Pecos League

Pecos League

Current season, competition or edition: 2024 Pecos League season
Sport	Baseball
Founded	2010
Founder	Bob Ward, Andrew Dunn
First season	2011
Owner(s)	Andrew Dunn
CEO	Andrew Dunn
Commissioner	Andrew Dunn
Divisions	2
No. of teams	16
Country	United States
Headquarters	Houston, Texas
Continent	North America
Most recent champion(s)	Alpine Cowboys (2024)
Most titles	Roswell Invaders (4)
Streaming partner(s)	Meridix
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, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas. The league plays in cities that do not have Major League Baseball or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either.

The Pecos League season is a highly condensed one. Schedules vary, but teams have played as many as 70 games in 72 days, or 80 games in three months.^[1][2]

History

The Pecos League operated six teams in the 2011^[3] and 2012 seasons and expanded to eight teams for 2013. Continued growth saw the league reach a high of 10 teams for 2014.

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 that season. 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^[4] and Tucson, Arizona.^[5][6][7]

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.^[8] Expansion team Salina Stockade^[9] 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.

The Train Robbers were joined in California for 2017 by 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.

For 2019, the Ruidoso Osos were replaced by the Wasco Reserves, and the league reduced the number of divisions from three to two.

For 2020, the Martinez Sturgeon and Santa Cruz Seaweed were announced as expansion teams, and the San Rafael Pacifics were added from the Pacific Association. They joined the all-California Pacific Division, and replaced the California City Whiptails and High Desert Yardbirds in the circuit. The Tucson Saguaros moved to the Mountain Division, taking the place of the White Sands Pupfish. Interdivisional games would not be played to cut down on travel and other expenses.^[10] Later, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league announced that the Mountain Division teams would not play at their home stadiums, and that 4 of the 6 teams would play a condensed 36-game season beginning on July 1, 2020.^[11] All games were played at Coastal Baseball Park in Houston, Texas. The Pacific Division originally planned on enacting a similar format, but due to the ongoing pandemic, were unable to compete in 2020.

For the 2021 season, the Salina Stockade returned and the league announced the addition of the Colorado Springs Snow Sox as an expansion team. On April 4, the league announced its final division alignment for the season, which did not include California City and High Desert after previously indicating each would return.^[12] On August 3, the league announced the Bay Series between the San Rafael Pacifics, Monterey Amberjacks, Martinez Sturgeon, and Santa Cruz Seaweed after the Bakersfield Train Robbers tested positive for COVID-19 and had to cancel their final home series.^[13] The Pecos League operated the Houston Apollos in the American Association as a travel team.

In April 2021, Yermín Mercedes was called up to the Chicago White Sox where he set a major league record as the first baseball player in modern MLB history to begin a season with eight consecutive hits.

For the 2022 season, the league announced three expansion franchises: the Santa Rosa Scuba Divers, Austin Weirdos, and Weimar Hormigas.^[14] After competing in 2021, Salina was not included as a member club in 2022.

Before 2023, the league introduced 4 new teams; the Lancaster Sound Breakers, Marysville Drakes, Blackwell Fly Catchers, and Dublin Leprechauns. The Weimar Hormigas, Colorado Springs Snow Sox, Wasco Reserve, and Santa Rosa Scuba Divers folded. Tucson moved back to the Mountain Division, while the Santa Cruz Seaweed moved to Vallejo, California.

For the 2024 season, the Lancaster Sound Breakers and Monterey Amberjacks did not return. The Sound Breakers folded due to the city of Lancaster entering into a lease with a soccer organization to use The Hangar, leaving the Sound Breakers without a stadium. The City of Monterey reportedly did not renew its contract with the league, but the Amberjacks plan to return in 2025.

To replace the Sound Breakers and Amberjacks, the league brought in two new teams for the season, the North Platte 80s and the Pecos Bills. Both of which are the first time that each city has had a team in the league.

Before the 2025 season, the Amberjacks made a return while Marysville folded. A new expansion team, the Kansas City Hormigas was announced.

