Texas League

Template:Short description Template:Other uses Template:Infobox sports league

The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the state of Texas; the five North Division teams are located in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as Double-A Central before reassuming its original moniker in 2022.

The Texas League was founded in 1902, although it traces its lineage back to a predecessor founded in 1888.

History

20th century

The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892. It was refounded in 1895 and ran through 1899 (under the name Texas Association in 1895 and Texas-Southern League in 1896).

The Texas League was revived as a Class D league in 1902, moved to Class C in 1904 where it played through 1910 (except for 1906 as Class D again), played at Class B until 1920, and finally moved up to Class A in 1921. The Texas League, like many others, shut down during World War II. From 1959 to 1961, the Texas League and the Mexican League formed the Pan American Association. The two leagues played a limited interlocking schedule and post-season championship. By 1971, the Texas League and the Southern League had both decreased to seven teams. They played an interlocking schedule with the Southern League known as the Dixie Association. The two leagues played separate playoffs. The Texas League has operated its own schedule since 1972.

The term "Texas Leaguer" to describe a bloop hit, a soft fly ball that falls for a hit beyond the infielders' reach but too short for the outfielders to catch, has been extant since at least 1903<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and was common throughout American baseball in the 20th century and to some degree into the 21st. The source of the idiom is not known but among other theories has been attributed to Ollie Pickering's feat in a Texas League game of April 4, 1901, in which he made seven such hits in succession. Talk of this singular feat is supposed to have spread widely, bringing the term with it.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

21st century

Around the advent of the 21st century, the Texas League witnessed a great deal of change. Teams once known as the Jackson Mets, El Paso Diablos, Shreveport Captains, and Wichita Wranglers all relocated to new cities and bigger stadiums.

In 2019, the San Antonio Missions relocated to Amarillo, Texas, becoming the Amarillo Sod Poodles. At the same time, the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) moved to San Antonio to continue on as the Missions at the Triple-A level.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before ultimately being cancelled on June 30.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=2020can>Template:Cite news</ref> As part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, the Texas League was temporarily renamed to "Double-A Central" for the 2021 season.<ref name=JMayo2-12-2021>Template:Cite web</ref> Following MLB's acquisition of the rights to the names of the historical minor leagues, the league switched back to its historical name beginning with the 2022 season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Current teams

Division	Team	MLB affiliation	City	Stadium	Capacity
North	Arkansas Travelers	Seattle Mariners	North Little Rock, Arkansas	Dickey–Stephens Park	7,200<ref name=Diamonds>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Northwest Arkansas Naturals	Kansas City Royals	Springdale, Arkansas	Arvest Ballpark	7,305<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
	Springfield Cardinals	St. Louis Cardinals	Springfield, Missouri	Hammons Field	10,486<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Tulsa Drillers	Los Angeles Dodgers	Tulsa, Oklahoma	ONEOK Field	7,833<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Wichita Wind Surge	Minnesota Twins	Wichita, Kansas	Equity Bank Park	12,000
South	Amarillo Sod Poodles	Arizona Diamondbacks	Amarillo, Texas	Hodgetown	6,631<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Corpus Christi Hooks	Houston Astros	Corpus Christi, Texas	Whataburger Field	7,679<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Frisco RoughRiders	Texas Rangers	Frisco, Texas	Riders Field	10,316<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	Midland RockHounds	Athletics	Midland, Texas	Momentum Bank Ballpark	6,669<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
	San Antonio Missions	San Diego Padres	San Antonio, Texas	Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium	9,200

Template:OSM Location map

Texas League timeline

<timeline> DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1946 till:2036 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:barcolor

id:line  value:pink
id:bg  value:white
         id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a current league member
         id:Past value:rgb(0.4,0.80,0.67) # Use to indicate a stint in the Dixie Association (1971)
         id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another current league  
         id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to a now-defunct league

PlotData=

  width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1  color:Full from:1946 till:1971 text:Beaumont Exporters/Roughnecks; Austin Senators/Braves; Shreveport Braves (1946–1970)

bar:2  color:Full from:1946 till:1959 text:Dallas Rebels/Eagles/Rangers (1946–1958)  AA
bar:2  color:OtherC2 from:1959 till:1963
bar:2  color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1965 text:PCL

bar:3  color:Full from:1946 till:1960 text:Fort Worth Cats (1946–1958; 1964)
bar:3  color:OtherC2 from:1959 till:1960 text:AA
bar:3  color:Full from:1964 till:1965
bar:3  color:Full from:1965 till:1971 text:Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs (1965–1971)
bar:3  color:Past from:1971 till:1972

bar:4  color:Full from:1946 till:1959 text:Houston Buffaloes (1946–1958)
bar:4  color:OtherC2 from:1959 till:1962 text:AA

