-MINOR BASEBALL REPORT- Many changes already in store for the 2003 Baseball Season......
PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE (AAA)
-The Calgary Cannons have moved to Albuquerque and the Isotopes are officially the newest members of the Pacific Coast League.
TEXAS LEAGUE (AA)
Shreveport SwampDragons moving to Frisco, TX for the 2003 season and will be known as the Frisco Rough Riders.
CALIFORNIA LEAGUE (A)
-San Bernadino Stampede have changed their name to the Inland Empire 66ers.
- Modesto A's have a new logo for 2003
FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE (A)
-Charlotte Rangers are history. Team is moving to Jupiter, FL and will be known as Palm Beach. New nickname TBA. They will share a stadium with the Jupiter Hammerheads.
MIDWEST LEAGUE (A)
-West Michigan Whitecaps have a new logo.
SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE (A)
-East Lake, Ohio team has a name and logo.
-Macon Braves are now the Rome Braves.
LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS
PIONEER LEAGUE
-Medicine Hat Blue Jays are moving to Helena, MT for the 2003 season. Team will be called the Brewers. Another creative, original team name in the Pioneer League.
-Great Falls Dodgers are now the White Sox. A whopping 300 people voted in a name the team contest and once again the Great Falls team is named after their MLB affiliate. How original. Names not picked were Wind Sox, River Sox, Rocky Sox and Chinooks.
INDEPENDENT LEAGUES
-There will be up to 8 Independent Baseball Leagues in 2003. Easily, the most ever.
ARIZONA-MEXICO LEAGUE
-Another new Independent Baseball League to begin play in 2003. The Arizona-Mexico league intends to play ball beginning in late May 2003. According to the website, the teams will play anywhere from 72 to 100 games depending on the number of teams in the league. There will be teams in both the US and in Mexico. (I bet skeds from the Mexican teams will be a doozy to get ahold of). The first US team to be announced is based in Nogales, Arizona and will play some games in Arizona and some games in Nogales, Mexico and will be known as the Dos Nogales Toros. The first Mexican team to be announced is the Ciudad Juarez Hawks. Four more teams have also been announced: Agua Prieta Charros, Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings, Cananea Mineros and Puerto Penasco Tibuerones. Two more teams are still to be announced. Most likely US based teams. Yuma has been mentioned as a possibility.
AGUA PRIETA BISBEE-DOUGLAS CANANEA JUAREZ
DOS NOGALES PUERTO PENASACO
CANADIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE
-Canadian Baseball League will debut in 2003. Teams were announced on November 20th.
Calgary Outlaws, Kelowana Heat, London Monarchs, Montreal Royales(???), Niagara Stars, Saskatoon Legends, Trois-Rivieres , Victoria
CENTRAL LEAGUE
-Shreveport, which just lost the SwampDragons, gets a team in the Central League for 2003.
FRONTIER LEAGUE
-Frontier League adds an expansion team in Florence, KY for 2003
-Canton Coyotes have been sold and are moving to Columbia, MO for the 2003 season.
-Johnstown Johnnies have been sold and may be relocated. Odds are they will not be in Johnstown next season.
NORTHEAST LEAGUE
-Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs have suspended operations and will not play in 2003.
-Adirondack Lumberjacks are moving to Bangor, Maine for the 2003 Season.
- The Northern League Central and Northern League East are now going to be seperate leagues as the affiliation agreement between the two divisions has not been renewed. The 10 teams in the Central Division will be the Northern League. The former Northern League East teams will now be in the seperate Northeast League. That was the original name of the league before joining the Northern League in 1999.
NEW NORTHEAST BASEBALL LEAGUE LOGO
-The North Shore Spirit will join the Northeast League in 2003. The team is based in Lynn, Massachusetts.
NORTHERN LEAGUE
-The Duluth-Superior Dukes are moving to Kansas City, Kansas for the 2003 season. Team will be called the T-Bones.
SOUTHEASTERN LEAGUE
-Southeastern League still exists- for now. In fact, they have added a team- the Houma Hawks.
WESTERN LEAGUE
A league that is in serious financial trouble is the Western League. Looks like the WBL will fold very soon. Yuba-Sutter, Yuma, Long Beach and Solano are all having money problems. Only the Sonoma County Crushers were financially sound and they have left the league. The Chico Heat have also left the league and may join the California League as an affiliated team. The long talked about Rocky Mountain Division is dead.
