American sports league in minor league baseball
Texas League
|
Classification
| - Double-A
(1946?present)
- Class A1 (1936?1942)
- Class A (1921?1935)
- Class B (1911?1920)
- Class C (1904?1905, 1907?1910)
- Class D (1902?1903, 1906)
|
---|
Sport
| Baseball
|
---|
Founded
| 1902
(122 years ago)
(
1902
)
|
---|
No. of teams
| 10
|
---|
Country
| United States
|
---|
Most recent
champion(s)
| Amarillo Sod Poodles
(2023)
|
---|
Most titles
| Houston Buffaloes
(16)
|
---|
Official website
| www
.milb
.com
/texas
|
---|
The
Texas League
is a
Minor League Baseball
league which has operated in the
South Central United States
since 1902. It is classified as a
Double-A
league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the state of
Texas
; the five North Division teams are located in
Arkansas
,
Kansas
,
Missouri
, and
Oklahoma
. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as
Double-A Central
before reassuming its original moniker in 2022.
The Texas League was founded in 1902, although it traces its lineage back to a predecessor founded in 1888.
History
[
edit
]
20th century
[
edit
]
The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892. It was refounded in 1895 and ran through 1899 (under the name Texas Association in 1895 and Texas-Southern League in 1896).
The Texas League was revived as a
Class D
league in 1902, moved to
Class C
in 1904 where it played through 1910 (except for 1906 as Class D again), played at
Class B
until 1920, and finally moved up to
Class A
in 1921. The Texas League, like many others, shut down during World War II. From 1959 to 1961, the Texas League and the
Mexican League
formed the
Pan American Association
. The two leagues played a limited interlocking schedule and post-season championship. By 1971, the Texas League and the
Southern League
had both decreased to seven teams. They played an interlocking schedule with the Southern League known as the
Dixie Association
. The two leagues played separate playoffs. The Texas League has operated its own schedule since 1972.
The term "Texas Leaguer" to describe a bloop hit, a soft fly ball that falls for a hit beyond the infielders' reach but too short for the outfielders to catch, has been extant since at least 1903
[1]
and was common throughout American baseball in the 20th century and to some degree into the 21st. The source of the idiom is not known but among other theories has been attributed to
Ollie Pickering
's feat in a Texas League game of April 4, 1901, in which he made seven such hits in succession. Talk of this singular feat is supposed to have spread widely, bringing the term with it.
[2]
21st century
[
edit
]
Around the advent of the 21st century, the Texas League witnessed a great deal of change. Teams once known as the
Jackson Mets
,
El Paso Diablos
,
Shreveport Captains
, and
Wichita Wranglers
all relocated to new cities and bigger stadiums.
In 2019, the
San Antonio Missions
relocated to
Amarillo, Texas
, becoming the
Amarillo Sod Poodles
. At the same time, the Triple-A
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
of the
Pacific Coast League
(PCL) moved to San Antonio to continue on as the Missions at the Triple-A level.
[3]
The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
before ultimately being cancelled on June 30.
[4]
[5]
As part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, the Texas League was temporarily renamed to "Double-A Central" for the 2021 season.
[6]
Following MLB's acquisition of the rights to the names of the historical minor leagues, the league switched back to its historical name beginning with the 2022 season.
[7]
Current teams
[
edit
]
Division
|
Team
|
MLB Affiliation
|
City
|
Stadium
|
Capacity
|
North
|
Arkansas Travelers
|
Seattle Mariners
|
North Little Rock, Arkansas
|
Dickey?Stephens Park
|
7,200
[8]
|
Northwest Arkansas Naturals
|
Kansas City Royals
|
Springdale, Arkansas
|
Arvest Ballpark
|
7,305
[9]
|
Springfield Cardinals
|
St. Louis Cardinals
|
Springfield, Missouri
|
Hammons Field
|
10,486
[10]
|
Tulsa Drillers
|
Los Angeles Dodgers
|
Tulsa, Oklahoma
|
ONEOK Field
|
7,833
[11]
|
Wichita Wind Surge
|
Minnesota Twins
|
Wichita, Kansas
|
Riverfront Stadium
|
12,000
|
South
|
Amarillo Sod Poodles
|
Arizona Diamondbacks
|
Amarillo, Texas
|
Hodgetown
|
6,631
[12]
|
Corpus Christi Hooks
|
Houston Astros
|
Corpus Christi, Texas
|
Whataburger Field
|
7,679
[13]
|
Frisco RoughRiders
|
Texas Rangers
|
Frisco, Texas
|
Riders Field
|
10,316
[14]
|
Midland RockHounds
|
Oakland Athletics
|
Midland, Texas
|
Momentum Bank Ballpark
|
6,669
[15]
|
San Antonio Missions
|
San Diego Padres
|
San Antonio, Texas
|
Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium
|
9,200
|
|
150km
100miles
Missions
10
RockHounds
9
RoughRiders
8
Hooks
7
Sod Poodles
6
Wind Surge
5
Drillers
4
Cardinals
3
Naturals
2
Travelers
1
Current team locations:
North Division
South Division
1
Arkansas Travelers
2
Northwest Arkansas Naturals
3
Springfield Cardinals
4
Tulsa Drillers
5
Wichita Wind Surge
6
Amarillo Sod Poodles
7
Corpus Christi Hooks
8
Frisco RoughRiders
9
Midland RockHounds
10
San Antonino Missions
|
Texas League timeline
[
edit
]
League members
Dixie Association
PCL
Other League
- In 1971, the Southern League and Texas League were each down to seven teams, so they formed the Dixie Association for one season. They played interlocking schedules but held their own separate playoffs.
