Professional Baseball is back in Tucson in the form of the newly announced Tucson Toros!
Jay Zucker, former owner of the Sidewinders has announced he plans to bring professional baseball back to Tucson. Zucker has negotiated a deal to bring the Golden Baseball League to Tucson. The Golden Baseball League is unique in that it is a singular league unaffiliated with Major League Baseball or any of its Minor League systems. The Toros will play all of their home games at Hi Corbett Fieldstarting May 27, 2009.
The newly formed league will be entering its 5th season in existence.
The Toros will play 40 games at Hi Corbett Field and 40 on the road.
Hi Corbett Field, the 71 year old baseball park was last renovated in 1999, it is part of a complex including Reid park and Randolph park. Hi Corbett is less than 3 miles away from The University of Arizona.
The team plans on playing in the “South Division” of the league along with teams from Long Beach, Orange County and Yuma.
The team plans on playing with a new logo and set of colors as seen above.
There is hope that this new team can survive due to the renovation of the stadium and because the previous Toro team was able to find a following there. Former Toros players such as Carlo Colombino and Dave Rohde both believe when the Sidewinders moved from Hi Corbett Field the first time it was a mistake and blame the failure of the Sidewinders on the move.
In 1981, the Toros were able to attract a crowd of 12,863 at Hi Corbett Field where Tucson‘s population was less than half of what it is now.
Zucker is working hard to get Tucsonan's excited about baseball again, stating “The Toros will be part of the fastest growing baseball league in the world,” he proclaims. “While most professional franchise are affiliated one of 30 major league teams, there is a new breed of baseball and these teams are independent.”
The level of this play has been reported by baseball officials in the industry as up to the par of Double A Minor League baseball play. The league has even brought in famous names such as Ricky Henderson to play in the league as well as infamous names like Jose Canseco.
The league is surviving in Yuma, and if it is surviving in a market as small and isolated as Yuma than it has to have a chance of surviving in Tucson.