Arizona League

From SoSH

Arizona League

Founded:	1989
No. of Teams:	9
Class:	Rookie
Most recent champion:

1 League Information
- 1.1 Teams
- 1.2 Notable Alumni
2 External links
3 See Also

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League Information

The Arizona League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona. It is a rookie-level professional baseball league run by Major League Baseball since 1989. Games are played at the minor-league complexes of the team's parent organizations from mid-June until the end of August. Night games are commonly played in the spring training stadium, but this is not always the case.

No official attendance records are kept as there is no paid admittance fee, but few spectators show up for games. The league is designed to be played in front of small crowds, often in temperatures above 100°F, but this does not affect either quality or competition. Teams primarily consist of players from the Dominican Republic and drafted high school and college players. The league is also where major league players often go for their first rehab assignments.

Arizona League teams are referred to by their home cities in the league directory but are often designated with the prefix "AZL" for simplicity, due to the fact the teams all play in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

A one-game playoff featuring the winners from the first half of the season (day games, starting in the morning to avoid the afternoon heat) and the second half of the season (night games) occurs the last day of August, unless the same team wins both halves. This happened most recently in 2005, when the AZL Giants won both halves of the season and therefore the pennant.

The AZL Mariners won the first half of the 2007 season and will play in the championship game if they do not win the second half.

In 2006, the first half champion AZL Padres defeated the AZL Angels 5-2 to win the league title.

Bob Richmond is the league president. The league offices are in Boise, Idaho.

The Arizona League currently consists of 9 teams (MLB affiliate in parenthesis) and the town they play in:

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