Desert Sun Stadium

In the latest edition of the ballpark tour series, we check out Yuma's Desert Sun Stadium, home to the GBL's Yuma Scorpions. The ballpark used to be home to the San Diego Padres spring training. The 10,000-seat facility is just a few hours away from San Diego in the heart of the Sonora Desert in Yuma, right on the border between California and Arizona.

Check it out...


Past Ballpark Tours
Telus Field - Edmonton Capitals
Foothills Stadium - Calgary Vipers
Royal Athletic Park - Victoria Seals

Bruce Hurst Field - St. George RoadRunners

Flyers vs. Vipers Starting Line Ups 6-16-10

Here's the starting line-up for the Orange County Flyers vs. Calgary Vipers. The Flyers look to take game two against the Vipers in the 2nd of a five game home stand.

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STARTING LINE UPS

June 16, 2010

Orange County Flyers (8-11) Calgary Vipers (14-6)

1. 1. #11 Steve Boggs – CF 1. #11 Guillermo Reyes - SS

2. 2. #6 Tyler Keeble – SS 2. #14 Jorge Mejia – 2B

3. 3. #20 Jimmy Rohan – 3B 3. #1 Kevin Price – 3B

4. 4. #9 Keith Ginter – 2B 4. #13 Julio Ramirez - CF

5. 5. #3 David Harris – RF 5. #18 Drew Miller - LF

6. 6. #30 Julian Benavidez – 1B 6. #4 Luis Taveras - C

7. 7. #1 Derek Perren – LF 7. #27 Jonny Kaplan - RF

8. 8. #5 Jim Goethals – C 8. #3 Dillon O’Krane – 1B

9. 9. #36 Jesse Smith – RHP 9. #2 Erik Dessau - RHP

(1-2, 3.63, 5^th Start) (2-0, 2.70, 4^th Start)

Flyers vs. Vipers line ups

Here's the starting line ups for today's game -- the home opener for the 2010 season. FINALLY! Sure, sure, who doesn't love an 18-game road trip spanning almost a month, but hopefully that "home sweeet home" feeling with serve OC well against the defending GBL champs.

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Orange County Flyers (8-10)

1. # 11 Steve Boggs - CF
2. #6 Tyler Keeble - SS
3. #20 Jimmy Rohan – 3B
4. #9 Keith Ginter – 2B
5. #26 Sergio Pedroza – RF
6. #30 Julian Benavidez – 1B
7. #1 Derek Perren – LF
8. #5 Jim Goethals – C
9. #32 Matt Durkin – RHP
(1-1, 6.14, 5th start)

Calgary Vipers (13-6)

1. #11 Guillermo Reyes - SS
2. #14 Jorge Mejia – 2B
3. #1 Kevin Price – 3B
4. #13 Julio Ramirez – CF
5. #18 Drew Miller – LF
6. #4 Luis Taveras – C
7. #27 Jonny Kaplan – RF
8. #30 Matt Edgecombe – 1B
9. #6 Dusty Gober – RHP
(2-0, 3.64, 4th start)

Nava Slams

Talk about a big league debut for the former Chico Outlaw Daniel Nava. He blasted a grand slam off the first pitch he saw. Here's the scoop from Yahoo.com:

BOSTON (AP)—Daniel Nava hit the first pitch he faced in the big leagues for a grand slam—only the second player to do it—leading the Boston Red Sox to their second straight rout of the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-2 Saturday.

Nava connected on a fastball from Joe Blanton(notes) in the second inning and shortly after being called up from Triple-A Pawtucket. Kevin Kouzmanoff(notes) connected on the first pitch he saw Sept. 2, 2006, for Cleveland against Texas, according to STATS LLC.

Only four players in big league history have hit grand slams in their first at-bat.

Daisuke Matsuzaka(notes) was a late scratch and placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained forearm following his pregame bullpen warmup.

Emergency starter Scott Atchison(notes), recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket on Friday, worked three innings, allowing two runs and two hits in his first major league start.

With his parents watching from the stands—and father operating a video camera—Nava came to bat with the Red Sox trailing 2-1 in the second. In one pitch he became the 10th player in Red Sox history to homer in his first at-bat, and just the second to hit a grand slam. Rip Repulski hit a slam on May 10, 1960.

