Owlz Hire Rick Berry as GM

The Orem Owlz announced that Rick Berry has been named General Manager. Berry will be assuming the duties of Justo Vazquez, who has left the Owlz to return to his native California.

A Telus Field Revival?

Telus Field in Edmonton (AB) could become the center of a baseball stadium district that spurs Rossdale redevelopment similar to the impact of Rogers Place on downtown, a new report says.  Read more here.  The stadium is the former home of the Triple-A Edmonton Trappers (Pacific Coast League) and indy pro Edmonton  Cracker-Cats/Capitals (Northern League/Golden Baseball

Yuma to Issue RFP for Using Desert Sun Stadium

Professional baseball could be returning to Desert Sun Stadium in Yuma (AZ), as the city is drafting a request for proposal (RFP) that could be issued as early as this week.  According to Debbie Wendt, director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, interest in the complex has been expressed by three different independent leagues.  Read more here.

Capitals Continue to Hibernate in Edmonton

It appears the indy pro Edmonton Capitals will take another season off, as franchise owners continue to search for a new home in a viable league.  The Caps suspended operations after the 2011 season, when the newly formed North American League began to fall apart.  Read more here.  View team history here.

Freedom Pro Baseball League Expects to Return

The indy pro Freedom Pro Baseball League is wrapping up its red-ink-bleeding inaugural season, but league chief Joe Sperle doesn’t seem deterred from returning next season in an interview with Rodney Johnson, president of the Arizona Chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).  In the interview, Sperle attempts to show how his

Godfather Media Makes AWBL Appointments

Godfather media has announced that attorney Michael L. Leyva, has been named General Counsel and Edward A. Wong has been named Controller for the developing indy pro American West Baseball League.  Both are former partners in the defunt indy pro St. George Roadrunners (Golden Baseball League) and Hot Corner Baseball, LLC.  Read Godfather press releases here and here.

New Flyers to Pay Old Flyers’ Debt, Return to Goodwin Field?

According to a Cal State Fullerton official, Godfather Media, Inc. has contacted the university about making arrangements to pay off the $75,000 debt owed by the indy pro Fullerton/Orange County Flyers (Golden Baseball League) for the use of Goodwin Field before the team went dark in 2010.  Godfather recently took control of the franchise and apparently wants to bring the Flyers back to Goodwin in

More on the American West Baseball League

The Orange County Register has posted a story about the new American West Baseball League.  It is pretty much a rehash of the Godfather Media, Inc.’s press release.  The league will: (1) charge teams an initial franchise fee and annual league fee, (2) provide sales and marketing training to team owners and staff, (3) share league advertising revenues with teams, and (4) charge players for participating in the fall and winter instructional leagues.  Read more here.

Godfather Media Hires Commissioner to Lead AWBL

Godfather Media, Inc. has announced that it has hired Sean P. Smock, former GM of the defunct indy pro Tucson Toros (Golden Baseball League) to serve as the first commissioner of the developing American West Baseball League.  View press release here.

Yuma Panthers Out for 2012

In not so surprising news, Michael Cummings and Godfather Media, Inc. are calling it quits for the indy pro Yuma Panthers (North American League) for the 2012 season.  Cummings basically blames the instability of the NAL, but he’s been playing dice with the Golden Baseball League/NAL for a few years now, so this isn’t some

Outcalt Out as CEO?

A rumor was reported back on March 9 that Kevin Outcalt had resigned as CEO of the indy pro North American League.  We never verified it, but the NAL’s website now lists Brian MacInnis as the league’s “new” president.  View NAL staff page here.

Godfather Media Announces Joyce as Scorpions New President

Godfather Media, the new owner of the indy pro Yuma Scorpions (North American League), has announced that William M. Joyce will serve as president of the franchise.  Read more here.  Joyce was the CEO of Hot Corner Baseball, which owned and operated the indy pro St. George Roadrunners (Golden Baseball League) when the team’s operations were suspended before the end of the 2010 season.

Chico Outlaws Likely Out for 2012

It appears that the indy pro Chico Outlaws (North American League) will not return to Nettleton Stadium for the 2012 season.  The league says that the chances of the team returning to Nettleton are “not very good,” and Chico State doesn’t seem overly interested in negotiating a new lease deal at this time under the current circumstances.  Read more here.

Toros Take Money, Vacate Hi-Corbett

The indy pro Tucson Toros (Golden Baseball League/North American League) have reached a $300,000 settlement with the City of Tucson after being booted from Hi-Corbett Field to make room for the University of Arizona Wildcats baseball team.  According to team owner Jay Zucker, the Toros are now “closed for business.”  Read more here.

