The Somerton Stingers are a professional independent baseball team based in

Somerton, Arizona Somerton is a city in Yuma County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 14,287. It is part of the Yuma Metropolitan Statistical Area. Somerton was established in 1898 and incorporated in 1918. Somerton's economy is ...

, representing that city. A member of the

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 ...

, the Stingers are an honor to the

Yuma County, Arizona Yuma County is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 203,881. The county seat is Yuma. Yuma County includes the Yuma, Arizona Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county bor ...

area of

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), ...

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

sites, one was the 1969–70

Seattle Pilots The Seattle Pilots were an American professional baseball, professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington during the 1969 Major League Baseball season. During their single-season existence, the Pilots played their ho ...

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

now the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

of 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 ...

, and the folded

Sonora Pilots The Sonora Pilots are a professional independent baseball team based in Yuma, Arizona and represent Sonora, Mexico. They play in the International Division of the developmental Arizona Winter League, a short-season instructional winter league sa ...

/ San Luis Atleticos, Tecate Brewers and

Snow Falcons Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...

namesakes. In 2011, the North American League which replaced 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 ...

whom owned the AWL wanted to grant a team to

Merced, California Merced (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up ...

either with that or the "Pilot" or "Miner" (see ''Western''

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 ...

) namesakes.

League

They play in the developmental AWL a short-season instructional winter league affiliated with the North American League and play in the American Division, as well as the

Arizona RoadRunners The Arizona RoadRunners are a professional baseball team based out of Yuma, Arizona and are currently a member of the American Division of the Arizona Winter League, a short-season developmental program run by the North American League. They are ...

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 ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

. The

Arizona Summer League The Arizona Summer League (ASL) was a professional short-season instructional baseball league affiliated with the independent North American League (NAL). The league was announced on April 3, 2009, and founded in Yuma, Arizona by the now-defunct ...

Scorpions were named the Yuma Panthers for the 2012 season, but the Panthers will play in the NAL instead. There's a proposal for a Tecate "Cervecario" (Spanish for "Brewer" name team). The team plays their home games in 2012 at

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 ...

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 ...

.2012 Arizona Winter League Teams
, AWL website

Season-by-season records

Arizona Winter League:

References

External links

Arizona Winter League's official website

North American Baseball League
{{Professional Baseball Arizona Winter League teams Professional baseball teams in Arizona Yuma County, Arizona 2012 establishments in Arizona Baseball teams established in 2012