Golden Baseball League
From BR Bullpen
| Golden Baseball League | |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Founded | 2004 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country |  United States;  Canada
|
| Current champions | Orange County Flyers |
| Official website | www.goldenbaseball.com |
The Golden Baseball League is an independent minor league in California, Arizona and Nevada, whose member teams are not associated with any Major League Baseball teams.
The GBL does not use the designated hitter rule; rather, pitchers bat for themselves. Player salaries range from $750 to $3,000 per month. Each team's entire payroll is less than a third of what the major league mininum is for one player ($316,000).
The GBL's presenting partner is Safeway Inc. Other investors in the GBL include Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak, former National Football League players Mike Sherrard and Christian Okoye, and executives from Cisco Systems, Taleo, and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, among others. David Kaval is the league's co-founder, chief executive officier and interim president.
The league currently operates as an eight team circuit composed of two divisions. The GBL is planning to add additional teams in California and Arizona, plus teams in Oregon and northern Mexico, within five to seven years.
| North Division | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Manager | Stadium | City |
| Calgary Vipers | Mike Busch | Foothills Stadium | Calgary, AB |
| Chico Outlaws | Jon Macalutas | Nettleton Stadium | Chico, CA |
| Edmonton Cracker-Cats | Brent Bowers | Telus Field | Edmonton, AB |
| Reno Silver Sox | Jeffrey Leonard | Peccole Park | Reno, NV |
| South Division | |||
| Team | Manager | Stadium | City |
| Long Beach Armada | Steve Yeager | Blair Field | Long Beach, CA |
| Orange County Flyers | Gary Carter | Goodwin Field | Fullerton, CA |
| St. George Roadrunners | Cory Snyder | Bruce Hurst Field | St. George, UT |
| Yuma Scorpions | Mike Marshall | Desert Sun Stadium | Yuma, AZ |
- The San Diego Surf Dawgs suspended operations following the 2006 season; return possible in 2009
Contents |
[edit] 2005
The Golden Baseball league was formed in 2004 and began play on May 26, 2005. For their first season, the league was comprised of eight teams that played their home games in city- and university-owned stadiums, with the exception of the Japan Samurai Bears, a traveling team of Japanese players that played all of its games on the road. Three of the GBL's teams, the Chico Outlaws, Long Beach Armada, and Yuma Scorpions, operated in former Western Baseball League cities. On May 9, Major League Baseball's all-time stolen base leader, Rickey Henderson, signed a contract to play for the GBL's San Diego Surf Dawgs. The season ended with a four team championship tournament on Labor Day Weekend. The tournament ended with the Surf Dawgs winning two games on the final day, knocking off the Mesa Miners in the second game to wrap up their championship season.
| California Division | Arizona Division | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Manager | Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Manager | |
| San Diego Surf Dawgs | 52 | 38 | .578 | 0 | Terry Kennedy | Mesa Miners | 51 | 39 | .567 | 0 | Les Lancaster | |
| Chico Outlaws | 49 | 41 | .544 | 3 | Mark Parent | Yuma Scorpions | 47 | 43 | .522 | 4 | Benny Castillo | |
| Long Beach Armada | 49 | 41 | .544 | 3 | Darrell Evans | Surprise Fightin' Falcons | 45 | 45 | .500 | 6 | Ozzie Virgil | |
| Fullerton Flyers | 34 | 56 | .378 | 18 | Garry Templeton | Japan Samurai Bears | 33 | 57 | .367 | 18 | Warren Cromartie | |
[edit] Playoffs
- Double elimination Semifinals San Diego 9, Chico 0; Mesa 8, Long Beach 0; Chico 7, Long Beach 0 (Long Beach is eliminated); Mesa 2, San Diego 0; San Diego 2, Chico 1 (Chico is eliminated)
- Championship Game San Diego 9, Mesa 6
[edit] 2006
For the 2006 season, the returned as a six team league. The Mesa Miners and Surprise Fightin' Falcons suspended operations, and the Japan Samurai Bears also would not return. However, a new team, the Reno Silver Sox, became their first club in Nevada and went on to capture the league title.
