Pecos League

Pecos League
Sport Baseball
Founded 2010
CEO Andrew Dunn
No. of teams 12
Country United States
Continent North America
Most recent
champion(s)
Bakersfield Train Robbers (2018)
Most titles Roswell Invaders (3)
Official website pecosleague.com

The Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs is an independent professional baseball league headquartered in Houston, which operates in cities in desert mountain regions throughout California, New Mexico, Arizona, southern Colorado, Kansas and West Texas. The league plays in cities that do not have Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either.

History

The Pecos League operated six teams in the 2011[1] and 2012 seasons and expanded to eight teams for 2013. Continued growth saw the league reach a high of 10 teams for 2014.

The season is a highly condensed one, where teams may play 64 games in 78 days, all for a weekly salary of $50 per player.

The Pecos League also operates a spring developmental league, which is a one-month showcase beginning in March for recent college graduates and free agents looking to catch on to a full season league.

In May 2014, Fox Sports 1 aired a six-part documentary about life in the Pecos League, mostly based on the Trinidad Triggers.

In August 2014, Jon Edwards made his major league debut with the Texas Rangers becoming the first player in Pecos League history to play in Major League Baseball.

In September 2016, Chris Smith was called up to the Toronto Blue Jays becoming the second player from the Pecos League to make a major league roster, though he did not appear in a game. Smith would eventually make his debut for the Blue Jays on June 27, 2017, against the Baltimore Orioles.

For 2016, the Las Vegas Train Robbers moved to Topeka, Kansas. Expansion teams were added in Great Bend, Kansas[2] and Tucson, Arizona.[3][4][5]

On February 25, 2016 it was announced that the Las Cruces Vaqueros would sit out the 2016 season due to severe damage to their home stadium.[6] Expansion team Salina Stockade[7] was added to the league and played a limited 11-game home schedule in 2016.

Following the 2016 season, a drastic shift in the Pecos League landscape occurred as two Kansas teams, the Salina Stockade and Great Bend Boom, both folded, while a third, the Topeka Train Robbers, moved to Bakersfield, California, taking the place of the former Bakersfield Blaze, who folded following the 2016 California League season.

Joining the Train Robbers in California for 2017 are three expansion teams: the High Desert Yardbirds (replacing the California League's High Desert Mavericks), the Monterey Amberjacks, and California City Whiptails. The league also announced a travel team, the Hollywood Stars, who played a handful of home games in Los Angeles.

Current teams

Pecos League
Division Team Founded City Stadium Capacity
Mountain Alpine Cowboys 2009 Alpine, Texas Kokernot Field 1,400[8]
Garden City Wind 2015 Garden City, Kansas Clint Lightner Field 1,000[9]
Santa Fe Fuego 2012 Santa Fe, New Mexico Fort Marcy Ballfield 1,100[10]
Trinidad Triggers 2012 Trinidad, Colorado Central Park 887[8]
Southern Roswell Invaders 2011 Roswell, New Mexico Joe Bauman Stadium
Ruidoso Osos 2011 Ruidoso, New Mexico White Mountain Park 200[11]
Tucson Saguaros 2016 Tucson, Arizona Gene C. Reid Park Field #5 1,000[12]
White Sands Pupfish 2009 Alamogordo, New Mexico Jim Griggs Park 600[13]
Pacific Bakersfield Train Robbers 2013 Bakersfield, California Sam Lynn Ballpark 2,700[8]
California City Whiptails 2017 California City, California Balsitis Park
High Desert Yardbirds 2017 Adelanto, California Adelanto Stadium 3,808[8]
Monterey Amberjacks 2017 Monterey, California Frank E. Sollecito, Jr. Ballpark
Current team locations:
  Mountain Division
  Southern Division
  Pacific Division

Former teams

Team Season(s) Location Homefield
Bisbee Blue 2014 Bisbee, Arizona Warren Ballpark
Carlsbad Bats 2011 Carlsbad, New Mexico Travel team
Douglas Diablos 2014 Douglas, Arizona Copper King Park
Great Bend Boom 2016 Great Bend, Kansas Al Burns Memorial Field
Hollywood Stars 2017 Los Angeles, California Travel team
Las Cruces Vaqueros 2011–2012, 2015 Las Cruces, New Mexico Apodoca Park
Las Vegas Train Robbers 2013–2015 Las Vegas, New Mexico Rodriguez Park
Raton Osos 2013–2014 Raton, New Mexico Gabrielle Park
Salina Stockade 2016 Salina, Kansas Dean Evans Stadium
Taos Blizzard 2013–2014 Taos, New Mexico The Tundra
Topeka Train Robbers 2016 Topeka, Kansas Lake Shawnee Park

League timeline

Hollywood Stars (Pecos League)California City WhiptailsMonterey AmberjacksHigh Desert YardbirdsTucson SaguarosGreat Bend BoomSalina Stockade (baseball)Garden City WindDouglas DiablosBisbee Blue (baseball)Taos BlizzardBakersfield Train RobbersTopeka Train RobbersLas Vegas Train RobbersTrinidad TriggersSanta Fe FuegoWhite Sands Pupfish (baseball)Ruidoso OsosRaton OsosRuidoso OsosRoswell InvadersLas Cruces VaquerosLas Cruces VaquerosCarlsbad BatsAlpine Cowboys

League members Former Team

Champions

Season Winner Runner-up Result
2011 Roswell Invaders Ruidoso Osos 2–1 (best-of 3)
2012 Alpine Cowboys Las Cruces Vaqueros 2–1 (best-of 3)
2013 Roswell Invaders Las Vegas Train Robbers 2–0 (best-of 3)
2014 Santa Fe Fuego Alpine Cowboys 2–1 (best-of 3)
2015 Roswell Invaders[14] Santa Fe Fuego 2–0 (best-of 3)
2016 Tucson Saguaros Trinidad Triggers 2–0 (best-of 3)
2017 High Desert Yardbirds Roswell Invaders 2–0 (best-of 3)
2018 Bakersfield Train Robbers[15] Alpine Cowboys 2-1 (best of 3)

References

  1. "Independent Pecos League also will play in Las Cruces, Roswell and Artesia". Albuquerque Journal. August 25, 2010.
  2. "Great Bend independent baseball team gets schedule, new name". The Hutchinson News. February 3, 2016.
  3. "Martinez signs pro baseball contract with Tucson". Mesabi Daily News. January 4, 2016.
  4. "NJIT's Mike Rampone Signs Professional Contract with Tucson Saguaros". NJIT Athletics. February 3, 2016.
  5. "Ex-JCC player Ramos signs pro contract". Watertown Daily Times. February 10, 2016.
  6. "Vaqueros will not return in 2016". Las Cruces Sun-News. February 25, 2016.
  7. "Introducing the Salina Stockade". Salina Journal. February 14, 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Knight, Graham. "2017 Professional Baseball Ballparks". BaseballPilgrimages.com. Baseball Pilgrimages. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  9. "Clint Lightner". www.clintlightner.com. Pecos League. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  10. O’Reilly, Charles. "Fort Marcy Park". www.charliesballparks.com. Charlie's Ballparks. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  11. "White Mountain Sports Complex". www.ruidosoparksandrec.com. Ruidoso Parks & Recreation. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  12. "Tucson Saguaros moving from Kino Stadium to Reid Park".
  13. O’Reilly, Charles. "The Aquarium". www.charliesballparks.com. Charlie's Ballparks. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  14. "Invaders handily end Fuego's wild season, claim 3rd league title". Santa Fe New Mexican. August 4, 2015.
  15. "Bakersfield Train Robbers win Pecos League Championship". 23 ABC News. August 4, 2018.
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