Lexington Legends not going anywhere, joining Atlantic League of Professional Baseball

After two-plus months of uncertainty, we now know that the Lexington Legends won’t be going anywhere.

In a press release put out by The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), they have announced that they will add the Legends to the upcoming 2021 Championship Season. Back in December, the Legends’ Major League Baseball affiliate, the Kansas City Royals, released themselves from its four lower-tier developmental locations. As a result, it put the future of professional baseball in Lexington up in the air.

But fear not, the Legends will take the diamond this summer as new partners to Major League Baseball.

“We are excited and honored to join the Atlantic League,” Legends owner/CEO Andy Shea said. “During the 2020 season we created, I had multiple players and fans tell me ‘you pretty much have an Atlantic League roster on the field.’ From that point forward we realized very clearly that the Atlantic League is the premier MLB Partner League and that our community, ballpark, and fanbase are a perfect match. We are also very thankful for the support and partnership with Major League Baseball during this process. Together, we will all be able to continue growing the game of baseball in our local communities and across the globe.”

Congratulations to the Lexington Legends, the newest members of the ALPB!! https://t.co/SossugCzq9 pic.twitter.com/kvs6FKd43s

— Atlantic League (@AtlanticLg) February 18, 2021

While the ALPB is not technically a minor league affiliate of MLB, they are however associated with Major League franchises and have a history that began in 1998. Back in September of last year, the ALPB agreed to extends its connection as a “partner league” to MLB for the next three years where experimental rules will be toyed with to see if they might be something that can be added to the big leagues.

“We are thrilled to continue our relationship with the Lexington Legends as they join the Atlantic League in 2021,” Morgan Sword said, MLB’s Executive Vice President, Baseball Operations. “We have developed an excellent working relationship with the Legends and congratulate them on this next step for the franchise.”

The Legends are now the seventh team added to the ALPB, joining the Gastonia Honey Hunters, York Revolution, High Point Rockers, Lancaster Barnstormers, Long Island Ducks, and Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, with the plan to expand to 12 total teams sometime soon.

According to the ALPB’s website, “Over 950 of the league’s players have signed contracts with big league organizations and over 100 players have been transferred to Major League Baseball. The league averages more than 50 player contract sales to MLB organizations each year. Over 70 former Atlantic League players and coaches are managers or coaches in MLB organizations.”

The Herald-Leader reports that the season is expected to begin on May 28 with the Legends home-opener planned for June 1 at Whitaker Bank Ballpark.