Continental Baseball League

Continental Baseball League
Founded	2006
No. of teams	4 to 6
Country	United States
Current champions	Alexandria Aces
Official website	www.cblproball.com

The Continental Baseball League, based in Dallas, Texas, was a professional, independent baseball organization located in the U.S. state of Texas. It operated in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseball teams and was not affiliated with either. The league's players primarily came from the college ranks, although some former professional players filled the team rosters. It formed in 2006 and began play as a four team circuit on May 27, 2007.

The league's championship trophy was named after Hall of Fame pitcher Fergie Jenkins. The Tarrant County Blue Thunder captured title in the inaugural season of 2007 and the Bay Area Toros won the crown the next year.

2007

Led by former major leaguer Curtis Wilkerson, the Tarrant County Blue Thunder posted the best record in the regular season and then won a double elimination championship series that involved the league's top three clubs. Texas Heat first baseman Robby Winn hit .341 and led the league with 21 home runs and 64 RBIs en route to being named the circuit's MVP. Tarrant County's Zach Duncan won five games, struck out 57, led the league with a 3.14 ERA, and was named Pitcher of the Year, while Wilkerson took home the Manager of the Year award.

2007 Standings

Team	W-L	Pct.	GB	Manager
Tarrant County Blue Thunder	30-17	.638	--	Curtis Wilkerson
Texas Heat	25-17	.595	2.5	Royce Holder
Lewisville Lizards	19-25	.432	9.5	Tom Goodwin
Bay Area Toros	13-28	.317	14.0	Jim Bolt

2008

In 2008, only one club returned with the same name as the previous year, as the Blue Thunder moved to a new stadium in McKinney, Texas and were renamed after that city and the Corpus Christi Beach Dawgs and the Texarkana Gunslingers replaced the Lizards and the Heat.

2008 Standings

Team	W-L	Pct.	GB	Managers
Bay Area Toros	44-29	.603	--	Jim Bolt
Texarkana Gunslingers	38-34	.528	5.5	Steve Trout / Chris McKnight
Corpus Christi Beach Dawgs	34-38	.472	9.5	Murray Wilson
McKinney Blue Thunder	29-44	.397	15	Curtis Wilkerson

Playoffs

• Semifinals (Best of Three) Texarkana 1, Corpus Christi 0 (Texarkana won the series after Game 2 and Game 3 were rained out)
• Championship Series (Best of Three) Bay Area 2, Texarkana 0

2009

In 2009, only the Bay Area Toros and Texarkana Gunslingers returned. The Alexandria Aces and Big Bend Cowboys joined the league, and the Coastal Kingfish and South Louisiana Pipeliners played as traveling teams.

2009 Standings

Team	W-L	Pct.	GB	Managers
Bay Area Toros	38-18	.679	--	Jim Bolt
Texarkana Gunslingers	38-20	.655	1	Chris McKnight
Alexandria Aces	39-21	.650	1	Dan Shwam
Big Bend Cowboys	36-24	.600	4	Donnie Randell
South Louisiana Pipeliners	16-41	.281	22.5	David Angeron
Coastal Kingfish	8-51	.136	31.5	Keith Essary / Richard Morris / Eric Pierzchala

Playoffs

• Semifinals (Best of Three) Alexandria 2, Texarkana 0; Bay Area 2, Big Bend 1 (Big Bend advanced to the championship after Bay Area refused to let Alexandria host the championship series)
• Championship Series (Best of Three) Alexandria 2, Big Bend 0

2010

The league ceased its operations on July 31st. Las Cruces and Big Bend (which was renamed the Alpine Cowboys) moved to the Pecos League in 2011.

2010 Standings

Team	W-L	Pct.	GB	Managers
Big Bend Cowboys	32-15	.681	--
Las Cruces Vaqueros	32-15	.681	--	Bobby Brown
Desert Valley Mountain Lions	20-27	.426	12	Chris Paterson
Coastal Kingfish	11-36	.234	20.5

Cities Represented

• Alexandria, LA:
  • Alexandria Aces (2009)
• Alpine, TX:
  • Big Bend Cowboys (2009-2010)
• Corpus Christi, TX:
  • Corpus Christi Beach Dawgs (2008)
• El Paso, TX:
  • Desert Valley Mountain Lions (2010)
• Houston, TX:
  • Coastal Kingfish (2009-2010)
• Las Cruces, NM:
  • Las Cruces Vaqueros (2010)
• Lewisville, TX:
  • Lewisville Lizards (2007)
• McKinney, TX:
  • McKinney Blue Thunder (2008)
• Morgan City, LA:
  • South Louisiana Pipeliners (2009)
• North Richland Hills, TX:
  • Tarrant County Blue Thunder (2007)
• Texarkana, TX:
  • Texarkana Gunslingers (2008-2009)
• Texas City, TX:
  • Bay Area Toros (2007-2009)
• Road Team:
  • Texas Heat (2007)