Golden Baseball League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Golden Baseball League | |
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| Founded | 2004 |
| Class | Independent |
| Based in | Pleasanton, California |
| Commissioner | Kevin Outcalt |
| Official Website | Golden Baseball League |
The Golden Baseball League, based in Pleasanton, California, is a professional, independent baseball league which operates in the Western United States. With the exception of the San Diego Surf Dawgs (who play in the same city as the San Diego Padres), the GBL operates in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams. The GBL is not affiliated with either Major or Minor League Baseball. It formed in 2004 and began play on May 26, 2005.
The GBL exists so that professional baseball players who are not signed by a Major or Minor League organization could have another chance at playing at a higher level. Although the level of GBL play can be categorized as between AA and AAA, players in independent baseball are usually not scouted heavily by Major League teams. Many Major League alumni have called GBL teams home in an effort get back to the Majors. The league also caters to players who are not quite talented enough to play at a higher level.
The GBL's presenting partner is Safeway Inc. Other investors in the GBL include Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak, former NFL players Mike Sherrard and Christian Okoye, and executives from Cisco Systems, Taleo, and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, among others.
The league is comprised of six teams that play their home games in city- and university-owned stadiums Three of the GBL's teams, the Chico Outlaws, Long Beach Armada, and Yuma Scorpions, operate in former Western Baseball League cities.
In the 2005 season, the Japan Samurai Bears, a traveling team of Japanese players played as a road team. With the addition of the Reno Silver Sox, and the dropping of the Mesa and Surprise franchises, a traveling team was not required for the 2006 season, thus the Samurai Bears did not return.
The GBL is planning to add additional teams in California and Arizona, plus teams in Oregon and northern Mexico, within five to seven years.
Salaries for GBL players range from $750 to $3,000 per month. Each team's entire payroll is less than a third of what the major league minimum is for one player ($316,000).
On May 9, 2005, Major League Baseball's all-time stolen base leader, Rickey Henderson, signed a contract to play the 2005 season with the GBL's San Diego Surf Dawgs, who would become the first GBL Champions. Another retired star José Canseco signed with the Surf Dawgs in 2006 as part of his attempt to return to baseball and promote his book Juiced and its upcoming movie adaptation. However, Canseco was quickly traded to the Long Beach Armada after only one game. He said that the move was to be closer to his daughter, although some have speculated that it was to be closer to Hollywood.
Contents |
[edit] 2005 Season
- Standings
| PL | California Division | W | L | GB | PL | Arizona Division | W | L | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego-x | 52 | 38 | -- | 1 | Mesa-x | 51 | 39 | -- | |
| 2T | Chico-y | 49 | 41 | 3 | 2 | Yuma | 47 | 43 | 4 | |
| 2T | Long Beach-y | 49 | 41 | 3 | 3 | Surprise | 45 | 45 | 6 | |
| 4 | Fullerton | 34 | 56 | 18 | 4 | Japan | 33 | 57 | 18 |
x-Division Champion y-Wild Card
- Playoffs and Championship(4 team double-elimination, final 2 teams face in one game playoff):
| Game 1 | SAN DIEGO 9 Chico 0 |
| Game 2 | MESA 8 Long Beach 0 |
| Game 3 | CHCIO 7 Long Beach 5 (Long Beach eliminated) |
| Game 4 | MESA 2 San Diego 0 |
| Game 5 | SAN DIEGO 2 Chico 1 (Chico eliminated) |
| Championship Game | SAN DIEGO 9 Mesa 6 (Mesa eliminated, San Diego wins Championship) |
- Awards:
| Year | Most Valuable Player | Pitcher of the Year | Rookie of the Year | Rookie Pitcher of the Year | Manager of the Year | Executive of the Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Desi Wilson, 1B/OF, Surprise | Grant Gregg, LHP, Chico | Nick Guerra, C/3B, San Diego | Manny Ayala, RHP, Mesa | Terry Kennedy, San Diego | Bob Linscheid, Chico[1] |
All-League Team: None
Gold Glove winners:[2] Pitcher: Adam Pettyjohn, Long Beach Catcher: Cody Clark, San Diego First base: Yuji Nerei, Japan Second base: Kenichi Miura, Japan Third base: Sean Walsh, Fullerton Shortstop: Jeremy Hernandez, Long Beach Outfielders Marcus Knight, Mesa; Billy Brown, Surprise; Travis McAndrews, Long Beach
[edit] 2006 Season
