TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – After months of snow, slush, and winter winds off Grand Traverse Bay, baseball fans in northern lower Michigan are ready to trade parkas for peanuts and Cracker Jack.
In Traverse City, that can mean only one thing: the return of the Traverse City Pit Spitters baseball team in 71 days. Their May 27 home opener at Turtle Creek Stadium will once again draw fans eager to shake off winter and pack the stands, cheering on rising college stars chasing their baseball dreams in the Northwoods League.
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For hundreds of college baseball players each summer, the Northwoods League isn’t just another stop on the baseball calendar – it’s a launching pad.
Colin Summerhill, Nick Powers, and Parker Brosius. 2023 Pit Spitters roster.
What is the Northwoods League?
Founded in 1994 with just five teams, the league has grown into the largest organized summer collegiate league in the country, with 26 baseball teams and six softball teams across seven states and one Canadian franchise.
The states in the baseball league include Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, North Dakota, and Michigan. In the Great Lakes State, there are teams in Traverse City (Pit Spitters), Kalamazoo (Growlers), Battle Creek (Battle Jacks), and Royal Oak (Leprechauns).
The Northwoods League track record speaks volumes with more than 410 Northwoods League alumni who have gone on to play Major League Baseball (MLB), including stars like Max Scherzer (Toronto Blue Jays), Chris Sale (Atlanta Braves), Pete Alonso (Baltimore Orioles), and Marcus Semien (New York Mets). During the 2025 MLB season, 154 Northwoods League alumni played.
A summer league that builds baseball careers.
But the league isn’t just about developing the next MLB star. It’s also a training ground for coaches, umpires, broadcasters, and front-office professionals who dream of climbing the ladder in the sports world.
Northwoods League Director of Business Development Dominic Etue says the league mirrors the grind of professional baseball. Each team plays 72 games in roughly 76 days, a demanding schedule that forces young athletes to learn discipline quickly – and keeps everyone else on their toes as well.
“It’s almost like an internship,” Etue said. “It’s all college kids, so 18-to-22-year-olds, and they’ll play their college season in the springtime, and then they come play in our league in the summertime. And what our league does is prepares them for life after you get drafted and play in Minor League Baseball or Major League…we give them that exposure.” He added that the players find out whether they really love the game or not because it’s about “working” every day – travel, bus rides, practices, and games night after night. They also learn how to to take care of their bodies through training, eating right and limiting distractions every day.
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Players often go from performing in front of a few hundred college fans to thousands in summer ballparks. Since 2014, the Northwoods League has drawn more than one million fans in attendance every year – except for the COVID-disrupted 2020 season – giving young players a taste of the atmosphere and pressure that comes with professional baseball. In 2025, over two million people also tuned in to watch Northwoods League baseball and softball games on the league’s streaming platform NWL+ or on ESPN+.
“It changes a lot when you’re an 18-to 22-year-old kid and you have to pitch in front of 4,000 people,” Etue said, noting that players never know who might be watching in the stands, including scouts searching for talent that could eventually lead to an MLB draft selection or a free-agent contract.
A launchpad beyond the diamond.
The developmental pipeline doesn’t stop with the players though. Etue said it is fun to see where other people in different organizations end up during their sports journey. Even though players get most of the attention, the league develops people all across the entire sports industry, from coaches to announcers and even executive staff.
Etue notes that former Northwoods League coaches now serve on Major League staffs, and more than 100 league umpires have moved on to professional baseball.
Even broadcasters and sports executives have gotten their start there. NBC Sports and Big Ten Network announcer Chris Vosters once worked games in the league, and Cleveland Cavaliers President Nic Barlage began his career as a Northwoods League ticket sales intern.
From intern to living the baseball dream.
For Etue, who started as a league intern before eventually returning to work full-time in 2021, the job hardly feels like work.
Etue interviews Pete Alonso at spring training this year.
“I have ZERO complaints,” Etue said. “I feel like I haven’t worked a day since I started in 2021…even when the day stretches into 14 hours.” But he does work. His responsibilities range from managing the league’s broadcasting and streaming operations to organizing major events.
All Star Game 2025
A dream event at the “Field of Dreams.”
One of those events is especially exciting for 2026.
The Northwoods League All-Star Game on July 8 will be played at the iconic “Field of Dreams” movie site in Dyersville, Iowa. The site features a new professional stadium just beyond the famous cornfields. The Northwoods League will take the field there even before the MLB game scheduled at the stadium later in the summer – which will feature the Minnesota Twins vs. the Philadelphia Phillies on August 13. The 2021 edition of the MLB Field of Dreams game was the most watched regular- season MLB game in 16 years.
Etue said the chance for Northwoods League players to take the field at the new stadium will be something special. “It’s going to be awesome, he said. “You walk past the house, through the cornfield, and then there’s this beautiful new stadium. It’s a top-of-the-line opportunity.”
Summer nights, future stars.
For a league built on baseball dreams, the setting couldn’t be more fitting.
For fans, the Northwoods League offers affordable summer entertainment and a chance to see future professionals before they reach the big stage. For players, it’s something even more important: a proving ground. And for Etue, it’s a dream job.
“If you can do something that doesn’t feel like work, that’s, that’s kind of the key, right there,” Etue said.
