The Henderson RoadRunners were an independent professional baseball team based out of

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the List of cities in Nevada, 2nd most populous city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with 317,610 residents. The city is part of the Las Vegas V ...

. They were members of the Western Division in the North American League and were scheduled to begin play in 2011 at Lied Field at Morse Stadium on the campus of the College of Southern Nevada in Henderson. But they would forgo their inaugural season as Lied Field will not be ready in time for the start of the season. The franchise folded in 2012 after failing to attract attention and secure new ownership. They would've been the second professional franchise to play in the Las Vegas area. The first is the Las Vegas 51s of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

Team history

The St. George era (2007–2010)

The team originally began in 2007 as the St. George RoadRunners of the now-defunct

Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the Western United States, Western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the org ...

, replacing the suspended

San Diego Surf Dawgs The San Diego Surf Dawgs are a professional baseball team based in San Diego, California, that competes in the Federal Baseball League. The team played for two seasons in San Ramon, California, in the Golden Baseball League (GBL), and then in th ...

for the 2007 season. They played their home games for their entire run in Utah at Bruce Hurst Field at Dixie State College in St. George. Former major league

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

Cory Snyder James Cory Snyder (born November 11, 1962) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 1994 for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, San Fr ...

was named the team's first

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

that same year and remained there until 2010. Jerry Turner served as bench coach. On July 5, 2009, the RoadRunners clinched its first playoff spot in team history by winning the GBL Southern Division 1st Half title after defeating the defending GBL champion

Orange County Flyers The Fullerton Flyers were a professional baseball team based in Fullerton, California, in the United States. They were an independent franchise, not affiliated with either Major League Baseball ''or'' Minor League Baseball. The team played from 2 ...

, 4–2, in

Fullerton, California Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617. Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and S ...

. They hosted the 2009 GBL All-Star Game on July 14 at Bruce Hurst Field. On December 9, 2009, it was announced that the RoadRunners would fold after three seasons, citing poor attendance as its main factor. Ironically, their now-former owners XnE, Inc., were granted a new expansion franchise, the

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

-based

Na Koa Ikaika Maui (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian for ''The Maui Strong Warriors'') were an independent professional baseball team based out of Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii and 2013 champions of the Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, Pacific Association. Th ...

, just months earlier. Snyder left the RoadRunners to become the new manager in Maui. The new ownership group was announced on January 20, 2010, as the Hot Corner Group led by principal owner Will Joyce. Rick Berry returned as general manager while maintaining his job as president of Na Koa Ikaika Maui, a team which was later sold to Western Sports & Entertainment Group. They named former

Long Beach Armada The Long Beach Armada were an independent professional baseball team based in Long Beach, California, in the United States. The Armada was a member of the North Division of the now-defunct Golden Baseball League (GBL), which was not affiliated ...

Victoria Seals The Victoria Seals were a professional baseball team based in Victoria, British Columbia. The Seals were a member of the North Division of the independent Golden Baseball League, which is not affiliated with either Major League Baseball (MLB) o ...

, and Palm Springs Chill manager

Darrell Evans Darrell Wayne Evans (born May 26, 1947) is an American former baseball player, coach and manager. He played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), beginning his career as a third baseman with the Atlanta Braves (1969–1976, 1989), alternat ...

as their new team manager after he was fired by the Seals in March 2010. Unfortunately, poor attendance (along with lack of support from the business community, supposed stadium lease issues and alleged lack of beer sales) was the team's undoing again, and the team was once again on the verge of folding. However, the league took over the franchise from the Hot Corner Group to finish out the 2010 season as a road team. On August 11, the RoadRunners returned to action, versus Victoria and were victorious in a 4–3 win, led by a two hit, run scoring performance by new

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

Mike Castellano.

The Henderson era (2011 and beyond)

In January 2011, after the GBL was absorbed into the newly formed North American League, the RoadRunners relocated to Henderson, but their team name was not changed like other franchises have done in the past (i.e.

Mesa Miners The Mesa Miners were an independent professional baseball team based in Mesa, Arizona. They began as a member of the Arizona Division of the now-defunct Golden Baseball League in 2005. The original team became known as the Reno Silver Sox in ...

Reno Silver Sox The Reno Silver Sox were a minor league baseball team that existed on and off from 1947 to 1992. The team name is derived from the nickname of Nevada, the "Silver State". From part of the 1955 season to 1992, they played their home games at Mo ...

Tucson Toros The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...

). They replaced the proposed Tijuana Embajadores team which was scheduled to play in the league for 2011, but was dropped by the league. They have postponed their inaugural season as renovations at Lied Field at Morse Stadium will not be ready in time for the start of the season. They will begin play in 2012.North American League Finalizes 2011 Schedule
NABL website, April 8, 2011

Arizona Winter League version (2011–present)

The team identity also belongs to a new developmental franchise in the

Arizona Winter League The Arizona Winter League was an independent professional winter baseball league. Arizona Winter League games were all played at Desert Sun Stadium in Yuma, Arizona. The league was founded in 2007. It disbanded in 2013 due to parent league, t ...

called the Arizona RoadRunners, who are based out of

Yuma, Arizona Yuma is a city in and the county seat of Yuma County, Arizona, United States. The city's population was 95,548 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 census population of 93,064. Yuma is the principal city of the Yuma, Arizona, Metropolitan ...

, (home of the NAL's Yuma Panthers and AWL's

Yuma Scorpions Yuma can refer to: Places United States * Yuma County, Arizona ** Yuma, Arizona ** Marine Corps Air Station Yuma ** Yuma Proving Ground ** Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona (CDP) ** Yuma Territorial Prison * Fort Yuma, California * Yuma County, ...

), and also began play in 2011 just prior to the Henderson team starting in the NAL. Both teams were league-owned and were looking for new ownership, but after failing to secure new ownership the league folded the franchise.

References

North American League teams

External links

North American League official website
{{North American League Professional baseball teams in Nevada North American League teams Baseball teams established in 2007 St. George RoadRunners Baseball teams disestablished in 2011 2011 disestablishments in Nevada Defunct independent baseball league teams Defunct baseball teams in Nevada