Independent Ball

Want to Play in the Pecos League? You May Be Banned

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pecos

If you’re a prospective independent league player, don’t be shocked if you’re banned from playing in the Pecos League.

Although there’s been a rule against winter league participation for the last few years, more and more players are emailing me complaining or confused about not being eligible for the Pecos League. This is mainly because the rule isn’t actually listed anywhere that is easily accessible to players looking for information.

In fact, their tryout page says that “any player who is not currently under contract with another Professional Baseball Team may tryout.” However, that doesn’t appear to be the case.

In September of 2014, the Pecos League put out a press release that warned players about playing in any winter league that was not affiliated with the Pecos.

9/4/2014– The Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs will not accept players from any winter league. This list includes (California Winter League, Arizona Winter League, Myrtle Beach Winter and Texas Winter League). These leagues are setup to profit off of the players and if you think you are going to get signed out of one of these leagues you should look at the facts. Some of these leagues will get you in Spring Training with a team but you actually are hurting your chances of playing professional baseball by going to these leagues.

The Pecos League only signs players from its tryouts and its Pecos Spring League…

The Pecos League is the place for rookies with no prior professional experience to break in. The only developmental league that the Pecos League will consider players from is Pecos Spring League. There are no guarantees that you will make a team or a spring training spot. But you will have the highest percentage opportunity. If someone is attempting to take money from you for a winter league then it would be wise to ask them what jobs they have for you if you attend the league. Jobs are paying jobs not Spring Training Invites where you will be released.

As of this year, you can add the Puerto Rico Instructional Baseball League to this list of “banned” winter leagues as well. Players who participated in this league have been emailing the site to say that they were informed that they are no longer eligible to play in the Pecos.

The rules put in place ensure that all potential players must either:

What this really boils down to is… if you didn’t give the Pecos League any of your money over the off season, then they’re not willing to pay you $55 a week to play for them.

Is spending $1,250-$2,500 for the fall or spring league worth it?

You can do the math (the regular season runs for about 11 weeks)… but ultimately, it’s up to the players to decide if the potential exposure from playing and getting ABs or IPs is worth it to them.

Independent Ball

USPBL Announces Tryouts, Names Assistant Managers

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UNITED SHORE PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE ANNOUNCES OPEN TRYOUTS TO FIND LOCAL “DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH” 
Nearly 20 Players Already Signed From All Across Country, Assistant Managers Named 
To ensure no stone is left unturned when searching out the nation’s top baseball talent, the United Shore Professional Baseball League (USPBL) has announced it will hold open tryouts May 16-19, 2016 at Evolution SportsPlex in Auburn Hills.  The tryouts are just one avenue the league is utilizing to obtain players for the USPBLs three inaugural teams.  Since its announcement in late 2015, the League has been actively scouting across the country to recruit top talent for the new professional independent baseball league.  Play will begin Memorial Day.
·    May 16, 2016: Light workout including batting and infield/outfield practice.
·    May 17, 2016: Professional player evaluation drills.
·    May 18-19, 2016: Situational baseball and live games.
“We’ve been actively communicating with more than 1,000 coaches from top universities and colleges, as well as monitoring over 100 seniors from NCAA Division I and Division II, to identify and sign players from the best schools to bring our fans the highest level of professional baseball,” said Andy Appleby, League Founder and CEO. “We want every player that comes through our League to get a chance at making it to Major League Baseball, and we’re extremely confident that will happen and that dreams will be realized.”
Among the nearly 20 players nationally signed by the league to date:
Forest Koumas
Position: RHP
College/Team: University of South Carolina
Hometown: Lugoff, South Carolina
Highlights: Gatorade player of the year in South Carolina in 2010. Drafted by the Texas Rangers. Starting pitcher for game 1 of the 2011 and 2012 College World Series national championship series. All-SEC Freshman team. Team won the National Championship in 2011
Kyle Richards:
Position: Outfield
College/Team: Florida Southern College. Played for Kansas City T-Bones in American Association
Hometown: Glastonbury, CT
Highlights: Career stats for Florida Southern .321 Avg in 140 AB…OBP .395…SLG .457…2 HR…2 3B…9 2B… 28 Runs…10 SB. KC T-Bones hit .154 in 26 AB
Cam Walker:
Position: IN,OF
College/Team: Wayne State University
Hometown: Clinton Twp. MI
Highlights: DII Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Champs Set school record in Wins in a Season 2014 GLIAC All Tournament Team 2011 GLIAC All Academic Team 2011, 12’, 13’ Coach’s Honor Roll 2009 Athletic Honor Roll

The USPBL also announced the hiring of three Assistant Managers:

Assistant Manager Shane McCatty 
Utica Unicorns
A 2009 graduate of Oakland University, Shane played professional baseball for five years for the Washington Nationals. During his professional career he was a key member of the 2009 Gulf Coast League (GCL) Nationals Rookie League Championship team. McCatty was awarded the 2011 Hagerstown, Maryland Community Service Award as a member of the Hagerstown Suns, a Washington Class A affiliate.
Assistant Manager Richard Donnelly 
Birmingham-Bloomfield Beavers
Donnelly brings 43 years of coaching experience including a minor league managerial background in the Texas Rangers system. On the major league level, he has served as bench, bullpen and first and third base coaches with a number of teams, including the Rangers, Pirates, Marlins and Rockies (the latter three for former Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland). More recently, Donnelly has coached for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers Dodgers and Seattle Mariners.
Assistant Manager Jim Essian 
Eastside Diamond Hoppers 
Essian began as an All-Star rookie in 1970 with the Philadelphia Phillies and played in the Majors for 11 years, including with the A’s, Braves, Cubs, Indians, Mariners, White Sox. He also served as manager for the Chicago Cubs in 1991.
During the summer of 2015, General Sports and Entertainment announced the creation of the United Shore Professional Baseball League (USPBL), an independent professional baseball league in Metro Detroit. The league, headquartered in Rochester, Michigan, initially will be playing in a brand new state-of-the-art $12 million ballpark named Jimmy John’s Field, which is located in downtown Utica, Mich. First of its kind for Metro Detroit, USPBL will provide a fun and exciting family atmosphere while showcasing top baseball talent to fans of all ages. The inaugural season, which begins this Memorial Day 2016, will feature three teams—the Utica Unicorns, the Eastside Diamond Hoppers and the Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers. Additional teams and ballparks will be forthcoming each year.

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