Flyers Might Return From Darkness, Would Revert Back to ‘Fullerton’ Name

PRESS RELEASE – Alan Mintz, Founder/President/Chairman of Fullerton Flyers LLC, has announced that he is in negotiations with Cal State Fullerton to bring back the Fullerton, formerly Orange County, Flyers for the 2012 season.

NAL Expands North of Edmonton

Craig Tkachuk, president of Edmonton-based Westpro Productions, announced that his group has secured the rights to the former indy pro Victoria Seals (Golden Baseball League, n/k/a North American League) and will place the franchise in Fort McMurray (AB), once a new stadium is built.  The team could play as a road team in 2012.  Fort McMurry has a population of

Toros Seek Court Order to Unlock Hi-Corbett Field Gates

The indy pro Tucson Toros (Golden Baseball League) are seeking a court order that would allow them back into Hi-Corbett Field.  The city claims the Toros abandoned the park, after the team went on hiatus when the Triple-A Portland Beavers (Pacific Coast League) moved to Tucson’s Kino Stadium and became the Tucson Padres.

Remembering Hideki Irabu

Superstar Japanese pitcher Hideki Irabu, 42, arrived in America to incredible fanfare, but after an up-and-down six-year career (1997-2002) in the Majors and a comeback attempt with the now-defunt indy pro Long Beach Armada (Golden Baseball League), Irabu was found dead of an apparent suicide on Wednesday at his home in Southern California.  Read more here.

NAL Adds Hilo (HI) for 2012?

Okay, we hate to even mention this because of the highly overstated claims being made by the new super indy pro North American League about mega expansion next season from 10 to 16+ teams, but the circuit announced in a press release last week that Hilo (HI) is on board for 2012.  We assume we are talking about Francis Wong Stadium as the home ballpark.

Ballpark Visit ALERT: Morse Stadium (Henderson, NV)

The Ballpark Hunter visited Morse Stadium on the campus of the University of Southern Nevada in Henderson near Las Vegas, the potential future home for the Henderson Roadrunners from the indy pro North American League.  View photos here.

Grand Junction’s Suplizio Field to Get Upgrades, New Team on Deck?

Suplizio Field in Grand Junction (CO), the home of the JUCO World Series, is slated to receive a number of upgrades.  According to JUCO Chairman Jamie Hamilton, the improvements will keep the annual championship tournament at Suplizio for the next 25-years.  It could also open the door to a new minor league team, as Hamilton said he was approached eight months ago by an ownership group, but apparently the park

Blair Field to Get Major Makeover?

Blair Field, the former home of various indy pro clubs and still the “Dirtbags” of Long Beach State, might be getting a $8 to $12 million makeover.  Read more and view HKS rendering here.

Outlaws Finalize Lease Extension

PRESS RELEASE – The Chico Outlaws of the new North American League announced today that they have concluded an extension with Chico State University for the team to continue to play at Nettleton Stadium on the college campus. Agreed to in principle in November, all the final details have been worked out and the agreement in now finalized.

North American League Targeting Henderson, Nevada?

The new mega North American League has added the Henderson Roadrunners the NAL website.  Rumor has it that they are in talks with the College of Southern Nevada in Henderson near Las Vegas about using Lied Field at Morse Stadium.  Except for the location name, the logo is the same one used by the defunct St. George (UT) Roadrunners.

Flyers Make Formal Announcement About New Ballpark

PRESS RELEASE – The popular 1989 movie “Field of Dreams” starring Kevin Costner made the saying “If You Build It – They Will Come” famous. On January 4th, the City of Fullerton decided to take that exact approach when the City Council voted unanimously (7-0) to enter into an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement with the Orange County Flyers Independent Professional Baseball Team for the

Chico Outlaws Live to Play Another Day at Nettleton

The Golden Baseball League’s/North American League’s Chico (CA) Outlaws have reached a tentative agreement to play another year at Chico State University’s Nettleton Stadium.  More details about the lease agreement are expected to be released next week.  Read more here.

OC Flyers Working New Ballpark Deal

We are not sure of the status of the Golden Baseball League’s Orange County Flyers, as the team is not listed on the new super duper North American League’s website, but team owners continue to push for a new downtown home at Amerige Park.  In a new developement, the Fullerton (CA) City Council approved a ballpark negotiating agreement with the Flyers on Tuesday.  Read more here.

