Pecos League


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, southern Colorado, Kansas and West Texas. The league plays in cities that do not have Major League Baseball or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either.

History

The Pecos League operated six teams in the 2011 and 2012 seasons and expanded to eight teams for 2013. Continued growth saw the league reach a high of 10 teams for 2014.
The season is a highly condensed one, in which teams may play 64 games in 78 days, all for a weekly salary of $50 per player.
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. 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 and Tucson, Arizona.
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. Expansion team Salina Stockade 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.
Joining the Train Robbers in California for 2017 are three expansion teams: the High Desert Yardbirds, 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 will join the all-California Pacific Division, and replace the California City Whiptails and High Desert Yardbirds in the circuit. The Tucson Saguaros will move to the Mountain Division, taking the place of the now-folded White Sands Pupfish. Interdivisional games will not be played to cut down on travel and other expenses. Later, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league announced that the Mountain Division teams would not be playing at their home stadiums, and that 4 of the 6 teams would play a condensed 36-game season beginning on July 1, 2020. All games will be played at Coastal Baseball Park in Houston, Texas. The Pacific Division will enact the same format, but with the season starting on September 1, 2020 and games played in California.

Current teams

Former teams

League timeline


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id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a current league member
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bar:1 color:Full from:01/01/2011 till:end text:Alpine Cowboys
bar:2 color:Past from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2011 text:Carlsbad Bats
bar:3 color:Past from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2012 text:Las Cruces Vaqueros
bar:3 color:Past from:01/01/2015 till:12/31/2015 text:Las Cruces Vaqueros
bar:4 color:Full from:01/01/2011 till:end text:Roswell Invaders
bar:5 color:Past from:01/01/2011 till:12/31/2011 text:Ruidoso Osos
bar:5 color:Past from:01/01/2013 till:12/31/2014 text:Raton Osos
bar:5 color:Past from:01/01/2018 till:12/31/2018 text:Ruidoso Osos
bar:6 color:Past from:01/01/2011 till:01/01/2020 text:White Sands Pupfish
bar:7 color:Full from:01/01/2012 till:end text:Santa Fe Fuego
bar:8 color:Full from:01/01/2012 till:end text:Trinidad Triggers
bar:9 color:Past from:01/01/2013 till:12/31/2015 text:Las Vegas Train Robbers
bar:9 color:Past from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2017 text:Topeka Train Robbers
bar:9 color:Full from:01/01/2017 till:end text:Bakersfield Train Robbers
bar:10 color:Past from:01/01/2013 till:12/31/2014 text:Taos Blizzard
bar:11 color:Past from:01/01/2014 till:12/31/2014 text:Bisbee Blue
bar:12 color:Past from:01/01/2014 till:12/31/2014 text:Douglas Diablos
bar:13 color:Full from:01/01/2015 till:end text:Garden City Wind
bar:14 color:Past from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2017 text:Salina Stockade
bar:15 color:Past from:01/01/2016 till:01/01/2017 text:Great Bend Boom
bar:16 color:Full from:01/01/2016 till:end text:Tucson Saguaros
bar:17 color:Past from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2020 text:High Desert Yardbirds
bar:18 color:Full from:01/01/2017 till:end text:Monterey Amberjacks
bar:19 color:Past from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2020 text:California City Whiptails
bar:20 color:Past from:01/01/2017 till:01/01/2018 text:Hollywood Stars
bar:21 color:Full from:01/01/2019 till:end text:Wasco Reserve
bar:22 color:Full from:01/01/2020 till:end text:Martinez Sturgeon
bar:23 color:Full from:01/01/2020 till:end text:San Rafael Pacifics
bar:24 color:Full from:01/01/2020 till:end text:Santa Cruz Seaweed
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text:^"Pecos League Timeline"
  1. > If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <#

    Champions

SeasonWinnerRunner-upResult
2011Roswell InvadersRuidoso Osos2–1
2012Alpine CowboysLas Cruces Vaqueros2–1
2013Roswell InvadersLas Vegas Train Robbers2–0
2014Santa Fe FuegoAlpine Cowboys2–1
2015Roswell InvadersSanta Fe Fuego2–0
2016Tucson SaguarosTrinidad Triggers2–0
2017High Desert YardbirdsRoswell Invaders2–0
2018Bakersfield Train RobbersAlpine Cowboys2–1
2019Alpine CowboysBakersfield Train Robbers2–0