United League Baseball
United League Baseball is an independent baseball league which operates in Texas. It operates in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either. The league began its first season on May 16, 2006 with six teams: the Alexandria Aces, Amarillo Dillas, Edinburg Coyotes, Laredo Broncos, Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings and San Angelo Colts. The San Angelo franchise previously played in the now-defunct Central Baseball League, while the Amarillo Dillas previously played in the now-defunct Texas-Louisiana League. The United League was originally owned by an investor group, United Sports Equities, which listed Brad Wendt as Managing Director, his brother Gary Wendt as a Principal, John Bryant CEO and Byron Pierce as COO. The ULB filed for Chapter 11 Reorganization in January 2009 and was ultimately forced into Chapter 7 by John Bryant who along with Pierce now control the league.
Contents |
Franchises
| United League Baseball | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amarillo Dillas | 1994 | Amarillo, Texas | Potter County Memorial Stadium ("Dilla Villa") | 7,500 | |
| Coastal Bend Thunder | 2009 | Robstown, Texas | Fairgrounds Field | 4,000 | |
| Edinburg Roadrunners | 2006 | Edinburg, Texas | Edinburg Stadium | 4,000 | |
| Laredo Broncos | 2006 | Laredo, Texas | Veterans Field | 5,000 | |
| Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings | 1994 | Harlingen, Texas | Harlingen Field | 4,500 | |
| San Angelo Colts | 2000 | San Angelo, Texas | Foster Field | 4,200 | |
Expansion
Dallas
On April 23, 2009 the league announced plans for an expansion team to begin play in Dallas in 2010. The franchise is proposed to play in a new 10,000 seat baseball stadium to be built as part of a $500 million, 60-acre residential, sports and retail complex along the original Trinity River. The ballpark, expected to be complete in the initial phase of the project, will be developed by a partnership including Reunion Sports Group LLC headed by ULB owners Bryant and Pierce. The proposed land to be used in the development was found to be in a flood plain and not suitable for the project.
Tijuana Potros controversy
Rumors were circulating that the Tijuana Potros would join the ULB after postponing their debut in the Golden Baseball League in 2009 due to the swine flu outbreak and scare in Mexico. On June 18, 2009, those rumors were initially confirmed as the league office formally announced that the Potros would join the league for the 2009 season,[1][2] however it turned out that those rumors were false as the Potros are still a part of the GBL.[3] The team and league has since taken down the story.
Current Standings
Final 2009 Regular Season Standings
| Team | W | L | Win % | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Angelo Colts*^ | 48 | 32 | .600 | --- |
| Edinburg Roadrunners** | 46 | 34 | .575 | 2 |
| Amarillo Dillas*** | 44 | 35 | .557 | 3.5 |
| Coastal Bend Thunder**** | 39 | 40 | .494 | 8.5 |
| Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings | 39 | 41 | .488 | 9.5 |
| Laredo Broncos | 23 | 57 | .288 | 25 |
* Clinched 1st Playoff Seed ** Clinched 2nd Playoff Seed *** Clinched 3rd Playoff Seed **** Clinched 4th Playoff Seed ^ Clinched Regular Season Championship
For the regular season standings throughout United League Baseball history, see United League Baseball Regular Season Standings.
Playoffs
2009 Playoff Results
Format: for the 2009 season the United League playoffs consisted of 4 teams competing in 2 rounds, with the top 4 regular season teams making the playoffs. In the first round the regular season champion faced the 4th seed while seed 2 faced seed 3 in the best of 3 series. The winners then advanced to the championship best-of-five series.
| 1st Round | ULB Championship | |||||||
| 1 | San Angelo Colts | 2 | ||||||
| 4 | Coastal Bend Thunder | 0 | ||||||
| 1 | San Angelo Colts | 2 | ||||||
| 3 | Amarillo Dillas | 3 | ||||||
| 2 | Edinburg Roadrunners | 1 | ||||||
| 3 | Amarillo Dillas | 2 | ||||||
2008 Playoff Results
Format: for the 2008 season the United League playoffs will consist of 4 teams competing in 2 rounds. In the first round the top two teams at the end of the first half of the season will host the two remaining teams with the best overall winning percentage throughout the season in a best-of-three series. The winners then advance to the championship which will be played at both parks, with the lower seed hosting game one and the higher seed hosting games two and three of the best-of-three series.
