The San Diego Surf Dawgs are an independent professional baseball team representing

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, that played for two seasons in the

Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the western United States, western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the orga ...

, based out of

San Ramon, California San Ramon (Spanish: ''San Ramón'', meaning "St. Raymond") is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States, located within the San Ramon Valley, and east of San Francisco. San Ramon's population was 84,605 per the 2020 census, maki ...

, and then later in the short-season instructional

Arizona Winter League The Arizona Winter League was an independent instructional winter baseball league. Arizona Winter League games were all played at Desert Sun Stadium in Yuma, Arizona. The league was founded in 2007. It disbanded in 2013 due to parent league, th ...

and Arizona Summer League, based out of

Yuma, Arizona Yuma ( coc, Yuum) is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 93,064 at the 2010 census, up from the 2000 census population of 77,515. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, M ...

, which was not affiliated with either

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

''or'' Minor League Baseball. They were owned by Diamond Sports & Entertainment, previous owners of the GBL and primary investors in the North American League. In November 2022, it was announced the Surf Dawgs franchise will be revived as part of a west coast expansion of the Federal Baseball League. Their home stadiums included

Tony Gwynn Stadium Tony Gwynn Stadium is the home field of the San Diego State University Aztecs college baseball team. In addition, the San Diego Surf Dawgs of the independent Golden Baseball League used the park as their home field. Stadium history The original s ...

, named after former

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

great

Tony Gwynn Anthony Keith Gwynn Sr. (May 9, 1960 – June 16, 2014), nicknamed "Mr. Padre", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played 20 seasons (1982–2001) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. The left-handed hit ...

and located on the campus of

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

, and then

Desert Sun Stadium Desert Sun Stadium is a converted soccer-specific stadium in Yuma, Arizona, originally built for baseball. It was the spring training home of the San Diego Padres from 1970 through 1993, the North American League's Yuma Scorpions minor league ...

, as part of the AWL and ASL. They were the inaugural GBL Champions in 2005 managed by former

Tucson Padres The Tucson Padres were a minor league baseball team representing Tucson, Arizona in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). They were the Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The team moved to Tucson from Portland, Oregon for the 2011 season. I ...

manager Terry Kennedy. They were awarded the 2010 ASL Championship.

Team history

Golden Baseball League (2005–2006)

The Surf Dawgs were one of the eight original GBL charter teams that began play in 2005 along with the

Chico Outlaws The Chico Outlaws were a professional baseball team based in Chico, California, in the United States. The Outlaws were a member of the Northern Division of the independent North American League, which is not affiliated with either Major League Ba ...

Fullerton Flyers The Fullerton Flyers were a professional baseball team based in Fullerton, California, in the United States. They were an independent franchise, not affiliated with either Major League Baseball ''or'' Minor League Baseball. The team played from 20 ...

and

Long Beach Armada The Long Beach Armada were an independent professional baseball team based in Long Beach, California, in the United States. The Armada was a member of the North Division of the now-defunct Golden Baseball League (GBL), which was not affiliated wi ...

in California;

Mesa Miners The Mesa Miners were an independent professional baseball team based in Mesa, Arizona. They began as a member of the Arizona Division of the now-defunct Golden Baseball League in 2005. The original team became known as the Reno Silver Sox in 2 ...

Surprise Fightin' Falcons The Surprise Fightin' Falcons are an inactive professional baseball team based in Surprise, Arizona. They played in the Arizona Division of the independent Golden Baseball League, which is not affiliated with either Major League Baseball ''or'' ...

and

Yuma Scorpions Yuma can refer to: Places * Yuma Desert, desert in southwest U.S. and northwest Mexico ;United States * Yuma County, Arizona ** Yuma, Arizona ** Fortuna Foothills, Arizona ** Marine Corps Air Station Yuma ** United States Army Yuma Proving Ground ...

in Arizona and the traveling

Japan Samurai Bears The Japan Samurai Bears are a defunct traveling professional baseball team that played in the independent Golden Baseball League, which is not affiliated with either Major League Baseball ''or'' Minor League Baseball. They were based in the Arizon ...

. They were known for playing in the same city as a

team, the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. The signing of

Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is an American retired professional baseball left fielder who played his 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four separate tenures with hi ...

gave the team national exposure. Former first-round draft pick Matt Wheatland was among five San Diegans on the roster. The 2005 team won the first ever GBL California Division title, and on

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

weekend 2005 they won the inaugural GBL Championship tournament, coming back on the last day to win two games. The team again made news in June 2006 by signing former Major League player

José Canseco José Canseco Capas Jr. (born July 2, 1964), nicknamed Parkway Jose, Mr. 40-40 and El Cañonero Cubano (The Cuban Cannon), is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and designated hitter. During his time with the Oaklan ...