| First Half | Second Half | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Manager | Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Manager | |
| Reno Silver Sox | 25 | 15 | .625 | 0 | Les Lancaster | Fullerton Flyers | 26 | 14 | .650 | 0 | Garry Templeton | |
| Chico Outlaws | 22 | 18 | .550 | 3 | Mark Parent | Chico Outlaws | 24 | 16 | .600 | 2 | Mark Parent | |
| Long Beach Armada | 22 | 18 | .550 | 3 | Darrell Evans | Reno Silver Sox | 22 | 18 | .550 | 4 | Les Lancaster | |
| Yuma Scorpions | 18 | 22 | .450 | 7 | Benny Castillo | San Diego Surf Dawgs | 19 | 21 | .475 | 7 | Terry Kennedy | |
| Fullerton Flyers | 17 | 23 | .425 | 8 | Garry Templeton | Long Beach Armada | 15 | 25 | .375 | 11 | Darrell Evans | |
| San Diego Surf Dawgs | 16 | 24 | .400 | 9 | Terry Kennedy | Yuma Scorpions | 14 | 26 | .350 | 12 | Benny Castillo | |
[edit] Championship Series
- Reno defeated Fullerton 3 games to 1
[edit] 2007
The St. George Roadrunners replaced the San Diego Surf Dawgs in 2007, and the Chico Outlaws won the championship that season, defeating the Long Beach Armada 3 games to 1 in the finals.
| First Half | Second Half | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Manager | Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Manager | |
| Chico Outlaws | 25 | 13 | .658 | 0 | Mark Parent | Long Beach Armada | 25 | 13 | .658 | 0 | Darrell Evans | |
| Long Beach Armada | 23 | 15 | .605 | 2 | Darrell Evans | Yuma Scorpions | 21 | 17 | .553 | 4 | Benny Castillo | |
| Yuma Scorpions | 21 | 17 | .553 | 4 | Benny Castillo | Chico Outlaws | 19 | 19 | .500 | 6 | Mark Parent | |
| Orange County Flyers | 19 | 19 | .500 | 6 | Gary Carter | Orange County Flyers | 18 | 20 | .474 | 7 | Gary Carter | |
| Reno Silver Sox | 18 | 20 | .474 | 7 | Les Lancaster | St. George Roadrunners | 16 | 22 | .421 | 9 | Cory Snyder | |
| St. George Roadrunners | 7 | 31 | .184 | 18 | Cory Snyder | Reno Silver Sox | 15 | 23 | .395 | 10 | Les Lancaster | |
[edit] Championship Series
- Chico defeated Long Beach 3 games to 1
[edit] 2008
For the 2008 season, two Canadian teams from the Northern League, the Calgary Vipers and the Edmonton Cracker-Cats, joined the Golden Baseball League and the circuit split into two divisions.
[edit] League Champions
- 2005 San Diego Surf Dawgs
- 2006 Reno Silver Sox
- 2007 Chico Outlaws
- 2008 Orange County Flyers
[edit] Cities Represented
- Calgary, AB: Calgary Vipers (from Northern League) 2008-present
- Chico, CA: Chico Outlaws 2005-present
- Edmonton, AB: Edmonton Cracker-Cats (from Northern League) 2008-present
- Fullerton, CA: Fullerton Flyers 2005-2006; Orange County Flyers 2007-present
- Long Beach, CA: Long Beach Armada 2005-present
- Mesa, AZ: Mesa Miners 2005
- Reno, NV: Reno Silver Sox 2006-present
- St. George, UT: St. George Roadrunners 2007-present
- San Diego, CA: San Diego Surf Dawgs 2005-2006
- Surprise, AZ: Surprise Fightin' Falcons 2005
- Tucson, AZ: Tucson Toros 2009-future
- Yuma, AZ: Yuma Scorpions 2005-present
- Traveling team: Japan Samurai Bears 2005
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