North American League Website Launched

The new indy pro North American League website is up and running at www.northamericanleague.com.  The site shows a 12-team league divided into two divisions — Eastern and Western — rather than the three divisions originally contemplated when it was announced that the Golden, United, and Northern Leagues were joining forces to form a new super league.

Details Emerge in Maui

With poor attendance, unpaid bills, and delayed paychecks, it is not surprising that the ownership trio of Harris Tulchin, Bob Young, and Leroy Pettigrew actually aquired the Na Koa Ikaika Maui after previous owner Michael Cummings, CEO of  Xcellence in Entertainment (XnE), defaulted on a loan from the group.  As reported, the group also owns a stake in the Orange County Flyers.  Read more here.

Maui Under New Ownership

It was announced on Saturday that the Golden Baseball League’s Na Koa Ikaika Maui baseball team has been acquired by Hawaii Baseball, LLC, an ownership group made of Harris Tulchin, Leroy Pettigrew, and Bob Young.  The three investors also own an interest in the league’s Orange County Flyers.  The Maui team was launched last year and owned by Xcellence in Entertainment (XnE) led by

‘North American League’ Formally Announced

PRESS RELEASE – The Golden Baseball League, Northern League, and the United League announced today that they have joined forces in the creation of a new professional independent league that will be known as the North American League. The league will have 16 – 20 teams in multiple countries and cover many of the major markets in the U.S. and Canada in 2011 with expansion already set for

City Leaders to Intervene to Secure Frontier League Affiliation

As reported yesterday, the City of Joliet (IL) gave the Heisman pose to the Golden Baseball League.  The city plans to lobby the Frontier League for membership at a meeting next Monday.  If new ownership can be secured for the JackHammers, and all the clutter and debt mess wiped away, we think it is highly unlikely that Frontier League Commissioner Bill Lee would take a pass on snagging

City Says No to ‘Experimental’ Golden Baseball League

The City of Joliet (IL) has said that it is not interested in allowing the Joliet Jackhammers to play in the “experimental” Golden Baseball League, which we assume means the proposed new North American League.  The city likely has the power under the club’s lease to prevent such a move.  Also, there are two potential buyers for the club, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see the ‘Hammers get a fresh

Head Fake: North American League to be Formed?

Earlier today, Northern League Commissioner Clark Griffith indicated that the league would have interleague play with the Golden Baseball League and United League Baseball.  Schaumburg Flyers and Lake County Fielders owner Rich Ehrenreich is now saying that the the leagues will merge to form the new North American League.  An official announcement is expected Wednesday.  Read more here.

Northern League Banner Remains, Interleague Play in 2011

Northern League Commissioner Clark Griffith indicated on Monday that the remaining four teams in the league will not be joining the Golden Baseball League.   However, Griffith said that there will be interleague play between the Northern League, Golden, and United League in 2011.  Read more here.

Golden League Absorbs Remaining Northern League Clubs?

Just when you think the Golden Baseball League is one breath short of the pine box, it ain’t.  It has been reported that the remaining four teams in the indy pro Northern League, including Rockford, Joliet, Schaumburg, and Lake County, have joined the Golden.  The report also indicates that the Golden will expand to four divisions, including the West Coast, Canada, Midwest, and Texas.   Read more here.

More Details Emerge in Victoria

The Golden Baseball League’s Victoria Seals are indeed done for good.  We thought that the move by the Seals to announce they were shutting down might be a Please Don’t Go ploy to get a better lease deal, but that apparently was not the case.  The lease complaints by the Seals were too vast to overcome.  It makes you wonder why they ever agreed to the deal in the first place, unless they

It’s Official: Seals Cease Operations

PRESS RELEASE – The Victoria Seals are disappointed to announce that they will cease operations, effective immediately, citing restrictive conditions of the current lease with the City of Victoria along with the unstable state of the Golden Baseball League.

Two and Done in Victoria

The Golden Baseball League’s Victoria Seals are calling it quits after two seasons.  A press conference is scheduled for today to make the announcement.  This does not surprise us at all, as we have intimate knowledge that the lease deal at Royal Athletic Park was a horrible one, particularly as it relates to concessions and the expensive union labor every tenant is forced to use.  Ever wonder

Haas Promoted to GM in Calgary

PRESS RELEASE – The Calgary Vipers Baseball Club have promoted Patrick Haas to be the team’s new General Manager. Born in Calgary the Okotoks resident has been with the organization for five seasons including the last four as Director of Media Relations and Broadcasting.