Arizona Winter League

Infobox sports league

pixels = 150px
caption = Arizona Winter League logo
sport = Baseball
founded = 2007
motto =
teams = 6
country = USA
champion = Blythe Heat
folded =
website = [http://www.arizonawinterleague.com www.arizonawinterleague.com]

The Arizona Winter League is the short-season instructional winter professional baseball league affiliated with the independent Golden Baseball League. Announced on November 15, 2006, and headquartered in Arizona, it is an independent baseball league which consists of six teams based out of different cities. All Winter League games are played at Desert Sun Stadium in Yuma, Arizona, except for two teams who play their home games at respective California ballparks.

League format

The GBL-owned Arizona Winter League debuted January 19, 2007, with four charter teams: the Canada Miners, Yuma Scorpions, Snow Falcons, and Sonora Surf Dawgs, under GBL team management. These respective teams began using the logos, caps and uniforms of past GBL teams such as the San Diego Surf Dawgs (Sonora), Mesa Miners (Canada) and the Surprise Fightin' Falcons (Snow) with the lone exception of the Scorpions, whose idenitity is the same as their GBL brethen. [ [http://www.yumasun.com/sports/league_24718___article.html/winter_scorpions.html It's official: Baseball here in January] (The Yuma Sun, November 15, 2006)] The inaugural season consisted of a 21-game regular season, with the first and second place teams facing off in a one game playoff for the championship. All teams 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. The league is for players out of college or university and other players who are looking for professional contracts either from the Golden Baseball League or Major League Baseball. It is an instructional winter league that includes 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.

For the 2008 season, the league added two expansion teams, the Blythe Heat and Palm Springs Chill, the Sonora Surf Dawgs reverted back to the previously-known San Diego Surf Dawgs and the Snow Falcons were renamed the Sonora Pilots. The Heat and Chill are run by private investors and play their home games at respective California ballparks.

Winter League teams

"* Clinched playoff game spot"

Playoffs

4TeamBracket | RD1=Semi-Finals
RD2=Finals

RD1-team1=Palm Springs Chill
RD1-score1=3
RD1-team2=Blythe Heat
RD1-score2=13

RD1-team3=Canada Miners
RD1-score3=10
RD1-team4=San Diego Surf Dawgs
RD1-score4=6

RD2-team1=Canada Miners
RD2-score1=5
RD2-team2=Blythe Heat
RD2-score2=10

AWL Champions

*2007, Yuma Scorpions
*2008, Blythe Heat

References

* [http://www.yumasun.com/sports/league_24718___article.html/winter_scorpions.html It's official: Baseball here in January] (The Yuma Sun, November 15, 2006)
* [http://www.yumazone.com/Arizona%20Winter%20League.htm Yuma Zone's AWL info page]
* [http://www.yumasun.com/sports/league_39605___article.html/game_night.html Arizona Winter League Notebook: Winter league full of hot hitters] (The Yuma Sun, February 9, 2008)

External links

* [http://www.arizonawinterleague.com/ Arizona Winter League]
* [http://www.goldenbaseball.com Golden Baseball League]