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 41 AFL alumni took the field at the 2011 All-Star Game in St. Louis, MO, including both starting pitchers Roy Halladay and Jered Weaver.
The AFL is known as a hitter-friendly league.
[edit] Current AFL Teams
[edit] Champions
- 1992 - Sun Cities Solar Sox
- 1993 - Tempe Rafters
- 1994 - Peoria Javelinas
- 1995 - Mesa Saguaros
- 1996 - Scottsdale Scorpions
- 1997 - Peoria Javelinas
- 1998 - Sun Cities Solar Sox
- 1999 - Mesa Solar Sox
- 2000 - Grand Canyon Rafters
- 2001 - Phoenix Desert Dogs
- 2002 - Peoria Javelinas
- 2003 - Mesa Solar Sox
- 2004 - Phoenix Desert Dogs
- 2005 - Phoenix Desert Dogs
- 2006 - Phoenix Desert Dogs
- 2007 - Phoenix Desert Dogs
- 2008 - Phoenix Desert Dogs
- 2009 - Peoria Javelinas
- 2010 - Scottsdale Scorpions
- 2011 - Salt River Rafters
[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 Cities 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 (1998 Grand Canyon Rafters)
- Grady Little- 2006 (1992 Grand Canyon Rafters)
- Alfonso Soriano- 2006 (1998 Grand Canyon Rafters)
- Jermaine Dye - 2007 (1995 Sun Cities Solar Sox)
- Torii Hunter- 2007 (1998 Phoenix Desert Dogs)
- Derrek Lee- 2007 (1995 & 1996 Sun Cities Solar Sox)
- Ken Macha - 2007 (1994 Tempe Rafters)
- Jimmy Rollins - 2008 (2000 Maryvale Saguaros)
- Eric Wedge - 2008 (1993 Tucson Javelinas)
- Brian Giles - 2009 (1994 Sun Cities Solar Sox)
- Chris Carpenter - 2010 (1996 Phoenix Desert Dogs)
- Michael Young - 2010 (2000 Grand Canyon Rafters)
- Ryan Howard - 2011 (2004 Phoenix Desert Dogs)
- Paul Konerko - 2011 (1996 Sun Citie Solar Sox)
[edit] External Links
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