Author's Blog

 July 31, 2010

Update from the GBL


League Reach Ten Teams with Expansion into Mexico


Monday, January 19, 2009

The Golden Baseball League, which for the last several weeks had been at nine teams, announced its tenth and final team for the 2009 season with the addition of the Tijuana Potros.  Tijuana lost its team after the 2008 season when the Mexican League disbanded and relocated the former Potros to Reynosa in early December.  The team will play at the 18,000 seat Cerro Colorado Stadium, which league commissioner Kevin Outcalt anticipates could be sold out frequently given the popularity of baseball in Tijuana.

"It's a national sport to fans in Tijuana," said Outcalt, adding that U.S. and Canadian teams traveling to Tijuana should foster this perception, further building local fan support.

While the new team has adopted the Potros name from the former Mexican League franchise, the team will have a new logo and color scheme.  The Potros have been at times one of the highest drawing non-Major League teams in North America.

The new team makes the GBL the only U.S. based league to have teams in three countries with three teams in Canada, six in the United States, and one in Mexico.  With the expansion to Mexico comes new sponsorship opportunities.  Tijuana Brewery has already signed on to sponsor not just the Potros, but a number of U.S. based teams as well.

The move also potentially opens the U.S. teams up to a new market.  Outcalt anticipates a number of U.S. Spanish speaking fans will embrace the team from south of the border.

The GBL is now set with two divisions:  North – Calgary, Edmonton, Victoria, Chico, and Long Beach; and South – St. George, Orange County, Tuscon, Yuma, and Tijuana.  The configuration is a bit awkward: teams in Chico and Victoria will be isolated from any division rival, while the North Division’s Long Beach is only 24 miles from South Division’s Orange County (Fullerton), but this will mark the first time the league has sported ten teams which should help balance the schedule relative to previous seasons.  While the schedule has not been set, Outcalt anticipates that regional rivalries will still play a role.

Orange County Gets Local Star as Manager

In other GBL news, the Orange County Flyers last month introduced Fullerton native and Major League all-star Phil Nevin as their manager for the 2009 season.  Nevin played for seven teams over a 12 year Major League career, his longest stay with the San Diego Padres.  He was a 2001 NL all star.  Nevin also played for nearby Anaheim in 1998.  Nevin graduated from El Dorado High School in Fullerton as well as Cal State Fullerton.  The Flyers play their home games at Cal State Fullerton’s Goodwin Field.

 


Reader Feedback

  1. Angela Says:

    Hmm, very cognitive post.
    Is this theme good unough for the Digg?

    February 24, 2009 at 7:09 PM

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