bar:5  color:Full from:1946 till:1958 text:Oklahoma City Indians (1946–1957)

bar:6  color:Full from:1946 till:1965 text:San Antonio Missions/Bullets (1946–1964)
bar:6  color:Full from:1968 till:1971 text:San Antonio Missions/Brewers/Dodgers (1968–2018)
bar:6  color:Past from:1971 till:1972
bar:6  color:Full from:1972 till:2019
bar:6  color:OtherC1 from:2019 till:2021 text: PCL
bar:6  color:Full from:2021 till:2023 text:San Antonio Dodgers (2021–present)

bar:7  color:Full from:1946 till:1958 text:Shreveport Sports (1946–1957)
bar:7  color:OtherC2 from:1959 till:1962 text:SA

bar:8  color:Full from:1946 till:1966 text:Tulsa Oilers (1946–1965)
bar:8  color:OtherC1 from:1966 till:1969 text:PCL
bar:8  color:OtherC2 from:1969 till:1977 text:AA

bar:9  color:Full from:1958 till:1962 text:Corpus Christi/Rio Grande Valley/Victoria Giants (1958–1961)

bar:10  color:Full from:1958 till:1962 text:Victoria/Ardmore Rosebuds (1958–1961)

bar:11  color:OtherC2 from:1953 till:1956 text:WTNM
bar:11  color:OtherC2 from:1956 till:1959 text:WL
bar:11  color:Full from:1959 till:1964 text:Amarillo Gold Sox (1959–1963; 1976–1982) 
bar:11  color:Full from:1976 till:1983

bar:11  color:Full from:1983 till:2008 text:Beaumont Golden Gators; Wichita Pilots/Wranglers (1983–2007)
bar:11  color:Full from:2008 till:2023 text:NW Arkansas Naturals (2008–present)

bar:12  color:OtherC2 from:1946 till:1956 text: WTNM
bar:12  color:OtherC2 from:1956 till:1962 text: WL
bar:12  color:Full from:1962 till:1971 text:Albuquerque Dukes/Dodgers (1962–1971)   PCL
bar:12  color:Past from:1971 till:1972
bar:12  color:OtherC1 from:1972 till:2001

bar:13  color:OtherC2 from:1961 till:1962 text:Soph  El Paso Sun Kings; El Paso Sun Dodgers/Sun Kings/Diablos (1962–1970; 1972–2004)
bar:13  color:Full from:1962 till:1971
bar:13  color:Full from:1972 till:2005
bar:13  color:Full from:2005 till:2023 text:Springfield Cardinals (2005–present)

bar:14  color:Full from:1965 till:1971 text:Amarillo Sonics/Giants; Lafayette/Tulsa Drillers (1965–present)
bar:14  color:Past from:1971 till:1972
bar:14  color:Full from:1972 till:2023

bar:15  color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1966 text:IL  PCL
bar:15  color:Full from:1966 till:1971 text:Arkansas Travelers (1966–present)
bar:15  color:Past from:1971 till:1972
bar:15  color:Full from:1972 till:2023

bar:16  color:Full from:1968 till:1971 text:Memphis Blues; Victoria Toros; Jackson Mets/Generals (1968–1999)
bar:16  color:Past from:1971 till:1972
bar:16  color:Full from:1972 till:2000
bar:16  color:Full from:2000 till:2005 text:Round Rock Express (2000–2004)  PCL
bar:16  color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2023

bar:17  color:Past from:1971 till:1972 text:Shreveport Captains/Swamp Dragons (1971–2002)
bar:17  color:Full from:1972 till:2003
bar:17  color:Full from:2003 till:2023 text:Frisco RoughRiders (2003–present)

bar:18  color:Full from:1972 till:1976 text:Alexandria Aces (1972–1975)

bar:19  color:Full from:1972 till:2023 text:Midland Cubs/Angels/RockHounds (1972–present)

bar:20 color:Full from:2005 till:2023 text:Corpus Christi Hooks (2005–present)

bar:21 color:Full from:2019 till:2023 text:Amarillo Sod Poodles (2019–present)

bar:22 color:Full from:2021 till:2023 text:Wichita Wind Surge (2021-present)

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   text:^"Texas League Timeline"

> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. Template:Font color Template:Font color Template:Font color <# </timeline>

Template:Font color Template:Font color Template:Font color Template:Font color

In 1971, the Southern League and Texas League were each down to seven teams, so they formed the Dixie Association for one season. They played interlocking schedules but held their own separate playoffs.

The Wichita Wind Surge were originally slated to begin play in 2020 in the Pacific Coast League as the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. However, the cancellation of the 2020 season and the 2021 realignment of the minor leagues resulted in Wichita dropping to Double-A without playing a Triple-A game.