Current teams

Pecos League

Division	Team	Founded	City	Stadium	Capacity
Mountain	Alpine Cowboys	2009	Alpine, Texas	Kokernot Field	1,400[15]
	Kansas City Hormigas	2024	Kansas City, Missouri	Satchel Paige Stadium	2,000
	Blackwell FlyCatchers	2023	Blackwell, Oklahoma	Morgan Field	1,500
	Garden City Wind	2015	Garden City, Kansas	Clint Lightner Field	1,000[16]
	North Platte 80s	2023	North Platte, Nebraska	Bill Wood Field	1,500
	Pecos Bills	2023	Pecos, Texas	Cyclone Ballpark	Unknown
	Roswell Invaders	2011	Roswell, New Mexico	Joe Bauman Stadium	500
	Santa Fe Fuego	2012	Santa Fe, New Mexico	Fort Marcy Ballfield	1,100[17]
	Trinidad Triggers	2012	Trinidad, Colorado	Central Park	887[15]
	Tucson Saguaros	2016	Tucson, Arizona	Kino Sports Complex	11,000
Pacific	Bakersfield Train Robbers	2013	Bakersfield, California	Sam Lynn Ballpark	2,700[15]
	Dublin Leprechauns	2023	Dublin, California	Fallon Sports Park	250
	Martinez Sturgeon	2020	Martinez, California	Waterfront Park	200
	Monterey Amberjacks	2017	Monterey, California	Frank E. Sollecito Jr. Ballpark	2,500
	San Rafael Pacifics	2020	San Rafael, California	Albert Park	1,200[15]
	Vallejo Seaweed	2020	Vallejo, California	Wilson Park	500[18]

Cowboys

FlyCatchers

Wind

Bills

Invaders

Fuego

Triggers

Saguaros

Hormigas

Train Robbers

Leprechauns

Sturgeon

Amberjacks

80s

Pacifics

Seaweed

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Current team locations:

  Mountain Division

  Pacific Division

Former teams

Team	Season(s)	Location	Homefield
Carlsbad Bats	2011	Carlsbad, New Mexico	Traveling team
Bisbee Blue	2014	Bisbee, Arizona	Warren Ballpark
Douglas Diablos	2014	Douglas, Arizona	Copper King Park
Raton Osos	2013–2014	Raton, New Mexico	Gabrielle Park
Taos Blizzard	2013–2014	Taos, New Mexico	The Tundra
Las Cruces Vaqueros	2010–2012, 2015	Las Cruces, New Mexico	Apodaca Park
Las Vegas Train Robbers	2013–2015	Las Vegas, New Mexico	Rodriguez Park
Great Bend Boom	2016	Great Bend, Kansas	Al Burns Memorial Field
Topeka Train Robbers	2016	Topeka, Kansas	Lake Shawnee Park
Ruidoso Osos	2011, 2018	Ruidoso, New Mexico	White Mountain Park
California City Whiptails	2017–2019	California City, California	Balsitis Park
High Desert Yardbirds	2017–2019	Adelanto, California	Adelanto Stadium
White Sands Pupfish	2009–2019	Alamogordo, New Mexico	Jim Griggs Park
Houston Apollos	2012–2020	Houston, Texas	Traveling team
Salina Stockade	2016, 2020–2021	Salina, Kansas	Dean Evans Stadium
Colorado Springs Snow Sox	2021–2022	Colorado Springs, Colorado	Spurgeon Field
Weimar Hormigas	2022	Weimar, Texas	Veterans Park
Wasco Reserve	2019, 2021–2022	Wasco, California, Bakersfield, California	Wasco Ballpark, Sam Lynn Ballpark
Santa Rosa Scuba Divers	2022	Santa Rosa, California	Doyle Park
Lancaster Sound Breakers	2023	Lancaster, California	The Hangar
Marysville Drakes	2023-2024	Marysville, California	Bryant Field
Austin Weirdos	2022-2024	Austin, Texas	Travel Team

Proposed teams that never played

A high number of Pecos League teams postponed their premiere seasons before they were slated to play, like the Pueblo Diablos (Bighorns) in Colorado, and Douglas Diablos, Maricopa Monsoon in Arizona and Nogales Sonorans or Skeletons.^[19]

Team	Season Proposed	Location	Homefield
Pittsburg Anchors[20][21]	2020	Pittsburg, California	Central Park Field
Pecos Bills[22][23][24]	2013	Reeves County, Texas	Martinez Field
Atascadero 101s[25][26]	2020	Atascadero, California	Alvord Field (Proposed)
Clovis Pioneers[27][28]	2012	Clovis, New Mexico	Mike Harris Park
Del Rio Aviators/Gunslingers[29][30]	2011	Del Rio, Texas	Bank and Trust Rams Field at Roosevelt Park
Lubbock Hubbers[31]	2011	Lubbock, Texas	Lubbock City Park
Amarillo Lone Stars[32]	2016	Amarillo, Texas	Potter County Memorial Stadium

