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.

La "Arizona Fall League" è un torneo di baseball che si svolge negli Stati Uniti, nello stato dell'Arizona. Questo torneo è considerato uno dei più importanti per i giovani talenti del baseball professionistico. Durante l'autunno, le squadre affiliate alle principali leghe di baseball degli Stati Uniti inviano i loro migliori giocatori delle leghe minori per partecipare a questa competizione.

La "Arizona Fall League" offre ai giocatori l'opportunità di mettersi in mostra e dimostrare le loro abilità davanti a scout e dirigenti delle squadre di Major League Baseball. I giocatori partecipanti sono selezionati per le loro prestazioni eccezionali durante la stagione regolare e vengono divisi in sei squadre, ognuna rappresentante una diversa città dell'Arizona.

Le partite si svolgono in diversi stadi dell'Arizona e attirano un gran numero di appassionati di baseball. Durante il torneo, i giocatori hanno l'opportunità di migliorare le loro abilità, imparare da allenatori esperti e competere contro alcuni dei migliori talenti del baseball giovanile.

La "Arizona Fall League" è un evento molto atteso dagli appassionati di baseball, in quanto offre uno sguardo sul futuro del baseball professionistico. Molti giocatori che hanno partecipato a questo torneo sono poi diventati stelle della Major League Baseball, dimostrando l'importanza e la qualità di questa competizione.