Classification | Independent |
---|---|
Sport | Baseball |
Founded | 2020 |
Ceased | 2020 |
No. of teams | 4 |
Country | United States |
Headquarters | Sugar Land, Texas |
Venue(s) | Constellation Field |
Last champion(s) | Sugar Land Skeeters [lower-alpha 1] |
The Constellation Energy League was an independent baseball league that operated in Texas during 2020 because of COVID-19 restrictions limiting travel, and as a way to create opportunities for minor league players. [1]
The league consisted of four teams, [2] each managed by a former Major League Baseball (MLB) player: [3]
Team | Manager | Roster |
---|---|---|
Eastern Reyes del Tigre | Dave Eiland | link |
Sugar Land Lightning Sloths | Greg Swindell | link |
Sugar Land Skeeters [lower-alpha 2] | Pete Incaviglia | link |
Team Texas | Roger Clemens and son Koby Clemens | link |
The teams were made up of former MLB players as well as other minor league and independent professional players. Each team was scheduled to play 28 games, including seven-inning doubleheaders every weekend. [4] The league's season was planned to begin on July 3, but was pushed back to July 10 due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. [5] Even with the delay, the league began play two weeks before the start of the 2020 MLB season. [6]
All games were played at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas. [7] Parking was included with ticket prices to limit staff and fan interactions and up to 1800 ticket-holders were seated in a socially distanced fashion within the 7500-seat stadium. [8] No games were canceled due to COVID-19 cases, and the league operated for five weeks without any positive COVID-19 test results. [9] Players received $1600 per month, with exposure to MLB teams being the main reason for playing; at least five players in the league were subsequently added to MLB rosters. [3]
The Sugar Land Skeeters finished with the best record in the four-team league. [10] [11] [lower-alpha 1] A most-valuable player (MVP) was named for each team. [15]
Team | Record | Win pct. | MVP (statistics) |
---|---|---|---|
Sugar Land Skeeters | 17–11 | .607 | Dustin Peterson (.309/.400/.500 slash line) |
Eastern Reyes Del Tigre | 14–14 | .500 | Ford Proctor (.346/.500/.679 slash line) |
Sugar Land Lightning Sloths | 14–14 | .500 | Jamie Westbrook (18 RBIs, 5 home runs) |
Team Texas | 11–17 | .393 | Kody Clemens (.416 slugging percentage) |
An all-star team was also named: [16]
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