Sioux Falls Pheasants Ownership Sells Team

Posted on May 1, 2012 by

The Sioux Falls Pheasants (American Association) was sold to an investor group with ties to the NHL’s Minnesota Wild according to an article here:

The transaction includes the Stampede hockey team.  The original CEO of both the Stampede and the Pheasants will remain in his position, and both he and the other original minority owners will keep their ownership stakes in the teams.  This ownership change occurs less than 3 weeks before the start of the American Association season.  It also coincides with a new look to the Pheasants website at http://www.sfpheasants.com

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San Rafael Pacifics Dedicate Season To Alexis Busch

Posted on April 30, 2012 by

The San Rafael Pacifics last week announced that they are dedicating their season to Alexis Busch, the daughter of Corey Busch who is a colleague of many in professional baseball.  She died in a boat racing accident on April 14.  According to the Pacifics press release, she also was the first bat girl in the Major Leagues when she served in that role with the San Francisco Giants:

IndependentBaseball.net offers its condolences to the Busch family and Alexis’ friends.

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Yuma Panthers and Orange County Flyers Out Of NAL

Posted on April 29, 2012 by

In a wild business-related week for the North American League’s Northern Division, the owner of Godfather Media – which owns the Yuma Panthers and controls the rights to the Orange County Flyers – will not be playing in the NAL this season.  Citing that, “it would be best to not mirror ourselves after the Yuma Scorpions and be in a season and then all of a sudden find out the other team can’t make it,” CEO Michael Cummings said that the Panthers (and presumably the Flyers) will start up a fall league and a possible winter league.  He also added that none of the teams will have anything to do with Diamond Sports Entertainment, which previously operated the Golden League and served as the league office for the North American League.

San Rafael Pacifics GM, Mike Shapiro, said that his team and Maui intend to go forward and play by adding two more teams:  one in Hawaii and one in Sonoma County (California) before the season starts.  Whether or not this will happen and, if so, if the two new teams will be travel or “neutral site” teams is still to be determined.  According to all accounts, the Texas-based teams (comprising the NAL’s Southern Division) will operate as they planned months ago.

Here are the articles of interest:

Two more items of interest:

  1. At the time of this blog post, neither the YumaPanthers.com website nor the team’s Facebook page have indicated any withdrawl from the NAL.  The quotes from Michael Cummings in the Yumasun.com article serve as the basis for this announcement
  2. In 2010 the CBL faced a similar issue with a 4-team league, 2 to be operated by the league and 2 from another owner.  That owner dropped out roughly 45 days before the season was supposed to start; and the 2010 CBL season marched on with a reduced number of games.  Two teams hosted games, with the occasional neutral site game played to showcase the talent to other cities.  The CBL folded after the 2010 championship.  If the NAL’s Northern Division has the same situation, then recent independent baseball history does not favor them.  Hopefully the fan base is strong enough, and the travel costs reduced enough, to give new West Coast teams a chance to expand into solid markets in 2013.  Otherwise independent baseball will not exist in the Western part of the U.S. next season
Posted in Baseball Business, Front Office, History, independent baseball leagues, independent baseball teams, Owners, travel team, Winter Leagues | Leave a comment

Attempt To Postpone San Rafael Pacifics Season Fails

Posted on April 28, 2012 by

An appeal by a local neighborhood group in San Rafael, California to postpone the season for the new San Rafael Pacifics (North American League Northern Division) was denied by a judge on the 1st District Court of Appeal.  This does not mean that the appeal is denied, but simply that the season will continue while the appeal moves forward:

The reason that the judge’s decision has ramifications outside of the local area are that since the NAL had major concerns this off-season, the footprint of the league varied tremendously from the end of the 2011 season.  Had the team been denied the right to play in the stadium this season then the other 3 teams in the NAL’s Northern Division likely would have had to postpone their seasons as well; and some may never come back.