He came up with the bases loaded again an inning later and received a standing ovation. But he struck out on a check swing with the crowd on its feet.

J.D. Drew(notes) homered and had three hits for the Red Sox, who beat the Phillies 12-2 on the opener of a three-game series on Friday night. Nava also doubled as Boston amassed 16 hits.

Manny Delcarmen(notes) (2-2), the second of five pitchers, worked two scoreless innings for the win.

Brian Schneider(notes) had three hits and drove in both of Philadelphia’s runs. The Phillies are 7-16 in their last 23 games.

The Red Sox pounded Blanton (1-5) for nine runs and 13 hits in four innings. But, he didn’t fare as badly as Friday’s starter, Jamie Moyer(notes), who had the worst start in his 24 seasons, allowing nine runs and nine hits in one-plus inning.

Boston broke it open with five runs in the second and three in the third.

With the Red Sox trailing 2-1 in the second after Drew’s homer, they loaded the bases before Nava hit his slam into the Boston bullpen in right.

Marco Scutaro(notes) had a two-run single to make it 7-2 in the third. Dustin Pedroia(notes) added an RBI single.

Matsuzaka had warmed up and walked to the dugout about 15 minutes before the scheduled start.

Just ahead of the national anthem, Atchison started warming up quickly in the bullpen. When it was over, he completed his warmups before walking to the dugout with pitching coach John Farrell along side.

The club announced the scratch and roster move just before the Red Sox took the field.

NOTES: Outfielder Josh Reddick(notes) was optioned to Pawtucket. … Every Red Sox starter had a hit by the fourth inning. … Blanton has allowed five or more runs in each of his last four starts. … Kevin Youkilis(notes) was hit on the right arm by a pitch in the sixth inning, the 65th time in his career to move ahead of Jim Rice for second all-time in club history. Mo Vaughn leads with 71. Youkilis then left the game in the top of the seventh. … Boston recalled LHP Dustin Richardson(notes) from Pawtucket before the game. He jogged out to the bullpen before the fifth inning and warmed up briefly. … The Red Sox have won the last six games in Fenway Park against Philadelphia.

Former Outlaw reaches Major Leagues

Good news from another GBL team as former Chico Outlaw outfielder Daniel Nava is making his first start in the big leagues today. Nava, a former GBL MVP who led the Outlaws to the 2007 league championship, will start in left field and bat ninth for the Boston Red Sox.

Former OC Flyers pitcher Chris Jakubauskas reached the big leagues last season with the Seattle Mariners and began the 2010 season with the Pittsburgh Pirates. "Big Jak" was the GBL's Pitcher of the Year in 2006.

Here's the press release from the Outlaws regarding Nava's promotion to the show:

Ex-Outlaw Nava In The Show
By Dan Hawkins
6/12/2010

(Chico, CA. Jun 12th, 2010) Former Chico Outlaws outfielder Daniel Nava got called up to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday from Triple-A Pawtucket and will start in left field and bat ninth in the batting order in today's game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Fenway Park in an inter-league contest.

Josh Reddick was optioned to Pawtucket to make room on the roster for Nava.

Joe Blanton is today's scheduled starter for the Phillies.

Nava, the GBL's Most Valuable Player in 2007 while playing for the Outlaws, was hitting .298/8 HR/38 RBI in the International League at the time of his call-up.

Undrafted out of UC-Santa Clara where he led the West Coast Conference with a .395 average before signing with the Outlaws as a Non-Drafted Free Agent for the 2007 season. Nava went on to be named to the Baseball America Indepedent League First-Team All-Star squad and ranked as their top independent league prospect after hitting a league-high .371 with 12 homers and 59 RBI's during that magical 2007 GBL championship season for the Outlaws.

His .371 batting average, .625 slugging percentage and .475 on-base percentage are still Outlaws single-season franchise records.

After his breakout year with Chico, Nava signed with Boston as a minor-league free agent and was assigned to Lancaster (High-A) in the California League. Tearing up Cal League pitching to the tune of a .341 average with 10 HR and 58 RBIs, Nava was promoted in 2009 to Salem in the Carolina League and then to Double-A Portland for the second half of the season.

