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Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League

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Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League

The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) is a 16-team collegiate summer baseball league founded in 2010. As of 2025, all teams are within the state of New York save one in the province of Ontario, Canada. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. Players are not paid so as to maintain their college eligibility. Each team plays an eight-week, 48 game schedule from June to August with playoffs in early August.

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The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League was founded in the fall of 2010 by eight summer baseball teams located across upstate New York in conjunction with Perfect Game USA, baseball's largest scouting service. The eight founding members of the PGCBL were the Albany Dutchmen, Amsterdam Mohawks, Cooperstown Hawkeyes, Elmira Pioneers, Glens Falls Golden Eagles, Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs, Newark Pilots and Watertown Wizards. The league's first season was completed in the summer of 2011.

The eight teams were broken down into two divisions, PGCBL East and PGCBL West. The East comprised Albany, Amsterdam, Glens Falls and Mohawk Valley. The West was made up of Cooperstown, Elmira, Newark and Watertown. Glens Falls and Cooperstown were the regular season division champions in the PGCBL East and West respectively. Glens Falls, Cooperstown, Amsterdam and Newark qualified for the league playoffs. Newark defeated Amsterdam, two games to one, to win the very first PGCBL championship.

In 2012, the league expanded to nine teams with the addition of the Oneonta Outlaws. The two-division format was replaced by a single nine-team division with the top four teams in the league regular season standings qualifying for the playoffs. Amsterdam won 35 of 47 regular season games and captured the regular season championship. Amsterdam, Glens Falls, Newark and Mohawk Valley qualified for the postseason. Amsterdam swept Glens Falls to win its first league title. The Mohawks finished the summer ranked third nationally in Perfect Game's Summer Top 30 poll.

The Adirondack Trail Blazers and the Utica Brewers joined the PGCBL in the fall of 2012 while the Oneonta Outlaws were granted a one year Voluntary Suspension of operations. The 2013 season saw a return of the two-division format as 10 teams were broken into East and West divisions. Albany, Cooperstown, Glens Falls, Mohawk Valley and defending champion Amsterdam formed the East while newcomers Adirondack and Utica joined Elmira, Newark and Watertown in the West. A new playoff format featuring six teams was instituted as the first and second-place finishers in each division were joined for the first time by the third-place finishing team - this led to a down-to-wire playoff chase where the sixth and final playoff spot was not decided until the final night of the regular season. Amsterdam and Watertown overcame slow starts to win division titles; each team captured its first division title in the PGCBL. Albany, Mohawk Valley, Elmira and Newark rounded out the playoff field. Three seeds Albany and Elmira each won opening round playoff games over second-seeded Mohawk Valley and Newark respectively to advance to the divisional finals against Amsterdam and Watertown. Amsterdam edged out Albany and Elmira in back-to-back Game 3's to become the first repeat champion in league history.

The Cooperstown Hawkeyes were placed on Voluntary Suspension for the 2014 season, leaving four teams in the East Division. The Amsterdam Mohawks again finished with the best record in the league at 36-11- winning the East by nine games over the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs. The West Division was a little tighter with the division coming down to the final days of the regular season. Newark came out on top, winning the division by a game and a half over Elmira with a 27-19 record. In the postseason, Mohawk Valley defeated the Albany Dutchmen in the one-game playoff in the East while Elmira beat the Watertown Rams in Elmira in the West. In the East Division Championship Series, Amsterdam swept Mohawk Valley en route to a fourth consecutive PGCBL Championship Series appearance. In the West, Newark escaped against Elmira to set up a rematch of the 2011 Championship Series. Amsterdam came back from an early deficit to win Game One in Amsterdam and traveled to Newark the following night, where the Mohawks capped off a record-breaking season with the franchise's third straight PGCBL championship.

In July 2014, the league announced a franchise will be placed in Saugerties, New York and play in the East Division-effective for the 2015 season. In January 2015, the league announced the addition of a franchise in Victor for the 2015 season. The league also decided to play a 50-game schedule, compared to the previous length of a 48-game schedule. The Cooperstown Hawkeyes remained on voluntary suspension and were joined by the Watertown Rams.

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