Texas League

The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. 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 maintains its headquarters in Fort Worth.

Texas League
SportBaseball
Founded1902
PresidentTim Purpura[1]
No. of teams10
CountryUnited States
Most recent
champion(s)		Amarillo Sod Poodles (2019)
Most titlesHouston Buffaloes (16)
ClassificationDouble-A
Official websitewww.milb.com/texas

The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892. It was called the Texas Association in 1895, the Texas-Southern League in 1896 and again as the Texas League from 1897 to 1899. It 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's name is well known due to its association with a particular aspect of the game. A bloop single that drops between the infielders and outfielders has been called a Texas Leaguer since the 1890s, despite no evidence that it originated in the Texas League, or was any more common there than elsewhere.[2]

History

In recent years, the Texas League has witnessed a great deal of change. Teams once known as the Jackson Mets, El Paso Diablos, Shreveport Captains, and Wichita Wranglers have 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 being cancelled on June 30.[4][5]

In conjunction with Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minors after the 2020 season, the Texas League gained two teams in cities that previously hosted league teams, brigning it up to a 10-team circuit. Former members the San Antonio Missions returned to the league, and the Wichita Wind Surge were added, both from the PCL.[6][7]

Current teams
Current team locations:
  North Division
  South Division
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 7,050[13]
Frisco RoughRiders Texas Rangers Frisco, Texas Dr Pepper Ballpark 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

Current team rosters
Main article: Texas League rosters

Texas League timeline

League members Dixie Association Other Current League Other Defunct 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.

Complete list of Texas League teams (1902–present)

Current team names are in bold.

League champions and award winners
See also: Baseball awards § Texas League
Main articles: List of Texas League champions, Texas League Player of the Year Award, Texas League Pitcher of the Year Award, and Texas League Mike Coolbaugh Memorial Coach of the Year Award

Hall of fame
Main article: Texas League Hall of Fame

See also

References

Sources
  • Baseball in the Lone Star State: Texas League's Greatest Hits, Tom Kayser and David King, Trinity University Press 2005

Notes
  1. "Contact Us". Texas League. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved July 27, 2017.
  2. Popik, Barry. "Barry Popik". www.barrypopik.com. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
  3. "San Antonio to join PCL beginning in 2019". Pacific Coast League. June 21, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  4. "A Message From Pat O'Conner". Minor League Baseball. March 13, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  5. "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved". Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  6. Reichard, Kevin (December 9, 2020). "Padres Add San Antonio as New Affiliate". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  7. Reichard, Kevin (December 9, 2020). "Twins Revamp Farm System With New St. Paul, Wichita Affiliates". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  8. "Dickey-Stephens Park". Arkansas Diamonds: The Ballparks of Arkansas and Their History. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  9. Bergeron, Angela (2008). "Feature Story - August 2008". Engineering News-Record. McGraw-Hill. Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  10. Mock, Joe. "Hammons Field in Springfield, Missouri". Baseball Parks. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  11. "ONEOK Field". Tulsa Sports Commission. 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  12. Reichard, Kevin (April 10, 2019). "Sod Poodles Launch Crowd-Pleasing Ballpark". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  13. Goldberg-Strassler, Jesse (November 19, 2012). "Whataburger Field / Corpus Christi Hooks". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  14. Goldberg-Strassler, Jesse (November 14, 2012). "Dr Pepper Ballpark / Frisco RoughRiders". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  15. "Security Bank Ballpark". Stadiums USA. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
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