Here is a recap of (most of) the changes in the NAL since the end of the 2011 championship series:

  • Two new teams were added to the Southern Division:  Fort Worth Cats (from the American Association) and the returning Abilene Prairie Dogs (which last played in the early 2000′s)
  • Diamond Sports Entertainment and the former CEO and Commissioner of the Golden League (which assumed the roles of the 2011 North American League) are no longer involved with the NAL
  • The Yuma Scorpions were sold to Godfather Media (a publicly-traded Pink Sheet company) and changed to the Yuma Panthers
  • Maui, which suspended its season early after Lake County failed to show up for a series, changed ownership again
  • San Rafael started and had its right to play in the stadium challenged by the local neighborhood group
  • Godfather Media recently bought the majority of the holding company to the rights for the Orange County Flyers; and it looks like the Flyers will be a travel team this year
  • Calgary Vipers folded
  • Edmonton Capitals dropped out of the NAL and will not play in 2012
  • Discussion of a team in Ft. McMurray (Alberta, Canada) has increased
  • The Lake County Fielders are not playing this season after last year’s multiple challenges
  • The Chico Outlaws are not returning

While this list is not inclusive, it shows you how fragile the situation has been for independent baseball on the West Coast in recent months.  Feel free to leave your thoughts on the situation.

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Much Discussion About Upcoming Atlantic League Westward Expansion

Posted on April 27, 2012 by

With the Atlantic League’s opening night last night, the Sugar Land Skeeters opened up their new stadium to the suburban Houston market.  It also marks the beginning of the Western-most team for a league which, up to now, had teams in Pennsylvania being the Western-most.  This created much speculation and wondering among independent baseball executives and insiders as to what will take place in the coming years.

Two articles came out recently, one from Baseball America and the other from Bob Wirz’s Independent Baseball Insider column (http://www.wirzandassociates.com) both detailing the public discussion regarding more teams in the Atlantic League which exist west of the Pennsylvania/Maryland area.  Both are of interest should you like information regarding the business side of the sport:

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2012 Independent Baseball Season Starts Tonight

Posted on April 26, 2012 by

The Atlantic League will kick off the 2012 independent professional baseball season tonight.  There are several resources for those who like the Atlantic League and want to learn more about the teams, players, owners, and other information.  The league website is http://www.atlanticleague.com and it offers:

  • News
  • Schedule information
  • Team website information (which you also can find here:  Independent Baseball Teams)
  • Box scores, standings, rosters, transactions, and attendance
  • League rules, players of the month, All Star Game information, and alumni
  • Stadium dimensions and online radio information

Twitter and Facebook information can be found on each team’s website as well as on the page on this website.

Here are some fan resources to become more involved with the league and independent baseball as a whole:

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Former St. Paul Saint To Return As Pitching Coach

Posted on April 25, 2012 by

Former St. Paul Saints pitcher and MLB pitcher, Kerry Ligtenberg, is returning to the St. Paul Saints this season as the team’s pitching coach.  The Saints chronicled his MLB career as well as his start in pro baseball in the old North Central League’s Minneapolis Loons (1994) which was an early competitor to the Saints when the current version of independent baseball started in 1993.  Here is more information:

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Good Article On Ed Nottle

Posted on April 24, 2012 by

Ed Nottle, originally signed to be the field manager of the 2012 Edinburg Roadrunners, had to resign for health concerns this season at the age of 73.  The local newspaper in Evansville wrote a nice article about him and mentions several of his stops in the independent professional baseball industry:

IndependentBaseball.net wishes him all the best during this time and a speedy recovery.

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NAL’s Northern Division 2012 Season Rests On Court Decision

Posted on April 23, 2012 by

Ballpark Digest wrote a significant article, detailing the appeal from a lower-court decision in California which affects all 4 teams of the North American League’s Northern Division for 2012.  What is of interest is the financial impact which could occur should the San Rafael Pacifics be denied access to the stadium for the season.  Also of interest is confirmation from Pacifics’ GM, Mike Shapiro, that the Orange County Flyers are the fourth team for the Northern Division.

This is an interesting look into the business of sports and how one civic group’s concerns, ultimately, can affect whether or not players can play for pro teams hundreds of miles away.  Feel free to add your thoughts to this subject if you have any documentation or confirmation for your position.

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New President and GM for Lancaster Barnstormers

Posted on April 22, 2012 by

The Lancaster Barnstormers (Atlantic League) went outside of their organization to find a new team president, Lisa Riggs.  Jon Danos is the team’s CEO and Kristen Simon will become the team’s General Manager for the 2012 season:

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