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25-748: The Surf Dawgs were owned by Diamond Sports & Entertainment, previous owners of the GBL and primary investors in the North American League . In November 2022, it was announced the Surf Dawgs franchise would be revived, as part of a west coast expansion of the Federal Baseball League. Their home stadiums included Tony Gwynn Stadium on the campus of San Diego State University and Desert Sun Stadium in Yuma, Arizona . The team

50-484: A North American Championship Series. As of the 2012 season there was no inter division play. The North and United played all games within their own division. The only play outside the division was supposed to be a 3 out of 5 games for the North American Baseball League championship. The United Division refused to play a championship series. The 2012 United Division championship series saw

75-795: A team closer to his home in Los Angeles and was sent to the Long Beach Armada . The team joined the Arizona Winter League as the Sonora Surf Dawgs in January 2007, but reverted to San Diego for the 2008 season. During the AWL regular season, they are managed by Cory Snyder , who also manages the GBL's St. George RoadRunners . In 2008, they were placed in the new American Division for the 2009 season along with

100-619: Is a professional baseball league in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball or its affiliated Minor League Baseball system (historically referred to as organized baseball ). Independent leagues have flourished in northeastern states, where dense populations can often support multiple franchises . Because they are not subject to the territorial limitations imposed on affiliated minor-league teams, independent clubs can relocate as close to affiliated teams (and one another) as they choose to. For example,

125-650: The Blythe Heat , Palm Springs Chill and Yuma Scorpions. The Surf Dawgs participated in a Lucha & Baseball exhibition game on June 25, 2009, along with some professional wrestlers against the Tucson Toros , which they won 8-3. The Surf Dawgs became a charter team of the new Arizona Summer League in June 2009. They played alongside the El Centro Imperials and Canada Miners in 2009 and then

150-765: The Carolina League and the Quebec -based Provincial League . The Carolina League, based in the North Carolina Piedmont region, gained a reputation as a notorious "outlaw league" during its existence from 1936 to 1938. The Provincial League fielded six teams across Quebec and was independent from 1948 to 1949. Similarly to early 20th-century independent leagues, it joined the National Association in 1950, playing for six more years. Independent leagues saw new growth after 1992, after

175-526: The Long Beach Armada and Bisbee Miners in 2010. They replaced the San Luis Atleticos and Yuma Scorpions, who were originally scheduled to play in the league, but were dropped prior to the start of the inaugural season. They began play on July 2. The Surf Dawgs, instead of the Scorpions, have become the first team to have played in all three leagues within the GBL system. They were awarded

200-720: The North American Baseball League ) was an independent baseball league that began play in the 2011 season. The league consisted of a merger of three independent leagues, the Northern League of Illinois , United League Baseball of Texas , and the Golden Baseball League based in the Western United States and Western Canada and was a last-ditch effort to save the teams in said league. The league's chairman of

225-545: The 2024 season, there are seven active leagues, with four of them acting as MLB Partner Leagues . Additionally, Major League Baseball co-operatively operates the MLB Draft League , which operates as an amateur collegiate summer baseball league in the first half of each season and a professional league outside of the structure of Minor League Baseball for the remainder. Independent baseball leagues and teams exist outside of North America, though rarer. In Japan,

250-479: The ASL Championship in 2010 and 2011. The GBL has mentioned the possibility of the Surf Dawgs return to the league for 2010. The team still does not have a suitable ballpark to play on, but the league website is saying that it should change by 2010. The team's official website was temporarily shut down in late June 2009, possibly for revamping as the team is expected to return according to the league. But

275-608: The Commissioner of Baseball. Independent baseball existed in the early 20th century and has become prominent again since 1993. Leagues operated mostly autonomously before 1902, when the majority joined the NAPBL. From then until 1915, a total of eight new and existing leagues remained independent. Most joined the National Association after one season of independence. Notable exceptions were the California League , which

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300-697: The Edinburg Roadrunners defeating the Fort Worth Cats, three games to none. In the North Division championship series, the San Rafael Pacifics topped Na Koa Ikaika Maui, two games to one. The roster rules allowed all teams to keep their existing players from 2010. The three predecessor leagues had contracts of 35 players purchased by Major League organizations in 2010. In addition, these three leagues placed half of

325-608: The Japan Independent Baseball League Organization, which consists of the Shikoku Island League Plus and Baseball Challenge League , operates independently from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Japan also has a variety of independent semi-professional leagues consisting of industrial teams , where the players are regular employees of the company that own the team and are additionally paid to play baseball for

