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 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 ...

by 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 ...

(now a part of the NAL). Now headquartered in

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, ma ...

, it is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

baseball league that includes of four teams based out of different cities. All games are played 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 ...

. The 2011 season ran from July 13 to August 8. Since its inception, some players from the ASL have signed contracts with affiliated professional teams. In 2009, 18 ASL players were plucked out of the league by independent and foreign pro leagues. In 2010 57 ASL players (over 90%) were signed to pro contracts by independent and foreign pro leagues. The league, along with the companion

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, t ...

, ceased operations for good in 2013.

League Format

Patterned after the

, the GBL-owned Arizona Summer League debuted with three charter teams: the

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 ...

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 ...

, and El Centro Imperials, under GBL team management. The

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 ...

, who play in both the GBL and AWL, and San Luis Atleticos of the AWL were originally named as a charter team in the ASL, but were replaced at the last minute by the Surf Dawgs as the inaugural season began on July 2, 2009. In 2010, the Surf Dawgs were joined by the Bisbee Miners 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 2011, the teams were joined by Team Canada while Bisbee was reidentified as former GBL franchise the

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 ...

. The inaugural season consists of a 20-game regular season, with the first and second place teams facing off in a one-game playoff for the championship. All teams are based in the Yuma, Arizona, area playing all games at Desert Sun Stadium (home of the Scorpions) and utilizing the Ray Kroc Complex which used to house the

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 penn ...

and

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yo ...

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 roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

operations. The league is for players out of college or university who were overlooked by professional teams and other players who were released by pro teams and are looking for professional contracts either from the Golden Baseball League or

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 (A ...

. It is an instructional summer league that includes a number of ex-major league stars as managers and instructors such as Mike Marshall,

Rusty Meacham Russell Loren Meacham (born January 27, 1968) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball between 1991 and 2001. Professional career Early career Meacham was drafted by the D ...

, Nick Belmonte, Warren Cromartie,

Benny Castillo Benny Castillo (born July 15, 1966 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a former professional baseball player and manager. Early life Raised in the Bronx, New York, Castillo attended Park West High School, where he was coached by the late M ...

Alex Arias Alejandro Arias (born November 20, 1967) is an American former professional baseball infielder, who played Major League Baseball from 1992 to 2002. In his career, Arias played for the Chicago Cubs (), Florida Marlins (–), Philadelphia Phillies ...

and Shannon Hunt. The ASL will also help players who were injured during the season to rehab and work on returning to their GBL team.

Summer League teams

Season-by-season standings

2009

Final Standings ''* Awarded championship''

2010

Final Standings ''* Awarded championship''

2011

Final Standings ''* Awarded championship after single elimination playoff''

Past Teams

* Bisbee Miners (2010). *

(2009). * Western Canada Miners. *

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 ...

(2009). * El Centro Imperials (2009). *

(2011). *

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

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 ...

. * Edmonton Cracker Cats. * Saskatchewan Silver Sox. * Salton Sea Silver Sox.

Possible team(s)

The

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 ...

based in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by lan ...

were interested to join the ASL. Another Arizona-based team is 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 ...

whom postponed their inaugural season in 2010.

Notable ASL alumni

During the 2011 Summer season: 10 Players signed Professional contracts, Shortstop Kirby Young who played in 14 Games Hit. 400 and signed with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ...

becoming the first player to sign with a major league team in 2011.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Arizona Summer League official website

Golden Baseball League official website

North American League official website
Independent baseball leagues in the United States Baseball leagues in Arizona San Ramon, California Baseball leagues in California