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27-636: Early Galveston teams called the Galveston Sand Crabs evolved from the 1888 Galveston Giants of the Texas League . The Sand Crabs continued play in the Texas League from 1889 to 1890, 1892, 1897–1899 and 1907–1911. The Galveston Pirates (1912–1917, 1919–1921), Galveston Sand Crabs (1922–1924) and Galveston Buccaneers (1931–1937) played as members of the Texas League . The Galveston Buccaneers first began play in 1931, when

54-587: A Class A1 level (between Class A and Class AA) was established in 1936. The contemporary Double-A classification, as the second-highest level in Minor League Baseball, was established in 1946. Entering that season, the three aforementioned leagues in Class AA all moved to the newly established Triple-A, and Class A1 became Double-A with two leagues: The Texas League remained in Double-A for

81-483: 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 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

108-432: A couple of years. These players can get to the Double-A level by earning a promotion from any of the lower-level leagues, with Class A-Advanced ("High-A") being immediately below Double-A in the minor league hierarchy. The step up to the Double-A level can be one of the hardest promotions for such players because it is the level at which pitchers need to have a good off-speed pitch in their repertoires. In addition, it

135-753: A record of 28–30. Joining the Big State League, the White Caps finished 73–73 in 1954 and were 28–30 when the franchise folded on June 12, 1955. Galveston, Texas has not hosted another minor league team. Today, the Galveston "White Caps" moniker is used by the athletic teams at Galveston College . Galveston minor league teams reportedly played minor league games at Beach Park (1884-1904), Sportsman’s Park (1905-1911), Beach Park (1912-1914), Gulf View Park/Pirate Field (1914–1921), Moody Stadium (1931-1943) and White Cap Park (1950-1955). Beach Park

162-670: A record of 94–48. In the Gulf Coast League, Galveston finished 80–68 in 1950, 71–83 in 1951, 80–74 in 1952 and 94–48 in 1953. In 1954, the Galveston White Caps joined the Big State League. Galveston played alongside the Austin Pioneers , Corpus Christi Clippers , Del Rio Indians, Harlingen Capitals , Temple Eagles , Tyler Tigers , Port Arthur Sea Hawks and Waco Pirates as fellow league members. The White Caps franchise folded on June 12, 1955, with

189-622: Is supposed to have spread widely, bringing the term with it. 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

216-467: Is the highest level in the minor leagues, players may also advance to the major leagues directly from Double-A. For example, within the Toronto Blue Jays organization, 17 position players were promoted from Double-A directly to MLB during 1978–2018; approximately one player every two seasons. As players at the Double-A level are, generally, still improving their skills, it could be argued that

243-420: Is the level where fastball -only hitters need to learn how to hit off-speed pitches, or their hopes of advancing to the majors will diminish. Some players may be placed in Double-A to begin their minor league careers, usually veterans from foreign leagues or top prospects out of college. Additionally, major league clubs sometimes send players to their Double-A team to rehabilitate from injuries. While Triple-A

270-803: Is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A . There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League Baseball , organized into three leagues: the Eastern League , the Southern League , and the Texas League . Class AA ("Double-A") was established in 1912, as the new highest classification of Minor League Baseball . Previously, Class A had been

297-738: 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

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324-576: The Waco Cubs relocated to Galveston. Galveston owner Shearn Moody had purchased the Waco franchise, moved the team to Galveston and constructed Moody Stadium. The Buccaneers won the Texas League championship in 1934. The franchise moved to become the Shreveport Sports after the 1937 season when Shearn Moody died and the franchise was sold. The Galveston White Caps were founding members of

351-425: The 2021 season. 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. League members Dixie Association PCL Other League Note: • An "^" indicates that team's article redirects to an article of an active team in a different league Double-A (baseball) Double-A (officially Class AA )

