The Joliet JackHammers and three other independent Illinois professional baseball teams in the Northern League have applied to join Frontier League.
The move comes just weeks after four of the eight teams in the Northern League joined the American Association League and sparking speculation about the fate of the Northern League and what this could mean for baseball fans.
Frontier League Commissioner Bill Lee confirmed Thursday that each team — the JackHammers, the Schaumburg Flyers, Rockford RiverHawks and the Lake County Fielders — applied individually to his 12-team league.
Lee declined further comment and would not speculate on how long a decision will take.
“I just think you’ve got to move in a prudent fashion, but sometimes that prudent fashion is not fast enough for some people,” Lee said.
JackHammer President Peter Ferro Jr., who is the process of negotiating a sale of the cash-strapped team, told the Joliet City Council Wednesday night about the application and said “hopefully we’ll be accepted shortly.”
Ferro said changes at the league level would help the baseball team save on their fixed costs, such as travel and player salaries. He also has said a league change should not affect the average baseball fan’s game day experience.
Schaumburg Flyers owner Richard Ehrenreich, who also is negotiating a sale of his financially struggling team, said via email to the Tribune that the league has been discussing the possibility of a merger or an inter-league game schedule.
He said the four remaining teams will have an “exciting announcement in the next two weeks regarding our 2011 season and our long-term league plans.”
Last month, Northern League Commissioner Clark Griffith remained hopeful after the four teams — located in Gary, Ind.; Fargo, N.D.’ Kansas City, Kan.; and Winnipeg, Canada — joined the American Association league. He said the league would eventually consist of six or eight teams.
On Thursday, however, he said the league is trying to work out an affiliation of sorts, but was not certain what might transpire.
But Griffith added, “It’s always been the aim of the Northern League to remain the Northern League. That’s simply our goal.”
TribLocal reporter Kate Thayer contributed to this story.
