# 2022 Frontier League season

The 2022 Frontier League season was the 29th season of operation (28th season of play) of the Frontier League (FL). The league expanded to 16 teams with the addition of the Empire State Greys. The league had a May-to-September regular season scheduling and a full 96-game regular season. The season began on May 12.
The playoffs concluded on September 18, with the Québec Capitales defeating the Schaumburg Boomers in the finals in four games, winning their eight championship in franchise history.

## Team and rule changes

The 16 teams in the league are split evenly between two divisions, East and West.
Due to the folding of the Southern Illinois Miners following the 2021 season, the league introduced a new team, the Empire State Greys, to compete as a traveling team with a roster of players from the Empire Professional Baseball League.
The season was played with a 96-game schedule; teams play either three or four series against their division rivals while facing the eight teams from the other division at least once each. The top three teams in each division will qualify for the 2022 playoffs, with the first-place team already qualifying for the division championship, and the second and third place teams playing each other in a wild card game.
The maximum team compensation for this season remained at $603,000 split between players and coaching staff. The maximum spend on player compensation was $375,000. In 2022, the U23 player salary rule was introduced which counts financial compensation to players aged 23 or under at 50% towards the cap (up to a maximum of $50,000).

## Regular season standings

East Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Québec Capitales | 96 | 62 | 34 | .646 | -- |
| 2 | x – New York Boulders | 95 | 57 | 38 | .600 | 4.5 |
| 3 | x – Ottawa Titans | 95 | 56 | 39 | .589 | 5.5 |
| 4 | e – Sussex County Miners | 95 | 54 | 41 | .568 | 7.5 |
| 5 | e – Tri-City ValleyCats | 95 | 54 | 41 | .568 | 7.5 |
| 6 | e – New Jersey Jackals | 94 | 45 | 49 | .479 | 16.0 |
| 7 | e – Trois-Rivières Aigles | 95 | 45 | 50 | .474 | 16.5 |
| 8 | e – Empire State Greys | 96 | 6 | 90 | .063 | 56.0 |
West Division Regular Season Standings :
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
| 1 | y – Washington Wild Things | 96 | 62 | 34 | .646 | -- |
| 2 | x – Schaumburg Boomers | 96 | 53 | 43 | .552 | 9.0 |
| 3 | x – Evansville Otters | 95 | 52 | 43 | .547 | 9.5 |
| 4 | e – Joliet Slammers | 96 | 49 | 47 | .510 | 13.0 |
| 5 | e – Lake Erie Crushers | 96 | 49 | 47 | .510 | 13.0 |
| 6 | e – Gateway Grizzlies | 96 | 47 | 49 | .490 | 15.0 |
| 7 | e – Florence Y'alls | 95 | 39 | 56 | .411 | 22.5 |
| 8 | e – Windy City ThunderBolts | 95 | 33 | 62 | .347 | 28.5 |
* y – Clinched division
* x – Clinched playoff spot
* e – Eliminated from playoff contention

## Statistical leaders
### Hitting

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| HR | Denis Phipps | Tri-City ValleyCats | 33 |
| AVG | Brantley Bell | Tri-City ValleyCats | .368 |
| RBIs | Chris Kwitzer | New York Boulders | 96 |
| SB | Brynn Martinez | Windy City ThunderBolts | 43 |

### Pitching

| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
| W | Rob Whalen, John Baker | Washington Wild Things, Sussex County Miners | 12 |
| ERA | Miguel Cienfuegos | Québec Capitales | 1.79 |
| SO | Jorge Tavarez | New Jersey Jackals | 142 |
| SV | Logan Sawyer | Evansville Otters | 22 |

## Awards
### End of year awards

| Award | Player | Team |
| Most Valuable Player | Brantley Bell | Tri-City ValleyCats |
| Pitcher of the Year | Miguel Cienfuegos | Québec Capitales |
| Rookie of the Year | Kobe Foster | Washington Wild Things |
| Manager of the Year | Tom Vaeth | Washington Wild Things |

## Playoffs
### Format

The second-place team will host the third-place team from their division in a wild card game. The winner of these games will face their division winners in a best-of-three divisional series, with the division winners hosting games 2 and 3 (if necessary). The championship playoffs shall be scheduled to begin on the second day following the scheduled completion of the division playoffs. The championship series will be a best-of-five format. The team advancing with the best regular-season record will host games 3, 4, and 5 (if necessary). In the event of a tie, tie-breaking procedures as outlined in league rules will be utilized.

### Playoff bracket

| Wild Card Game | Wild Card Game | Wild Card Game | Division Series (best-of-three) | Division Series (best-of-three) | Division Series (best-of-three) | Division Series (best-of-three) | Division Series (best-of-three) | Championship Series (best-of-five) | Championship Series (best-of-five) | Championship Series (best-of-five) | Championship Series (best-of-five) | Championship Series (best-of-five) | Championship Series (best-of-five) | Championship Series (best-of-five) |
| | | | East Division | East Division | East Division | East Division | East Division | | | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | Ottawa Titans | 3 | 3 | 1 | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Ottawa Titans | 8 | 1 | Québec Capitales | 0 | 4 | 5 | | | | | | | |
| 2 | New York Boulders | 2 | | | | | | E1 | Québec Capitales | 6 | 1 | 4 | 2 | X |
| | | | West Division | West Division | West Division | West Division | West Division | W2 | Schaumburg Boomers | 3 | 9 | 3 | 1 | X |
| | | | 2 | Schaumburg Boomers | 11 | 7 | X | | | | | | | |
| 3 | Evansville Otters | 1 | 1 | Washington Wild Things | 2 | 2 | X | | | | | | | |
| 2 | Schaumburg Boomers | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | |