The history of the Golden Baseball League is short but rather sweet. Beginning in 2005, the league established a beachhead in the Southwest and then spread out hither and yon. It's a professional league, with players on their way up, perhaps to the big leagues, and players heading down and out of the game altogether. Unfortunately, the 2010 season was something of a financial disaster, and prospects for the league's survival in 2011 are uncertain.
Teams
Perhaps no other sports league has been as far-flung as the Golden Baseball League. Although centered in the California, Nevada and Arizona region, the league has had teams in outposts such as Maui, Edmonton, Vancouver Island, Yuma, St. George and Tijuana. Playing from May until September, teams make do with a total payroll of about $90,000. Road trips are a bear.
Players
They come from all over to play in the Golden Baseball League. You see college and high school stars who weren't drafted by Major League Baseball, trying to impress the scouts. You see aging big league players recovering from injuries or cut during spring training, desperate for a chance to get back to The Show. You see players journeying to America from Japan and Korea, hoping to make their mark.
Highlights
In 2005, Hall of Fame member Rickey Henderson, on his last legs, played for the San Diego Surf. Henderson never got back to the big leagues and the Surf franchise soon folded. Jose Canseco played for the Chico Outlaws, an appropriate choice for an admitted steroid user, although he was washed up by then. Former major league star Mark Prior pitched for the Orange County Flyers in an attempt at a comeback after serious arm injuries. In 2010, Japanese teenager Eri Yoshida, a knuckleball pitcher, created a major stir when she played for Chico, but her skills at the end of the season seemed minor league.
Future
The sun may be setting on the Golden Baseball League. A new CEO was hired at the end of the 2010 season, amidst chaos and turmoil. The franchises in Yuma and St. George were unlikely to survive. The Orange County Flyers and and Chico Outlaws couldn't afford to renew their stadium leases. The ownership of the Tucson Toros was in limbo. The Edmonton Capitals and the Calgary Vipers were unhappy with the high costs of travel.
Dreams
The Golden Baseball League is a place for dreamers who will do almost anything for one more shot at the big time. In a story for ESPN in 2010, Jim Caple wrote about rookie first baseman Mark Samuelson, who had already played for Tijuana, Yuma and Chico, and traded around like a baseball card. He drove a team van from Yuma to Victoria for a game, a 1,500-mile trip that took two days. Then he got out of the van and played ball. As Caple writes, these player sometimes compete without being paid or in 115 degree F heat in the summer before 100 or less fans, hanging in there "just as long as someone is willing to give them a uniform."
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