378-551: The Class B level Gulf Coast League in 1950 before joining the Big State League in 1954, before disbanding in 1955. The Gulf Coast League folded after the season 1953 season, with members Galveston White Caps, Harlingen Capitals , Laredo Apaches , Brownsville Charros , Port Arthur Seahawks , Corpus Christi Aces , Lake Charles Lakers and Texas City Texans . Galveston won the league's final regular season title with

405-488: The existing leagues were temporarily renamed: Eastern League as Double-A Northeast , Southern League as Double-A South , and Texas League as Double-A Central . Following MLB's acquisition of the rights to the names of the historical minor leagues, MLB announced on March 16, 2022, that the leagues would revert to their prior names, effective with the 2022 season. The Double-A classification usually hosts developing players that have been part of professional baseball for only

432-490: 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. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892. It was refounded in 1895 and ran through 1899 (under

459-547: The highest level, predating the establishment of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues—the formal name of Minor League Baseball—in 1901. Entering the 1912 season, three leagues were designated as Class AA: Each of these leagues had previously been in Class A. Each remained in Class AA through 1945, then moved into Class AAA (" Triple-A ") when it was established in 1946. No other leagues were designated Class AA during 1912–1945, although

486-406: 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

513-529: The next 75 years. During this time, there were limited changes to leagues at the Double-A level: Entering the 2020 minor league season (which was not played, due to the COVID-19 pandemic ) the Texas League had been in Double-A since 1946, the Eastern League since 1963, and the Southern League since 1964. Prior to the 2021 season, Major League Baseball (MLB) reorganized the minor leagues. At that time,

540-477: The pure talent level is higher in Double-A than Triple-A, where there may be some stagnation of talent. Because players are not often moved back and forth from their major league parent club as often happens in Triple-A, the rosters of Double-A teams tend to be more stable. Fans of Double-A teams thus have a longer amount of time to get acquainted with the players, which helps create a better relationship between

567-650: 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. The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before ultimately being cancelled on June 30. As part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, the Texas League was temporarily renamed to "Double-A Central" for

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594-429: The start of the 2021 minor league season was delayed by a month, team schedules were released without a break for an all-star game. As a part of pace-of-play initiatives implemented in 2015, 20-second pitch clocks entered use at Double-A stadiums in 2015. In 2018, the time was shortened to 15 seconds when no runners are on base. Other significant changes implemented in 2018 included beginning extra innings with

621-495: The subject of a 2015 book, "The Galveston Buccaneers" by Kris Rutherford, Arcadia Publishing. ISBN   1626198373 Texas 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 ;

648-462: The team and its fans. Prior to the 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, all three active Double-A leagues played split seasons , with the Eastern League moving to that system in 2019. Teams winning their division in either half of the season qualified for the postseason, with wild card teams filling out the remaining spots in a bracket tournament , usually composed of four teams. On June 30, 2021, Minor League Baseball announced that

675-574: The top two teams in each league (based on full-season winning percentage , and regardless of division) would meet in a best-of-five postseason series to determine league champions. Prior to the 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, each of the active Double-A leagues held its own midseason All-Star Game. From 1991 to 2002, the three combined to hold the Double-A All-Star Game between teams of American League -affiliated All-Stars and National League -affiliated All-Stars. After

702-496: Was damaged by a tropical storm on August 15, 1915, and the park was unusable for the remainder of the 1915 season. Beginning in 1931, Galveston minor league teams were noted to have played home games at Moody Stadium . Moody Stadium was one of the first minor league stadiums equipped with lights. Moody Stadium was located ad 5108 Avenue G Galveston, Texas. Moody Stadium had a capacity of 8,000 in 1937 and dimensions of (left, center, right): 338–460–324. The Galveston Buccaneers were

729-532: Was located at the corner of Avenue Q and & 23rd Street, Galveston, Texas. The 500 capacity stadium was located across the street from the Beach Hotel . In 1895 the bleachers collapsed during a game. Gulfview Park / Pirate Field was located at 2802 Avenue R, Galveston, Texas. The ballpark had a capacity of 4,000. It had dimensions of 260 RF and was called Pirate Field when hosting the Pirates. The ballpark

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