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Business World |
May 2015
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“There’s upwards of 65 independent base-
ball teams that are playing now in the Unit-
ed States and Canada, as well as overseas
in countries like South Korea and Japan,”
Lehner added. “Independent baseball is be-
coming a new resource for MLB teams to
potentially procure talent.”
First founded in 2005, the Can-Am League
has grown steadily, and now includes six
teams across the northeastern United States
and Canada. Officially introduced in 2011,
the Rockland Boulders were crowned league
champs just four seasons later. Their rise to
the top of Can-Am, however, started long
before their championship run.
“We joined the Can-AmLeague as an expan-
sion team in 2011,” said Lehner. “Although
we won our first championship last year,
we’ve actually led the league in attendance in
each of our four years of existence.”
Lehner attributes this impressive statistic to
the baseball-rich community the Boulders
call home. Pomona is located about 25 miles
north of New York City, which is home to
both the Yankees and the Mets.
“It’s just a very large, passionate baseball mar-
ket here,” he continued. “We have a million
people who reside within 30 minutes of the
ballpark, so that’s one of the reasons we’ve
been able to accomplish our attendance