- The Wichita Wind Surge were originally slated to begin play in 2020 in the Pacific Coast League as the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. However, the cancellation of the 2020 season and the 2021 realignment of the minor leagues resulted in Wichita dropping to Double-A without playing a Triple-A game.
Complete list of Texas League teams (1902?present)
[
edit
]
Note: ? An "^" indicates that team's article redirects to an article of an active team in a different league
League champions and award winners
[
edit
]
Hall of fame
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Baseball in the Lone Star State: Texas League's Greatest Hits
, Tom Kayser and David King, Trinity University Press 2005
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"Texas leaguer (definition)"
.
Merriam=Webster Dictionary
. Retrieved
April 3,
2023
.
- ^
David Courtney (March 2020).
"The Texanist: Where Did the Phrase "Texas Leaguer" Come From?"
.
Texas Monthly
. Retrieved
April 3,
2023
.
- ^
"San Antonio to join PCL beginning in 2019"
.
Pacific Coast League
. June 21, 2017
. Retrieved
June 21,
2017
.
- ^
"A Message From Pat O'Conner"
.
Minor League Baseball
. March 13, 2020
. Retrieved
May 5,
2020
.
- ^
"2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved"
.
Minor League Baseball
. June 30, 2020
. Retrieved
July 1,
2020
.
- ^
Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021).
"MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues"
.
Major League Baseball
. Retrieved
February 12,
2021
.
- ^
"Historical League Names to Return in 2022"
.
Minor League Baseball
. March 16, 2022
. Retrieved
March 16,
2022
.
- ^
"Dickey-Stephens Park"
. Arkansas Diamonds: The Ballparks of Arkansas and Their History. Archived from
the original
on May 5, 2015
. Retrieved
September 22,
2017
.
- ^
Bergeron, Angela (2008).
"Feature Story - August 2008"
.
Engineering News-Record
.
McGraw-Hill
. Archived from
the original
on February 27, 2014
. Retrieved
September 22,
2017
.
- ^
Mock, Joe.
"Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri"
.
Baseball Parks
. Retrieved
September 22,
2017
.
- ^
"ONEOK Field"
. Tulsa Sports Commission. 2010
. Retrieved
May 4,
2015
.
- ^
Reichard, Kevin (April 10, 2019).
"Sod Poodles Launch Crowd-Pleasing Ballpark"
.
Ballpark Digest
. August Publications
. Retrieved
April 10,
2019
.
- ^
Goldberg-Strassler, Jesse (November 19, 2012).
"Whataburger Field / Corpus Christi Hooks"
.
Ballpark Digest
. Retrieved
May 4,
2015
.
- ^
Goldberg-Strassler, Jesse (November 14, 2012).
"Dr Pepper Ballpark / Frisco RoughRiders"
.
Ballpark Digest
. Retrieved
May 4,
2015
.
- ^
"Security Bank Ballpark"
. Stadiums USA. Archived from
the original
on May 8, 2016
. Retrieved
September 22,
2017
.
External links
[
edit
]
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North Division
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South Division
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Americas
| Major
| |
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Minor
| |
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Independent
| MLB Partner Leagues
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Non-partnered leagues
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Off-season
| MLB-affiliated
| |
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Independent
| |
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Defunct
| MLB-recognized
| |
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Other major
| |
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Minor
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Asia
| China
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Israel
| |
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Japan
| Major
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Minor
| |
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Off-season
| |
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Independent
| |
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Women's
| |
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South Korea
| |
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Taiwan
| Major
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Minor
| |
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Defunct major
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Europe
| Italy and San Marino
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Netherlands
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