Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden bats, its season runs from June through August.

The charter Appalachian League teams were the Asheville Moonshiners, Bristol Boosters, Cleveland Counts, Johnson City Soldiers, Knoxville Appalachians, and Morristown Jobbers, playing in the inaugural season.

[3] After a six-year absence, the league reorganized for five seasons from 1921 to 1925, and, as before, it consisted entirely of independent teams at the Class D level.

It continued to operate as a Rookie Advanced league through 2020, with the start of the 2020 season postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before ultimately being cancelled.

It is scheduled to play a 48-game regular season and continue to host an annual All-Star Game.

[11] Members of the 2021 Hall of Fame induction class included Orlando Cepeda, Dotty Cox, Mahlon Luttrell, Joe Mauer, Ron Necciai, and Jimmy Rollins.