2023 Pioneer League season

Last updated
2023 Pioneer League season
League Pioneer League
Sport Baseball
DurationMay 23  September 9
Number of games96 (480 games in total)
Number of teams10
North Division
League champions Billings Mustangs
South Division
League champions Ogden Raptors
Pioneer League Championship
Champions Ogden Raptors
  Runners-up Billings Mustangs
Seasons
 2022
2024 

The 2023 Pioneer League season is the 80th season of professional baseball in the Pioneer League, an independent baseball league in the Western United States, since its creation in 1939. There are 10 Pioneer League teams, split evenly between North and South divisions.

Contents

The Grand Junction Rockies (now named Grand Junction Jackalopes ) entered the season as the defending champions, having defeated the Missoula PaddleHeads, two games to zero, in the league's 2022 championship series. [1]

Season schedule

The 10 teams in the league are split evenly between two divisions, North and South. The Grand Junction Rockies changed their name to the Grand Junction Jackalopes. [2]

Over the course of the season, each team will play 96 games in a split schedule between the North Division (Billings, Missoula, Great Falls, Glacier, and Idaho Falls) and the South Division (NoCo, Rocky Mountain, Grand Junction, Boise, and Ogden) with the first half ending on July 16 and the second half ending on September 9. [3] In the playoffs, first-half division winners will play second-half division winners in a best-of-three playoff. The division playoff winners will meet for a final best-of-three championship series. [4]

Regular season standings

Legend:

y
Clinched division
x
Clinched playoff spot
e
Eliminated from playoff contention

First half standings

North Division Regular Season Standings [5]
PosTeam G W L Pct. GB
1y Missoula PaddleHeads 483513.729--
2e Glacier Range Riders 463115.6743.0
3e Billings Mustangs 481929.39616.0
4e Great Falls Voyagers 461531.32619.0
5e Idaho Falls Chukars 481533.31320.0
South Division Regular Season Standings [5]
PosTeam G W L Pct. GB
1y Ogden Raptors 483117.646--
2e Boise Hawks 482820.5833.0
3e Northern Colorado Owlz 472324.4897.5
4e Rocky Mountain Vibes 472027.42610.5
5e Grand Junction Jackalopes 482028.41711.0

Second half standings

North Division Regular Season Standings [5]
PosTeam G W L Pct. GB
1y Billings Mustangs 483216.667--
2e Missoula PaddleHeads 473116.6600.5
3e Glacier Range Riders 502327.46010.0
4e Great Falls Voyagers 502129.42012.0
5e Idaho Falls Chukars 471829.38313.5
South Division Regular Season Standings [5]
PosTeam G W L Pct. GB
1y Rocky Mountain Vibes 482820.583--
2e Grand Junction Jackalopes 482523.5213.0
3e Northern Colorado Owlz 482325.4795.0
4e Boise Hawks 482127.4387.0
5e Ogden Raptors 481929.3969.0

Full season standings

North Division Regular Season Standings [5]
PosTeam G W L Pct. GB
1x Missoula PaddleHeads 956629.695--
2e Glacier Range Riders 965442.56312.5
3x Billings Mustangs 965145.53115.5
4e Great Falls Voyagers 963561.36531.5
5e Idaho Falls Chukars 953461.35832.0
South Division Regular Season Standings [5]
PosTeam G W L Pct. GB
1x Ogden Raptors 965046.521--
2e Boise Hawks 964947.5371.0
3x Rocky Mountain Vibes 954847.5051.5
4e Northern Colorado Owlz 954649.4843.5
5e Grand Junction Jackalopes 964551.4695.0

Statistical leaders

Hitting

2023 Pioneer League season hitting records [6]
StatPlayerTeamTotal
HR Reese Alexiades Ogden Raptors 29
AVG Dondrei Hubbard Missoula PaddleHeads .395
RBIs Jaylen Hubbard Grand Junction Jackalopes 117
SB Payton Robertson Northern Colorado Owlz 62

Pitching

2023 Pioneer League season pitching records [6]
StatPlayerTeamTotal
W Alfredo Villa Missoula PaddleHeads 13
ERA Alfredo Villa Missoula PaddleHeads 2.82
SO Alfredo Villa Missoula PaddleHeads 129
SV Dan Kubiuk Ogden Raptors 15

Awards

End of year awards

2023 Pioneer League season end of year awards
AwardPlayerTeam
Most Valuable PlayerReese Alexiades Ogden Raptors
Pitcher of the YearAlfredo Villa Missoula PaddleHeads
Reliever of the YearDan Kubiuk Ogden Raptors
Rookie of the YearJohn Michael Faile / Ron Washington Jr. Billings Mustangs / Grand Junction Jackalopes
International Player of the YearAbdel Guadalupe Northern Colorado Owlz
Manager of the YearBilly Horton Billings Mustangs

All-star selections

Playoffs

Format

In the playoffs, first-half division winners will play second-half division winners in a best-of-three playoff. The division playoff winners will meet for a final best-of-three championship series. [8]

Playoff bracket

Division Series
(best-of-three)
Championship Series
(best-of-three)
North Division
Missoula PaddleHeads 5137
Billings Mustangs 838
Billings Mustangs 45X
South Division
Ogden Raptors 77X
Ogden Raptors 093
Rocky Mountain Vibes 1141

See also

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References

  1. "GJ Rockies Win Their First PBL Championship". 2022-09-20.
  2. "Meet the Grand Junction Jackalopes". November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  3. "THE PIONEER BASEBALL LEAGUE ANNOUNCES 2023 SCHEDULE". pioneerleague.com.
  4. "About the PBL - Pioneer League". pioneerleague.com.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2023 Pioneer League Standings". pioneerleague.com.
  6. 1 2 "2023 League Leaders - Pioneer League". pioneerleague.com.
  7. 1 2 "PIONEER LEAGUE ANNOUNCES 2023 SEASON ALL-STAR TEAM". pioneerleague.com. August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  8. "About the PBL - Pioneer League". pioneerleague.com.