Wikipedia - Arizona Fall League

The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled by many of the top prospects in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) who are assigned by their parent clubs.

History

The league's inaugural season was 1992, during which each team played a 54-game schedule that ended in early December. The divisions and teams that season were:

  • Northern division: Grand Canyon Rafters, Scottsdale Scorpions, Sun Cities Solar Sox
  • Southern division: Chandler Diamondbacks, Phoenix Saguaros, Tucson Javelinas

The league's first game was played on October 6, 1992, with the Grand Canyon Rafters defeating the Scottsdale Scorpions, 6–4.

Before the 1994 season, the Javelinas relocated from Tucson to Peoria, to limit travel distances to the Phoenix metropolitan area. All teams have been located in greater Phoenix since then.

Since 1995, when the Diamondbacks became the Desert Dogs, no team has changed its nickname. However, each team has changed its location at least once during its history. The most recent change was by the Desert Dogs, who moved from Phoenix to Glendale in 2013.

Michael Jordan during his time with the Scottsdale Scorpions

For the 1998 season, organizers rostered players onto each Arizona Fall League team from a single division in MLB:

In 2007, the United States national baseball team and China national baseball team played several games against AFL teams; both teams were later competitors in baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics. In 2019, the Mesa Solar Sox participated in the Vamos a Tucson Mexican Baseball Fiesta in early October, facing teams of the Mexican Pacific League.

In 2019, the league adopted a new logo. In 2020, the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A number of future MLB All-Stars have had stints in the Arizona Fall League; over 300, per the league's website. These include David Wright (2003), Dustin Pedroia (2004), Andre Ethier (2005), Bryce Harper (2010–2011), Nolan Arenado (2011), Mike Trout (2011), Mookie Betts (2013), Aaron Judge (2014), Gleyber Torres (2016), and Ronald Acuña Jr. (2017). In 1994, Michael Jordan played for Scottsdale during his time away from the NBA. Similarly, former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow played for Scottsdale in 2016 during his foray into professional baseball.

Az Arizona Fall League (AFL) egy professzionális baseball liga, amelyet évente október közepétől november közepéig játszanak az Egyesült Államok Arizonai államában. A ligát 1992-ben hozták létre, hogy segítsék a Major League Baseball (MLB) játékosok fejlődését és felkészítsék őket a következő szezonra.

Az AFL hat csapatból áll, amelyek mindegyike az MLB egyik csapata által támogatott. A csapatok a következők:

* Mesa Solar Sox (Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers)
* Peoria Javelinas (Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Guardians, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics)
* Salt River Rafters (Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners)
* Scottsdale Scorpions (Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays)
* Surprise Saguaros (Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals)
* Glendale Desert Dogs (Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals)

Az AFL szezon 60 mérkőzésből áll, amelyeket egy körforgásos rendszerben játszanak. A szezon győztese a legtöbb mérkőzést nyerő csapat. Az AFL leghíresebb játékosai közé tartozik Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Kris Bryant és Corey Seager.