Chico Outlaws Release 2010 Schedule
January 15, 2010 - Golden Baseball League (GBL)
Chico Outlaws News Release
CHICO, Calif. - The Chico Outlaws announced today the official schedule for the 2010 Championship Season. The Golden Baseball League expands the number of games from 84 to 90 and also expands to 10 teams making up the largest slate of competitors since the league's inception.
"This will be an exciting year for Golden Baseball League teams," said GBL Commissioner Kevin Outcalt. "Additional teams in Maui and Tijuana will be great places to play, but also add a lot of fan interest when they come in as visiting teams throughout the league. Expanding the schedule to 90 games and also returning to National League rules and eliminating the Designated Hitter are additional changes that will add to a fun-filled summer for our players and fans."
The six-year old Golden Baseball League will be one of the largest independent professional baseball minor leagues in 2010 and the only professional baseball league with teams operating in three countries.
New teams to the league include Na Koa Ikaika Maui (nah-ko-uh ee-kai-kuh mow-ee - which means the Strong Warriors of Maui) playing at Iron Maehara Stadium in Wailuku, Maui and the Cimarrones de Tijuana who will be playing at the 18,000 seat Calimax Stadium in Tijuana. In addition, the St. George Roadrunners will be remaining a member of the league for their fourth season, but under new ownership. The only team casualty for the season was the inability for the Long Beach Armada to reach a lease agreement to continue to play at Blair Field in time to be included in this year's schedule due to permit manipulations by the City of Long Beach so they could transfer the ballpark to the local university which has resulted in multiple legal actions.
The league will play a split-season 90 game schedule, 45 home and away for each team, which is the longest in GBL history. The league will consist of a North Divsion that includes the Calgary Vipers, the Chico Outlaws, the Edmonton Capitals, the St. George Roadrunners, and the Victoria Seals. The South Division will include Na Koa Ikaika Maui, the Orange County Flyers, the Tijuana Cimarrones, the Tucson Toros, and the Yuma Scorpions. This season opens on May 19th and concludes on September 6th, followed by a five-game Division playoff pitting the first and second half champs of each Division with the winners advancing to a five-game GBL Championship Series. In addition, there is a July 14th All-Star game on the schedule to be played in Tucson versus the Northern League All-Stars.
Rule changes for the GBL for 2010 include a return to National League rules eliminating the Designated Hitter (the GBL began with National League rules in 2005), an increase in player salary levels, implementation of a Waiver Wire for the first time in league history, and speed of play rules to shorten time between innings and during pitcher changes. More info on the rule changes is available on the GBL website at www.goldenbaseball.com.
A full Chico Outlaws schedule is available at www.ChicoOutlaws.com. The complete 2010 GBL Schedule can be found at www.goldenbaseball.com.
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Golden Baseball League Stories from January 15, 2010
- Victoria Seals Release 2010 Schedule - Victoria Seals
- Outlaws Trade For Power Hitting Outfielder - Chico Outlaws
- Chico Outlaws Release 2010 Schedule - Chico Outlaws
- Hot Corner Baseball Reaches Agreement To Acquire St. George - GBL
- Golden Baseball League Releases 2010 Schedule - GBL
- Tucson Toros Release 2010 Schedule - Tucson Toros
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