Golden Baseball League Expands to Tucson
Legendary Tucson Toros Return and Will Play At Hi Corbett Field Once Again
(Tucson, Arizona. September 1, 2008)
The
Golden Baseball League (GBL) announced today that an agreement has been reached with the Jay Zucker, former owner of the Triple-A Tucson Sidewinders to bring the Tucson Toros back to professional baseball and play as a member of the GBL at Hi Corbett Field for the 2009 season. The Toros were Tucson's professional baseball team for 29 seasons between 1969 and 1997 when they played in the Pacific Coast League and brought championships to the Old Pueblo in 1991 and 1993.
"We're very excited to add Tucson as a member of the GBL," said David Kaval, CEO of the Golden Baseball League.” This is a great baseball town with a fine tradition from the Toros and back to the many other pro teams that have played at Hi Corbett since 1937. We are thrilled to have Jay Zucker and his organization as part of the league and look forward to a successfull franchise in Tucson.
For three decades the Tucson Toros were an icon of this fabulous southwestern City. In addition to winning three division titles and two league championships, the Toros were well known for the fun-filled atmosphere at Hi Corbett and for their creative promotions. One interesting aspect of their inclusion in the GBL is that they will once again be competing with Calgary whom they defeated for their first championship in 1991. Choosing to play at Hi Corbett right in the middle of town, and not at the more remote Tucson Electric Park, the Toros will return professional baseball to the 9,500 seat stadium that is also the current spring training home of the Colorado Rockies.
The Toros will be part of an at least 8-team Golden League in 2008 that will include an 88 - 96 game schedule running from late May to early September. Tucson will host at least 44 home games at Hi Corbett and the home schedule will include teams from Calgary and Edmonton in Canada, Long Beach and Orange County in southern California, Chico in northern California, St. George in Utah, and the fellow Arizona city of Yuma. Additional teams will be announced over the coming months as the GBL will be undertaking more expansion prior to the start of the 2009 season. The 2009 GBL will be comprised of a North and South Division with four teams qualifying for the playoffs.
Along with high-caliber players, many of whom are very recognizable as over 50 ex-major league players have played in the GBL in the past three seasons (including Rickey Henderson and Jose Canseco), Tucson fans will also enjoy the presence of the GBL managers and coaching staffs of which many had impressive major league careers. Long Beach Armada Manager Steve Yeager is a long-time Dodger and MVP of the 1981 World Series, Orange County Flyers Manager Gary Carter is an 11-time major league All-Star and member of the professional baseball Hall of Fame, Yuma Scorpions Manager Mike Marshall is a National League All-Star and 1988 World Series Champion with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Reno Silver Sox Manager Jeffrey Leonard is a two-time major league All-Star and National League Championship Series MVP, Orange County Flyers coach Darrell Evans is a two-time All-Star and 1985 American League home run champion, and St. George Roadrunners Manager Cory Snyder was a star of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team and slugging sensation in the American League.
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Hopefully the teams in Yuma and Tucson will do well and they'll consider coming back to the Valley (Mesa/Surprise).
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