The Henderson RoadRunners were an independent professional baseball team based out of

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with an estimated population of 320,189 in 2019. The city is part of the Las Vegas Vall ...

. 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 Stadium on the campus of the College of Southern Nevada in Henderson. But they would forgo their inaugural season as Lied Field will not be ready in time for the start of the season. The franchise folded in 2012 after failing to attract attention and secure new ownership. They would've been the second professional franchise to play in the Las Vegas area. The first is the Las Vegas 51s of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

Team history

The St. George era (2007–2010)

The team originally began in 2007 as the St. George RoadRunners of the now-defunct

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 ...

, replacing the suspended

San Diego Surf Dawgs The San Diego Surf Dawgs are an independent professional baseball team representing San Diego, California, that played for two seasons in the Golden Baseball League, based out of San Ramon, California, and then later in the short-season instructi ...

for the 2007 season. They played their home games for their entire run in Utah at

Bruce Hurst Field Bruce Hurst Field is a stadium in St. George, Utah. It is primarily used for baseball, hosting the Utah Tech University baseball team. It was formerly the home field of the St. George Roadrunners of the Golden league. It holds 2,500 people and ...

Dixie State College Utah Tech University (UT), formerly known as Dixie State University (DSU) and similar names, is a public university in St. George, Utah. The university offers about 240 programs (4 master's degrees, 53 bachelor's degrees, 18 associate degrees, 4 ...

in St. George. Former major league

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

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, ...

was named the team's first

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

that same year and remained there until 2010.

Jerry Turner Jerry Turner may refer to: * Jerry Turner (theater director) Jerry Turner (1927–2004) served as artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival from 1971 to 1991. He transformed the festival from a summer program for semi-professional acto ...

served as bench coach. On July 5, 2009, the RoadRunners clinched its first playoff spot in team history by winning the GBL Southern Division 1st Half title after defeating the defending GBL champion

Orange County 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 ...

, 4–2, in

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Sa ...

. They hosted the 2009 GBL All-Star Game on July 14 at Bruce Hurst Field. On December 9, 2009, it was announced that the RoadRunners would fold after three seasons, citing poor attendance as its main factor. Ironically, their now-former owners XnE, Inc., were granted a new expansion franchise, the

Maui The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...

-based

Na Koa Ikaika Maui ( Hawaiian for ''The Maui Strong Warriors'') were an independent professional baseball team based out of Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii and champions of the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs. They made their debut in the 2010 season with ...

, just months earlier. Snyder left the RoadRunners to become the new manager in Maui. The new ownership group was announced on January 20, 2010, as the Hot Corner Group led by principal owner Will Joyce. Rick Berry returned as general manager while maintaining his job as president of Na Koa Ikaika Maui, a team which was later sold to Western Sports & Entertainment Group. They named former

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 ...

Victoria Seals The Victoria Seals were a professional baseball team based in Victoria, British Columbia. The Seals were a member of the North Division of the independent Golden Baseball League, which is not affiliated with either Major League Baseball (MLB) or ...

, and

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 ...

manager

Darrell Evans Darrell Wayne Evans (born May 26, 1947) is a former American baseball player, coach and manager. He played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), beginning his career as a third baseman with the Atlanta Braves (1969–1976, 1989), alternatin ...

as their new team manager after he was fired by the Seals in March 2010. Unfortunately, poor attendance (along with lack of support from the business community, supposed stadium lease issues and alleged lack of beer sales) was the team's undoing again, and the team was once again on the verge of folding. However, the league took over the franchise from the Hot Corner Group to finish out the 2010 season as a road team. On August 11, the RoadRunners returned to action, versus Victoria and were victorious in a 4–3 win, led by a two hit, run scoring performance by new

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

Mike Castellano.

The Henderson era (2011 and beyond)

In January 2011, after the GBL was absorbed into the newly formed North American League, the RoadRunners relocated to Henderson, but their team name was not changed like other franchises have done in the past (i.e.

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 ...

Reno Silver Sox The Reno Silver Sox were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1947 to 1992. The team name is derived from the nickname of Nevada, the "Silver State". There was another baseball team known as the Reno Silver Sox who played i ...

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 ...

). They replaced the proposed

Tijuana Embajadores The Tijuana Embajadores were a proposed independent professional team to be based out of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They were to play in the North American League and were expected to play at Estadio de Béisbol Calimax in 2011. They were ...

team which was scheduled to play in the league for 2011, but was dropped by the league. They have postponed their inaugural season as renovations at Lied Field at Morse Stadium will not be ready in time for the start of the season. They will begin play in 2012.North American League Finalizes 2011 Schedule
NABL website, April 8, 2011

Arizona Winter League version (2011–present)

The team identity also belongs to a new developmental franchise in 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 ...

called the Arizona RoadRunners, who are 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 ...

, (home of the NAL's Yuma Panthers and AWL's

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 ...

), and also began play in 2011 just prior to the Henderson team starting in the NAL. Both teams were league-owned and were looking for new ownership, but after failing to secure new ownership the league folded the franchise.

References

North American League teams

External links

North American League official website
{{North American League Professional baseball teams in Nevada North American League teams Baseball teams established in 2007

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 ...

Baseball teams disestablished in 2011 2011 disestablishments in Nevada Defunct independent baseball league teams Defunct baseball teams in Nevada