Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Winter Leagues Begin Soon

Starting in about a week the winter leagues will begin play in Arizona and the Caribbean. We will update where Rays players are as the info becomes available. Here are the important dates for each league:

Arizona Fall League
Opening Day - October 12th
AFL Rising Stars Game - November 6th
AFL Championship Game - November 20th
Rays players (all for the Peoria Saguaros) - Alex Cobb, Sergio Espinosa, Jeremy Hall, Neil Schenk, Jose Ruiz, Henry Wrigley, Leslie Anderson

Mexican Pacific League
Opening Day - October 12th
Regular season ends - December 30th

Dominican Winter League
Opening Day - October 22nd
DWL All Star Game - December 12th
Regular season ends - December 21st

Venezuelan Winter League
Opening Day - October 12th
All-Star Game - November 30th
Regular Season ends - December 30th

Puerto Rican League
Opening Day October 22nd

7 comments:

  1. There is a winter league in Columbia as well. I know that Bortnick, Vogt, and at least one other Rays' player will be playing for Cartegena in Columbia.

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  2. Yep, the Liga Colombiana de Beisbol Profesional begins October 22nd and the regular season ends December 29th.

    There is also the Liga Paralela in Venezuela for younger players.

    I'll update the post with those two and their dates later. Let me know if there are any others I missed.

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  3. do you know if any major league players are doing one of the winter leagues this year?

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  4. Not yet, hopefully they will be arriving very late! Some will, esp guys from Venezuela and the DR, very big deal to win the Caribbean Series in those countries.

    In the past it's mostly position players who play. Full season-level starting pitchers rarely go unless they missed some time during the year (Cobb). Short-season starters do go sometimes, as do relievers from all levels.

    One other thing, I saw at the baseball wives/gfs site that Elliot Johnson is going play in Mexico.

    For all the players going outside the states, I wish you a safe trip. Scares me when I read about some of the violence/kidnappings in some of these countries.

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  5. only 3 hitters attending the AZ league? hopefully they have big things for them next season

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  6. FYI, here are the Arizona Fall League player eligibility rules:

    Each Major League organization is required to provide six players subject to the following requirements:

    - All Triple-A and Double-A players are eligible, provided the players are on at least a Double-A level roster no later than Aug. 1.

    - One player below the Double-A level is allowed per Major League team.

    - One foreign player is allowed, as long as the player does not reside in a country that participates in winter ball, as part of the Caribbean Confederation or the Australian winter league.

    - No players with more than one year of credited Major League service as of August 31 are eligible, except a team may select one player picked in the most recently concluded Major League Rule 5 Draft.

    - To be eligible, players on Minor League disabled lists must be activated at least 45 days before the conclusion of their respective seasons.

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  7. I can't wait to see the Rays' player Elias Otero in the Puerto Rico baseball league!!

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