| 1st Round | ULB Championship | |||||||
| 1 | Amarillo Dillas | 2 | ||||||
| 4 | Edinburg Coyotes | 0 | ||||||
| 1 | Amarillo Dillas | 2 | ||||||
| 3 | Alexandria Aces | 1 | ||||||
| 2 | San Angelo Colts | 1 | ||||||
| 3 | Alexandria Aces | 2 | ||||||
2007 Playoff Results
Format: for the 2007 season the United League played in a split season format, crowning a first half champion and a second half champion. The champions then played for the ULB Championship. If one team was to win both halves, the team with the second-best overall season record would have qualified for the playoffs as a wild card. The championship series was the best 4 out of 7 games, to be played home and away in a 2-3-2 site format, with home field advantage awarded to the first half champion.
| ULB Championship |
|---|
| Alexandria Aces | 4 |
|---|---|
| Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings | 0 |
2006 Playoff Results
Format: for the 2006 season the top four teams in the regular season standings made the playoffs, including the regular season champion and 3 wild card teams. The playoffs then commenced with two rounds of games to determine the United League champion:
- 1st Round - Best 2 out of 3 games
- Championship - Best 3 out of 5 games
| 1st Round | ULB Championship | |||||||
| 1 | Edinburg Coyotes | 2 | ||||||
| 4 | Laredo Broncos | 1 | ||||||
| 1 | Edinburg Coyotes | 1 | ||||||
| 3 | Alexandria Aces | 3 | ||||||
| 2 | San Angelo Colts | 1 | ||||||
| 3 | Alexandria Aces | 2 | ||||||
ULB Champions
- 2006 - Alexandria Aces
- 2007 - Alexandria Aces
- 2008 - Amarillo Dillas
- 2009 - Amarillo Dillas
Most Valuable Players
- 2006 - Josh Tranum, Alexandria Aces
- 2007 - Palmer Karr, Alexandria Aces
- 2008 - Danny Bravo, Amarillo Dillas
- 2007 - (tie) Keanon Simon and Dustin Taylor, Amarillo Dillas
All-star game
United League Baseball hosted an annual All-Star Game which rotated host cities throughout the league. Its format in 2008 featured the United League all-stars versus the Golden League all-stars. In 2006 the first All-Star Game pitted the best team against the all-stars from the rest of the United League. In 2007 the second All-Star Game pitted Team North (All-Stars from Alexandria, Amarillo and San Angelo) against Team Rio Grande (All-Stars from Edinburg, Laredo and Rio Grande Valley).
The ULB's all-star festivities are a two-day event, the first day featuring various celebrations and recognitions, followed on the second day by the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game.
Game Results
- 2006 - United League Baseball All-Stars 12, Edinburg Coyotes 2 (Edinburg, Texas)
- 2007 - Team North 10, Team Rio Grande 1 (Amarillo, Texas)
- 2008 - United League Baseball All-Stars 8, Golden League 5 (San Angelo, Texas)
Most Valuable Players
- 2006 - Edwin Maldonado, Laredo Broncos
- 2007 - Jonathan Reynoso, Amarillo Dillas
- 2008 - Luany Sanchez, Laredo Broncos
Home Run Derby Winners
- 2006 - Jose Olmeda, Edinburg Coyotes
- 2007 - Juan Lebron, Laredo Broncos
- 2008 - Andres Rodriguez, San Angelo Colts
League Awards
Most Valuable Player
- 2006 - John Anderson, San Angelo Colts
- 2007 - Nelson Teilon, Edinburg Coyotes
- 2008 - Danny Bravo, Amarillo Dillas
Manager of the Year
- 2006 - Vince Moore, Edinburg Coyotes; Ricky VanAsselberg, Alexandria Aces
- 2007 - Ricky VanAsselberg, Alexandria Aces
- 2008 - Brady Bogart, Amarillo Dillas
Pitcher of the Year
- 2006 - Ryan Harris, Edinburg Coyotes; Santo Hernandez, Alexandria Aces
- 2007 - Adam Cox, Alexandria Aces
Rookie of the Year
- 2007 - Ronnie Gaines, San Angelo Colts
- 2009 - Trent Lockwood, Amarillo Dillas
Playing Surface of the Year
- 2007 - Foster Field, San Angelo Colts
References
- ^ Potros de Tijuana en la United League Baseball, Tijuana Potros website (Spanish), June 20, 2009
- ^ United League Baseball welcomes Tijuana Potros, ULB website, July 2, 2009
- ^ United League's loss is GBL's All-Star gain, Yuma Sun Yuma Scorpions section, July 10, 2009
External links
Categories: Independent baseball leagues | 2006 establishments
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