League timeline

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[33]	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[34]	Alpine Cowboys	2–1 (best-of-3)
2019	Alpine Cowboys	Bakersfield Train Robbers	2–0 (best-of-3)
2020	Tucson Saguaros	Salina Stockade	2–0 (best-of-3)
2021	Tucson Saguaros	Roswell Invaders	2–1 (best-of-3)
2022	Roswell Invaders	Tucson Saguaros	2–1 (best-of-3)
2023	San Rafael Pacifics	Tucson Saguaros	2-1 (best-of-3)
2024	Alpine Cowboys	San Rafael Pacifics	2-0 (best-of-3)

References

1. Darby, Seyward (April 3, 2013). "The Legends of Last Place". The Atavist Magazine. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
2. IndyBallIsland (October 15, 2014). ""The Shit Show" – The Pecos League and Reality TV". Indy Ball Island. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
3. "Independent Pecos League also will play in Las Cruces, Roswell and Artesia". Albuquerque Journal. August 25, 2010.
4. "Great Bend independent baseball team gets schedule, new name". The Hutchinson News. February 3, 2016.
5. "Martinez signs pro baseball contract with Tucson". Mesabi Daily News. January 4, 2016.
6. "NJIT's Mike Rampone Signs Professional Contract with Tucson Saguaros". NJIT Athletics. February 3, 2016.
7. "Ex-JCC player Ramos signs pro contract". Watertown Daily Times. February 10, 2016.
8. "Vaqueros will not return in 2016". Las Cruces Sun-News. February 25, 2016.
9. "Introducing the Salina Stockade". Salina Journal. February 14, 2016.
10. "Pecos League to play with fourteen teams in two divisions for 2020 season" (Press release). Pecos League. February 25, 2020.
11. "Pecos League 2020 Season Update" (Press release). Pecos League. May 7, 2020.
12. "2021 team map". Pecos League official site. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
13. "The Bay Series is born".
14. "It is the Weimar Hormigas Baseball in the Pecos League for 2022".
15. Knight, Graham. "2017 Professional Baseball Ballparks". BaseballPilgrimages.com. Baseball Pilgrimages. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
16. "Clint Lightner". www.clintlightner.com. Pecos League. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
17. O’Reilly, Charles. "Fort Marcy Park". www.charliesballparks.com. Charlie's Ballparks. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
18. Knight, Graham. "2017 Professional Baseball Ballparks". www.baseballpilgrimages.com. Baseball Pilgrimages. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
19. "新人报导，请多多关照！我叫罗伯特-莱万多夫斯基".
20. "Pittsburg Anchors Announcement" (PDF).
21. "Pittsburg Team announcement". February 4, 2020.
22. "Pecos Bills Why Never Played".
23. "Reeves County Proposal (Pages 18-24)" (PDF).
24. "Lights, Baseball and Grass all coming to Pecos".
25. "Get Involved With Atascadero".
26. "Atascadero Team Announcement".
27. "Clovis Pioneers Baseball a No-Go".
28. "Clovis Pioneers Dropped".
29. "Del Rio Aviators/ Gunslingers".
30. "Del Rio Aviators/ Gunslingers Announcement".
31. "Lubbock Hubbers".
32. "In late 2016, after both the Pecos League and San Jacinto Christian Academy vied for a sublease at Potter County Memorial — the lease that was held by Southern Independent Baseball League Board Chairman Gary Elliston — Potter County commissioners decided to accept San Jacinto and "omit the Pecos League," Potter County Judge Nancy Tanner said during an October Commissioners' Court meeting, according to Globe-News archives".
33. "Invaders handily end Fuego's wild season, claim 3rd league title". Santa Fe New Mexican. August 4, 2015.
34. "Bakersfield Train Robbers win Pecos League Championship". 23 ABC News. August 4, 2018.

External links

• Official website
  • Pecos League Encyclopedia and History at BaseballReference.com
  • Pecos League at IndependentBaseball.net