durazo, Harrisonburg

  • Hitting Award- Kevin Olkowski, Waynesboro

  • Pitching Award- Carl Rowland, Winchester

 
1998

  • Playoff Champion- Waynesboro (Defeated Staunton three games to zero)

  • Regular Season Title- Staunton (24-16)

  • MVP- Jon Rauch, Harrisonburg

  • Hitting Award- Nate Rewers, Front Royal

  • Pitching Award- Jon Rauch, Harrisonburg

 
1997

  • Playoff Champion- Winchester (Defeated Front Royal- forfeit)

  • Regular Season Title- Staunton (26-14)

  • MVP- Nate Rewers, Front Royal

 
1996

  • Playoff Champion- Staunton (Defeated Harrisonburg three games to one)

  • Regular Season Title- Waynesboro (28-12)

  • MVP- Bill Eaton, Waynesboro

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1995

  • Playoff Champion- Staunton (Defeated Waynesboro three games to zero)

  • Regular Season Title- Staunton (29-11)

  • MVP- Jason Michaels, Staunton

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1994

  • Playoff Champion- New Market (Defeated Harrisonburg three games to two)

  • Regular Season Title- Staunton (26-14)

  • MVP- Darren Hayes, New Market

 

Thanks to Jim Phillips and Bruce Alger for much of the information; Chaz Weaver’s The Valley Baseball League was also consulted.

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