- Standings:
| PL | 1st Half Standings | W | L | GB | PL | 2nd Half Standings | W | L | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reno-z | 25 | 15 | -- | 1 | Fullerton-x | 26 | 14 | -- | |
| 2T | Chico | 22 | 18 | 3 | 2 | Chico | 24 | 16 | 2 | |
| 2T | Long Beach | 22 | 18 | 3 | 3 | Reno | 22 | 18 | 4 | |
| 4 | Yuma | 18 | 22 | 7 | 4 | San Diego | 19 | 21 | 7 | |
| 5 | Fullerton | 17 | 23 | 8 | 5 | Long Beach | 15 | 25 | 11 | |
| 6 | San Diego | 16 | 24 | 9 | 6 | Yuma | 14 | 26 | 12 |
z-1st Half Champions and best overall record, x-2nd Half Champion
- Championship(best of 5 game series):
| Game 1 | RENO 11 Fullerton 4 |
| Game 2 | RENO 5 Fullerton 4 |
| Game 3 | FULLERTON 9 Reno 5 |
| Game 4 | RENO 5 Fullerton 3 (Reno wins series and Championship) |
- Awards:
| Year | Most Valuable Player | Pitcher of the Year | Rookie of the Year | Rookie Pitcher of the Year | Manager of the Year | Executive of the Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Peanut Williams, 1B/DH, Fullerton | Chris Jakubauskas, RHP, Fullerton | Matt Maloney, OF, San Diego | Phil Springman, RHP, Chico | Les Lancaster, Reno | Becca Hoffer, Chico |
All-League Team: Catcher: Marcus Jensen, Reno First base: Desi Wilson, Chico Second base: Adam Mandel, San Diego Thrid base: Henry Calderon, Yuma Scorpions Shortstop: Bret LeVier, Fullerton Utility: Craig Kuzmic, Chico Outfielders: Seth Pietsch, San Diego; Jason Van Meetren, Chico; Jeff LaRue, Long Beach; Scott Goodman, San Diego Designated hitter: Peanut Williams, Fullerton Starting Pitchers: Chris Jakubaskaus, Fullerton; Andre Simpson, Long Beach; Ben Thurmond, Reno; Phil Springman, Chico; Brian Kroll, Chico; Nate Sevier, Reno Relief Pitchers: Josh Rummonds, San Diego; Scott Schneider, Reno; E.J. Shanks, San Diego; Mike Peck, Long Beach; Wes Faust, Fullerton
Gold Glove Winners:[3] Pitcher: James Johnson, Reno Catcher: Marcus Jensen, Reno First base: Desi Wilson, Chico Second base: Rob Gandolfo, Chico Third base: Henry Calderon, Yuma Shortstop: Hector Tena, Yuma Outfielders Chris Klemm, Long Beach; Lino Garcia, Chico; Ryan Webb, Long Beach
[edit] 2007 Golden Baseball League Teams
[edit] Future team sites
The league had a goal to add 4 new teams by 2008 or 2009, as stated on the official web site. The GBL looks for cities and regions that have the space for one of the future teams. One favorable location for the GBL is the Los Angeles metropolitan area (Inglewood, California and Pasadena, California). Another site for a GBL team is the San Francisco Bay Area.
Possible team sites in these cities and regions:
- Fairfield, California
- Medford, Oregon
- Merced, California
- Palm Springs, California
- Salinas, California
- Sonoma County, California
- Ventura County, California
The Tijuana Toros postponed their first season in 2006 could play in a standard ballpark in Chula Vista. A suburb of San Diego hosted a minor league team of the Western Baseball League in the late 1990s/early 2000s. The Toros may play in 2007 if plans get under way.
The league is also looking at Grand Junction, Colorado as another expansion possibility for the 2007 season. Games would take place at Suplizio Field. [4]
[edit] Suspended Teams
- Japan Samurai Bears, a traveling team made up of 24 Japanese players.
- Mesa Miners from Mesa, Arizona- suspended operations.
- Surprise Fightin' Falcons from Surprise, Arizona.
[edit] New developments
The GBL-owned Arizona Winter League will debut in January 2007, with four professional teams: the Canada Miners, the Yuma Scorpions, the Snow Falcons and the Sonora Surf Dawgs, under GBL team management. They are based in the Yuma, Arizona area playing all games at Desert Sun Stadium and utilizing the Ray Kroc Complex which used to house the San Diego Padres and Yakult Swallows spring training operations. This league is an instructional winter league that will include a number of ex-major league stars as managers and instructors including Mike Marshall, Garry Templeton, Ozzie Virgil Jr., Les Lancaster, Darrell Evans, and Cory Snyder. Games will begin on Jan. 19th and will end with a championship game on Feb. 16th -- there will be daily double-headers at the stadium as all four teams play each day.
GBL web site announcement-Arizona Winter League
[edit] Teams that never played
- Tijuana Toros from Tijuana, Mexico.
[edit] External links
| Golden Baseball League | ||
|---|---|---|
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Chico Outlaws | Fullerton Flyers | Long Beach Armada | Reno Silver Sox | San Diego Surf Dawgs | St. George Roadrunners | Yuma Scorpions |
