The Western Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in the Western United States and Western Canada. Its member teams were not associated with any Major League Baseball teams. It operated from 1995 to 2002. The league was founded in 1994 by Portland, Oregon, businessman Bruce L. Engel. It began play in 1995, with the following teams:
Mission Viejo is a commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities ever built under a single project in the United States and is rivaled only by Highlands Ranch in size. Its population as of 2020 was 93,653.
The Birmingham Barracudas were a Canadian football team that played the 1995 season in the Canadian Football League. The Barracudas were part of a failed attempt to expand the CFL into the United States.
Jack Thomas Snow Jr. is an American former professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played as a first baseman in Major League Baseball from 1992 to 2006, most notably as a member of the San Francisco Giants. Snow excelled as a defensive player, winning six consecutive Gold Glove Awards as a first baseman between 1995 and 2000. After his playing career, Snow worked in radio and television broadcasting. He has also worked as a special assistant to the General Manager for the Giants.
Saddleback College (Saddleback) is a public community college in Mission Viejo, California. It is part of the California Community College system and awards over 300 associate degrees, academic certificates, and occupational skills awards in 190 programs. Established in 1968, Saddleback is the oldest and southernmost institution governed by the South Orange County Community College District. Saddleback College is named for the saddle between the twin peaks of Santiago Peak and Modjeska Peak in the Cleveland National Forest.
Ladera Ranch is a master-planned community and census-designated place located in south Orange County, California, just outside the city limits of Mission Viejo.
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 with either Major League Baseball or Minor League Baseball. The Armada played its home games at Blair Field.
Tesoro High School is a public high school in southern Orange County area of Las Flores, California, United States. Established in the fall of 2001, Tesoro is 1 of 6 regular high schools in the Capistrano Unified School District. As of the 2014–2015 year, Tesoro serves nearly 2500 students in grades 9–12. Students attending Tesoro are within the cities of Rancho Santa Margarita, Las Flores, Ladera Ranch, Coto de Caza and Mission Viejo.
Trabuco Hills High School is a high school in Mission Viejo, California, United States. It is in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District.
Blair Field is a stadium in Long Beach, California. It originally opened in 1956 and is primarily used for baseball. It holds 3,238 people. It is named for Frank Blair, the sports editor for the Long Beach Press-Telegram newspaper for 32 years.
Bret Edward Barberie is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago Cubs. Before his professional career, Barberie attended the University of Southern California (USC) and played college baseball for the USC Trojans, and played for the United States national baseball team in the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Baseball World Cup.
The Mission Viejo Vigilantes were a minor league baseball team located in Mission Viejo, California. The team played in the independent Western Baseball League, and was not affiliated with any Major League Baseball team. Their home stadium was Mission Viejo Stadium near Saddleback College.
Lawrence Kyle Abbott is a former American professional baseball player. In a five-year career, Abbott played four seasons for the California Angels and Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB), as well as one season for the Kintetsu Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He was officially listed as standing 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm) and weighing 200 pounds (91 kg).
José Franco Tolentino is a Mexican former professional first baseman who played in Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball. He played for the Houston Astros in 1991. He was a coach for the Mexico national baseball team during the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Long Beach State athletics, or simply Beach athletics, are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Long Beach. Teams compete in 19 sports at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level. Long Beach State is a founding member of the Big West Conference, and also competes in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and the Golden Coast Conference for sports not sponsored by the Big West.
After the movie A League of Their Own, a fictional movie based on the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, several women's baseball leagues were attempted, including Ladies League Baseball, which began play in 1997. The first five teams in the league were the San Jose Spitfire, San Francisco Bay Sox, Long Beach Aces, Phoenix Peppers and Los Angeles Legends.
The 2011 Little League World Series took place in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, between August 18 and 28. Eight teams from the United States and eight from elsewhere in the world competed in the 65th edition of this tournament. Ocean View Little League of Huntington Beach, California, defeated Hamamatsu Minami Little League of Hamamatsu City, Japan, in the championship game. Nick Pratto hit an RBI single to clinch the title for Ocean View.
Sports in Orange County, California includes a number of sports teams and sports competitions. Within Orange County, the city of Anaheim currently hosts two major league sports teams — MLB's Los Angeles Angels and the NHL's Anaheim Ducks — and used to host two others.
Patrick Jordan Sandoval is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB).
The Long Beach Beachcombers was the final moniker of the minor league baseball teams based in Long Beach, California in 1910 and 1913. Long Beach teams played as members of the Class D level Southern California Trolley League in 1910 and the Southern California League in 1913.