350-641: The board was Dave Kaval , former CEO of Diamond Sports and Entertainment (owners of the now-defunct GBL), league president was Brian MacInnes and main board member was James C. Peters. After playing two seasons, the North American League folded. To keep travel costs from being a financial issue for the teams, in 2011 the league played in a division structure where teams played 75% of their 96-game schedule within their division and made just one lengthy roadtrip of 12 games outside their division. The season concluded with divisional playoffs followed by

375-838: The city of Lancaster, Pennsylvania , cannot have an affiliated team because of its proximity to the Harrisburg Senators and Reading Fightin Phils , leaving the Atlantic League to place a team—the Lancaster Barnstormers —to fill the void. Another example is the greater New York City metropolitan area, where there are many independent teams: the Long Island Ducks , Staten Island FerryHawks , New Jersey Jackals , New York Boulders , and Sussex County Miners . The Atlantic League considered as

400-742: The company on the side. South Korea also has series of small independent leagues. Additionally, as of 2024, two Japanese teams without affiliation to NPB teams play within NPB's minor leagues (the Eastern League and the Western League ). Similarly, within KBO Futures League , the minor league of Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), there is an unaffiliated team that consists only of South Korean military personnel . A select number of Japanese independent teams also participate in

425-521: The last day to win two games. The team again made news in June 2006 by signing former Major League player José Canseco . He made his debut on July 3, 2006 and struck out 4 times. Prior to the game, the Juiced author looked like the Bash Brother of old during batting practice, knocking multiple pitches out of the park. After playing in one game with the Surf Dawgs, Canseco requested to be traded to

450-410: The league. The Atlantic League has had many notable managers and coaches, including Wally Backman , Frank Viola , Tommy John , Sparky Lyle , and Bud Harrelson . The Northern League alumni include Leon "Bull" Durham , J. D. Drew , and Darryl Strawberry . Independent leagues are those professional leagues in the United States and Canada not under the purview of organized Minor League Baseball and

475-585: The new Professional Baseball Agreement in organized baseball instituted more stringent revenue and stadium requirements on members. The Northern League and Frontier League both started play in 1993, and the Northern League's success paved the way for other independent leagues like the Texas-Louisiana League and Northeast League . Over the next eight years, at least 16 independent leagues formed, of which six existed in 2002. As of

500-564: The prospects on the Baseball America Top Indy Prospects List and six of the 14 players on the 2010 Baseball America All-Indy First Team. On March 27, 2012, it was announced that Diamond Sports & Entertainment walked away as management of the league. As the 2012 season came to a close, the league finally folded due to financial instability and franchises withdrawing from the league. Independent baseball league An independent baseball league

525-477: The same city as a Major League Baseball team, the National League 's San Diego Padres . The signing of Rickey Henderson gave the team national exposure. Former first-round draft pick Matt Wheatland was among five San Diegans on the roster. The 2005 team won the first ever GBL California Division title, and on Labor Day weekend 2005 they won the inaugural GBL Championship tournament, coming back on

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550-587: The top level of competition among the independent leagues, and has had more marquee players than any other independent league, including Jose Canseco , Mat Latos , Steve Lombardozzi Jr. , Francisco Rodríguez , Chien-Ming Wang , Roger Clemens , Rich Hill , Scott Kazmir , Juan González , John Rocker , and Dontrelle Willis . Two former Atlantic League players are in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum , Tim Raines and Rickey Henderson . Gary Carter , another Hall of Famer, managed in

575-626: The website returned in August. In 2022, the Federal Baseball League announced a west coast expansion with a division of six tentative host cities: Fresno, Riverside, San Diego, Sonoma, Fullerton, and Stockton. In November 2022, it was announced the Surf Dawgs franchise will be revived for the FBL, with venue and ownership yet to be announced. Golden Baseball League: Arizona Winter League: Arizona Summer League: North American League (baseball) The North American League (officially known as

600-641: Was independent in 1902 and from 1907 to 1909; the United States Baseball League , which folded during its independent 1912 season; and the Colonial League, a National Association Member that went independent in 1915 and then folded. Another independent league, the Federal League , played at a level considered major league from 1914 to 1915. Few independent leagues existed between 1915 and 1993. Major exceptions included

625-638: Was the inaugural GBL Champions in 2005, managed by former Tucson Padres manager Terry Kennedy . They won the 2010 ASL Championship. The Surf Dawgs were one of the eight original GBL charter teams that began play in 2005 along with the Chico Outlaws , Fullerton Flyers and Long Beach Armada in California; Mesa Miners , Surprise Fightin' Falcons and Yuma Scorpions in Arizona and the traveling Japan Samurai Bears . They were known for playing in

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