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| Yuma Scorps Affiliate! |
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5/20/2009
Yuma Scorpions Announce Affiliation Agreement with Colombian League
2-Year Player Development Agreement Provides Players, Coaches, Managers, and More
Yuma, AZ. May 20, 2009 – The Yuma Scorpions of the independent professional Golden Baseball League announced today that they have signed a two year Affiliation Agreement with the Colombian Professional Baseball League to develop players, umpires, trainers, and other clubhouse personnel. This agreement starts immediately as the Colombian players arrive tonight in Yuma and will be in action as Scorpions at the home opener this Friday versus the St. George Roadrunners.
"This is an important step for the development of the sport of baseball in Colombia," said Colombian Professional Baseball League President Edinson Renteria. "The chance to display our best players and to bring back knowledge from the U.S. is a wonderful opportunity for us. The facilities in Yuma, Arizona are first class, at the former San Diego Padres spring training complex, and the tough and competitive Golden Baseball League will be a perfect challenge for our players."
Similar to affiliation agreements between major league teams and minor league operators in the U.S, the ownership, brand, front office staff, and all aspects other than the on-field personnel of the Yuma Scorpions remain the same. The Colombians will be providing players for the 22-man roster, manager, and coaches (including former major leaguer Jackie Gutierez). In addition, the Colombian League will be sending trainers, clubbies, ground crewsmen, and even two umpires that will use this as a learning experience to improvie their skills to take back to Colombia.
"This is the first standard Affiliation Agreement that a professional independent baseball team has entered into in the U.S. and establishes a new economic model to provide stability and financial success for independent teams," said GBL Commissioner Kevin Outcalt. "In addition, it will draw even more attention to the GBL games from major league organizations which is good for all of the players in our league."
With the summer being the off-season for professional baseball in their home country, the Colombian players have been drawn from all the professional teams in that country and include many of their most accomplished players and rising stars. Not only will they be able to improve, but also be showcased to major league organizations that heavily scout the Golden Baseball League and already purchase approximately 25 players per year from the GBL.
"Colombia has produced so many fine ballplayers from Orlando Ramirez and Jackie Gutierez who were the first two to make the major leagues to current MLB stars such as Edgar Renteria," said Yuma Scorpions owner and CEO of Diamond Sports and Entertainment David Kaval. "This should be a great brand of baseball of all-stars from one of the top baseball talent producing countries in Latin America. I'm proud that Yuma has been chosen for this exciting opportunity!"
Press, fans, and other interested parties can welcome and meet the new Yuma Scorpions, who will be over 3200 miles away from home this summer, at the Scorpions Booster Club Barbecue for the team scheduled for 6 P.M. at the Clubhouse at Desert Sun Stadium in Yuma on Thursday night, May 21st.
About The Golden Baseball League
The Golden Baseball League, Presented by Safeway Inc./VONS, is the premier professional independent baseball league operating in the western United States, Canada, Mexico. The ten Golden Baseball League teams include the Calgary Vipers in Calgary, Alberta Canada; the Chico Outlaws in Chico, CA; the Edmonton Capitals in Edmonton, Alberta Canada, the Orange County Flyers in Fullerton, CA; the Long Beach Armada in Long Beach, CA; the St. George Roadrunners in St. George, Utah; the Yuma Scorpions in Yuma, AZ; the Tijuana Potros in Baja California, Mexico (on hold for the 2009 season); the Tucson Toros in Tucson, AZ; and the Victoria Seals in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Over 90 GBL players have been acquired by major league baseball or professional international baseball organizations during the last four years and over 60 former major leaguers have played in the GBL including MLB All-Stars Rickey Henderson, Jose Lima, Jose Canseco, and Felix Jose. For general information, please visit our League web site at www.goldenbaseball.com.
About Safeway
Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 50 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America based on sales. The company operates more than 1,800 stores in the United States and Canada and had annual sales of $35.6 billion in 2003. The company’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.
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