Scrap Yard Fast Pitch
The Scrap Yard Fast Pitch are an independent women's professional softball team based in Conroe, Texas, just north of Houston. Established in October 2015 as the Scrap Yard Dawgs, the team played in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The Dawgs are the first NPF team to be based in the Houston area since the Texas Thunder became the Rockford Thunder in the 2007 season.[1] In 2017, the Dawgs won their first NPF title against Pride in the best of three game series.
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| Information | |
| League | National Pro Fastpitch (2016–2017) Independent (2018–present) |
| Location | Conroe, Texas |
| Ballpark | Scrapyard Softball Complex |
| Year founded | October 23, 2015 |
| League championships | 1 (2017) |
| Regular season championships | 0 |
| General Manager | Connie May |
| Website | scrapyardfastpitch |
After having its franchise terminated by the NPF, the team went independent under the name Scrap Yard Fast Pitch.
In June 2020, all eighteen of the team's players quit in protest of a tweet by the franchise owner. Days later, the team became "This Is Us" and continued their series against the USSSA Pride.
History
On October 23, 2015, NPF announced the Scrap Yards Dawgs as an expansion team for the 2016 season.[2] Kevin Shelton, also the general manager of the Dallas Charge, was introduced as the Dawgs' GM.[3]
On May 5, 2016, the Dawgs signed free agent Monica Abbott to a six-year contract, believed to be worth $1 million; the contract was believed to be the most lucrative paid by an individual American professional franchise to an active female athlete in any team sport.[4]
2017
For the 2017 season, the Dawgs hired Texas A&M associate head coach Gerry Glasco as their head coach. Glasco's assistants would be Oregon's Jimmy Kolaitis and Joe Guthrie of Bucknell. Glasco was head coach of the USSSA Pride in 2014. Kolaitis was an assistant coach for the Chicago Bandits in 2013.[5] The Dawgs finished second during the regular season and won the 2017 Cowles Cup Championship.
2018
On January 28, the Dawgs announced via press release they would no longer be affiliated with the NPF. The NPF terminated their franchise on January 29 citing that the team had violated several league operating rules and franchise requirements.[6] The team indicated they would continue as an independent team under the name Scrap Yard Fastpitch.[7]
2020
In June 2020, during the George Floyd protests and after the first game of a planned seven-game series, franchise owner Connie May tweeted a photo of players standing with hands on heart captioned "Everyone respecting the flag," a reference to the U.S. national anthem protests. May tagged President and protest critic Donald Trump in the tweet. All eighteen players quit the team.[8] The players vowed to never play for Scrap Yard again and formed a new team tentatively named This Is Us.[9] Scrapping together donated uniforms, the players returned to the field days later, defeating the USSSA Pride.[10] Coach Michael Steuerwald and several former Scrap Yard staffers remained with the new team.[9]
Team
General managers
- Kevin Shelton (2015)
- Connie May (2016–present)
Current roster
Scrap Yard Dawgs roster | |||||||||
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| Active roster (YYYY = Final season of player contract) |
Inactive roster | Coaches | |||||||
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Pitchers
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Catchers
Outfielders
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Roster updated July 23, 2017 | ||||||
All-time head coaches
| # | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | W% | GC | W | L | W% | |||
| 1 | Javier Vela, Tripp MacKay | 2016 | 48 | 29 | 19 | .604 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 |
| 2 | Gerry Glasco | 2017 | 49 | 31 | 18 | .633 | 5 | 4 | 1 | .800 |
Season-by-season
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 29 | 19 | 0 | 2nd place National Pro Fastpitch | Lost to Chicago Bandits 2-games-to-1 in NPF Semifinals |
| 2017 | 31 | 18 | 0 | 2nd place National Pro Fastpitch | Won NPF Championship 2-games-to-1 over USSSA Pride, Defeated Akron Racers 2-games-to-0 in NPF Semifinals |
| Totals | 60 | 37 | 0 | ||
Draft history
NPF Draft
References
- "NPF Announces Houston Expansion Team in 2016". ProFastpitch.com. October 23, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
- "NPF adds sixth team, Houston". Observer–Reporter. Washington, Pennsylvania. October 23, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
The National Pro Fastpitch added an expansion team for the 2016 season. The new team will be known as the Scrap Yard Dawgs and will be based in Conroe, Texas, just north of Houston.
- "NPF announces Scrap Yard Dawgs as Newest Expansion Team". ScrapYardDawgs.com. October 23, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
- Graham Hays (May 5, 2016). "Monica Abbott wants change after signing $1 million contract with NPF expansion team". espnW.com. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
- Kayla Lombardo (October 17, 2016). "Scrap Yard Dawgs set coaching staff for second NPF season". Excelle Sports. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
- "National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) Terminates Houston-Based Scrap Yard Dawgs". NPF. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
- Chez Sievers (January 28, 2018). "Scrap Yard Dawgs Announce They Are Leaving NPF". FloSoftball.com. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
- Weiner, Natalie (2020-06-24). "A Softball Team's Tweet to Trump Leads Players to Quit Mid-Series". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
- Hays, Graham (June 26, 2020). "Softball players who protested GM start new team". ESPN.
- @storm_fl (June 27, 2020). "This Is Us win 3-1 over USSSA Pride!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
External links
| Achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Chicago Bandits 2016 |
Cowles Cup NPF Champions Scrap Yard Dawgs 2017 |
Succeeded by incumbent |