Nava's performance in Portland (.364/4/24) led to the switch-hitter starting 2010 with the PawSox.

Nava becomes the fifth player from the Golden Baseball League to make the majors, following Chris Jakubauskas, Adam Pettyjohn, Scott Richmond and Sergio Romo to the big leagues.

Scorpions not moving to Mexicali

Looks like after reports of a potential move from Yuma to Mexicali, the Scorpions will be staying in the only home they've ever had in the southwest corner of Arizona. A report in yesterday's Yuma Sun - the local newspaper - says that according to GBL CEO Dave Kaval there are no plans to move the team midseason, but they will try to play a game or two, maybe a series, in Mexicali during this season.

Here's the report from the Yuma Sun:

Scorps staying in Yuma
June 10, 2010 10:09 PM
ROB WEILER - SUN STAFF WRITER

Reports of a potential move of the Yuma Scorpions organization to Mexicali, Mexico are being denied by the Golden Baseball League and explained as a miscommunication according to team and league officials.

GBL CEO Dave Kaval said the league is trying to work out a deal to showcase the Scorpions for a select number of games in Mexicali this season, similar to what the team has done in previous years in San Luis, Ariz. and El Centro, Calif.

“We've been in serious conversation with moving select series' to Mexicali for the last nine months to make it a more regional team,” Kaval said. “Obviously the logistics of playing in Mexico need more time to get worked out, but I think we will still have a series there, and that's a win for the league, but it's not that we're moving the whole team.”

Local CBS affiliate KSWT-13 reported on its website on June 6 that the team was leaving the city, citing a conversation with team president Ricky Smith. Smith is the owner and president of Golden Glove Professional Baseball, which owns the Scorpions.

“He (Smith) says between having the highest payroll in the Golden Baseball league and the poorest fan attendance in the league, it is time to move on,” the report said. “As for their new home, he has decided to move the team to Mexicali and the move could come as early as next week.”

Yuma Scorpions vice president of baseball operations Peter Young said Smith could not be contacted because he was in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico with the Tecate Brewers, who are also affiliated with the organziation.

“Somebody in the office called and asked if we were moving, and I had no idea where that came from,” Young said. “Some of the fans were even buzzing about it a couple nights ago. I didn't understand.”

Young confirmed there is still a chance of hosting a Scorpions game in Mexicali but not likely an entire series, and that there are no plans as of yet to visit El Centro or San Luis.

“The El Centro field is not good enough,” Young said. “There is a possibility for San Luis, but we'd have to go down there with the pitching coach and a couple others to make sure they have a look at that field and the mound and that everything is safe for our players.”

The Golden Baseball League has a history of moving in and out of cities, particularly the past two years with the league's expansion and addition of teams in Canada, Mexico and Hawaii, but has never moved a team during a season.

“It's not forbidden, but that's not the plan,” Kaval said of a mid-season move. “We have an agreement and a great relationship with the city of Yuma.”

The Scorpions (14-5) begin a two-game series at Chico tonight, then have two days off before hosting the Outlaws Tuesday night at Desert Sun Stadium.

So that's good news for the folks of Yuma, who have called the Scorpions their home team since the 2005 inaugural GBL season.

Telus Field

Telus Field was built in 1995 as the new home for the Triple-A Edmonton Trappers, who played in the PCL from 1981-2004. When the Trappers were purchased and moved to Round Rock, Texas, as a new Texas League franchise, the independent Northern League expanded north of the border in 2005. While also picking up a new marketing in Calgary, the Northern League added the Edmonton Cracker Cats, who moved to the GBL in 2008.

The team changed the name from Cracker Cats to Capitals in 2009 as a nod to the capital city of the province of Alberta. Take a look around Telus Field (and maybe a bit of the West Edmonton Mall, too) in the latest Ballpark Tour.



Past Ballpark Tours
Foothills Stadium - Calgary Vipers
Bruce Hurst Field - St. George RoadRunners
Royal Athletic Park - Victoria Seals