Arizona Fall League
From BR Bullpen
The Arizona Fall League was founded by 1992 due to dissatisfaction with the traditional winter leagues on the part of Major League Baseball teams. It is a six-team winter league which operates out of the Arizona Spring Training facilities of the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Oakland A's, Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers. Often refered to as the "Graduate School of the Minors", each of these clubs are the parent club for one Arizona Fall League team. The remaining 24 MLB teams rotate among the Arizona Fall League Teams, for example, the Detroit Tigers sent their prospects to the Grand Canyon Rafters in 2004, the Mesa Solar Sox in 2005, and the Phoenix Desert Dogs in 2006.
The first winter league operated by the major league organizations, it was followed by the Hawaii Winter League, California Fall League and Maryland Fall League.
Each of the 30 MLB teams sends six players, 180 players in all, to the AFL each year. Each August, MLB holds a draft to determine which players will spend the season in Arizona. Most players are AA or AAA prospects of the parent clubs, however each team may option to send one player from their Single A affiliates. Players must not have more than one year of credited Major League service. Each club is only allowed to send one foriegn player to the AFL each year, as long as that player does not reside in a country that participates in Caribbean Confederation or Australian winter league baseball.
Many Major League players have come through the Arizona Fall League. The proof of the league's success comes in the fact that 25 AFL alumni took the field at the 2006 All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, PA.
The AFL is known as a hitter-friendly league.
[edit] Current AFL Teams
[edit] Arizona Fall League Hall of Fame Inductees
- Nomar Garciaparra- 2001 (1994 Scottsdale Scorpions)
- Derek Jeter- 2001 (1994 Chandler Diamondbacks)
- Mike Piazza- 2001 (1992 Sun City Solar Sox)
- Dusty Baker- 2001, The first manager in the AFL Hall of Fame. Baker managed the Scottsdale Scorpions in 1992. The following year he took over the San Francisco Giants.
- Jason Giambi- 2002 (1994 Peoria Javelinas)
- Jerry Manuel- 2002 (1994 Maryvale Saguaros)
- Shawn Green- 2003 (1993 Scottsdale Scorpions)
- Todd Helton- 2003 (1996 Peoria Javelinas)
- Mike Scioscia- 2003 (1997 Peoria Javelinas)
- Garret Anderson- 2004 (1993 Tempe Rafters)
- Albert Pujols- 2004 (2000 Scottsdale Scorpions)
- Tony Peña- 2004 (2000 Maryvale Saguaros)
- Troy Percival- 2005 (1992 Scottsdale Scorpions)
- Terry Francona- 2005 (1994 Scottsdale Scorpions)
- Roy Halladay- 2006
- Grady Little- 2006
- Alfonso Soriano- 2006
- Jermaine Dye - 2007
- Torii Hunter- 2007
- Derrek Lee- 2007
- Ken Macha - 2007
- Jimmy Rollins - 2008 (2000 Maryvale Saguaros)
- Eric Wedge - 2008 (1993 Tucson Javelinas)
[edit] External Links
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