. He made his debut on July 3, 2006 and struck out 4 times. Prior to the game, the ''

Juiced Juiced may refer to: * ''Juiced'' (video game), a racing video game ** Juiced (series), the subsequent series of games * ''Juiced'' (book), a book by Jose Canseco noted for revealing the extent of steroid use in baseball * '' Juiced.GS'', a maga ...

'' author looked like the

Bash Brother The Bash Brothers are a duo of former baseball players consisting of Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. Both prolific home run hitters, the two were teammates in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven seasons with the Oakland Athletics, helping the ...

of old during batting practice, knocking multiple pitches out of the park. After playing in one game with the Surf Dawgs, Canseco requested to be traded to a team closer to his home in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and was sent to the

Arizona Winter League (2007–present)

The team joined the

as the Sonora Surf Dawgs in January 2007, but reverted to San Diego for the 2008 season. During the AWL regular season, they are managed by

Cory Snyder James Cory Snyder (born November 11, 1962) is an American former professional baseball right fielder and the manager of the Northern Colorado Owlz. He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 1994 for the Cleveland Indians, ...

, who also manages the GBL's

St. George RoadRunners The Henderson RoadRunners were an independent professional baseball team based out of Henderson, Nevada. They were members of the Western Division in the North American League and were scheduled to begin play in 2011 at Lied Field at Morse Stadi ...

. In 2008, they were placed in the new American Division for the 2009 season along with the

Blythe Heat The Blythe Heat were a professional baseball team based in Blythe, California. They played in the Arizona Winter League, a short-season instructional winter league affiliated with the North American League. They began play in 2007 and played th ...

Palm Springs Chill The Palm Springs Chill are an independent baseball team based in Palm Springs, California. They are co-owned by the Palm Springs Power and play their home games at Palm Springs Stadium. Andrew Starke is the team president and Darrell Evans is ...

and Yuma Scorpions. The Surf Dawgs participated in a Lucha & Baseball exhibition game on June 25, 2009, along with some professional wrestlers against the

Tucson Toros The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...

, which they won 8-3.

Arizona Summer League (2009–2011)

The Surf Dawgs became a charter team of the new Arizona Summer League in June 2009. They played alongside the El Centro Imperials and

Canada Miners The Western Canada Miners (also known as just the Canada Miners) are a professional independent baseball team based in Yuma, Arizona, and representing western Canada. They play in the developmental Arizona Winter League, a short-season instruction ...

in 2009 and then the

and

Bisbee Miners The Bisbee Miners were a season-season independent professional baseball team that played in the Arizona Summer League representing Bisbee, Arizona. They play their home games at Desert Sun Stadium in Yuma, Arizona, home of the North American ...

in 2010. They replaced the San Luis Atleticos and Yuma Scorpions, who were originally scheduled to play in the league, but were dropped prior to the start of the inaugural season. They began play on July 2. The Surf Dawgs, instead of the Scorpions, have become the first team to have played in all three leagues within the GBL system. They were awarded the ASL Championship in 2010 and 2011.

Possible GBL return

The GBL has mentioned the possibility of the Surf Dawgs return to the league for 2010. The team still does not have a suitable ballpark to play on, but the league website is saying that it should change by 2010.GBL Cities
, Golden Baseball League website The team's official website was temporarily shut down in late June 2009, possibly for revamping as the team is expected to return according to the league. But the website returned in August.

Federal Baseball League and Return

In 2022, the Federal Baseball League announced a west coast expansion with a division of six tentative host cities: Fresno, Riverside, San Diego, Sonoma, Fullerton, and Stockton. In November 2022, it was announced the Surf Dawgs franchise will be revived for the FBL, with venue and ownership yet to be announced.

Season-by-season records

Golden Baseball League: Arizona Winter League: Arizona Summer League:

References

Arizona Winter League 2009 Statistics at Howe Sports Data

External links

San Diego Surf Dawgs official websiteThe San Diego Kennel Club, the Surf Dawgs official booster clubArizona Summer League websiteArizona Winter League websiteGolden Baseball League website
{{San Diego Sports Professional baseball teams in Arizona Arizona Winter League teams Former Golden Baseball League teams Baseball teams in San Diego Baseball teams disestablished in 2011 Defunct independent baseball league teams 2005 establishments in California Baseball teams established in 2005 2011 disestablishments in Arizona Defunct baseball teams in California