Texas Winter League
The Texas Winter League was the winter professional baseball league of the United League. Announced on October 25, 2006, and headquartered in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, it was an independent baseball league. The Winter League played in Harlingen, Texas with teams based in the lower Rio Grande Valley: Brownsville, Edinburg, Harlingen, and Laredo. Like the regular United League, the Winter League operated with cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and was not affiliated with either. The Texas Winter League offered unsigned or undrafted high school and college players, as well as some players from the ULB, a chance for extended play. The league used the designated hitter, and began play on January 19, 2007.
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League format
The Texas Winter League, operationally based out of Edinburg, Texas, featured four teams playing a 24-game schedule from mid-January through mid-February of each year. These teams were winter counterparts to the regular United League Baseball teams, including wintertime versions of the Edinburg Coyotes, Laredo Broncos, and Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings, along with a new team, the Brownsville Toros. All games were played at Harlingen Field. Each team had a 25-player roster, and the teams play doubleheaders each day with four days off during the regular season. A best-of-three league championship series between the top two teams was played in a two-day series shortly after the close of the regular season. This league operated as a winter counterpart to the regular United League with its own identity, teams, standings, and statistics.
In late 2007, the league folded.
Winter League Teams
| Texas Winter League | |||
| Team | City | Summer Stadium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brownsville Toros | Brownsville, Texas | N/A | |
| Edinburg Coyotes | Edinburg, Texas | Edinburg Stadium | |
| Harlingen WhiteWings | Harlingen, Texas | Harlingen Field | |
| Laredo Broncos | Laredo, Texas | Veterans Field | |
2007 Final Standings
| Winter League | Team | W | L | Win % | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ** Brownsville Toros | 17 | 3 | .850 | --- | |
| ^ Harlingen WhiteWings | 10 | 10 | .500 | 7 | |
| Laredo Broncos | 8 | 12 | .400 | 9 | |
| Edinburg Coyotes | 5 | 15 | .250 | 12 |
** Clinched Regular Season Title ^ Clinched Playoff Spot
Playoffs
When the Texas Winter League's season ended in mid-February, the top two teams in the regular season standings made the playoffs, including the regular season champion and one wild card team. Those teams then played a best-of-three league championship over two days.
- 2007 Championship
Brownsville Toros 2, Harlingen WhiteWings 0
TWL Champions
2007: Brownsville Toros
External links
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Categories: Defunct sports leagues | Professional sports leagues | Independent baseball leagues | United League Baseball | Winter baseball leagues | Sports in Laredo, Texas
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