Hello, Southern Oregon
baseball fans! And welcome to the official website of the NEW Southern
Oregon Timberjacks professional baseball team. This special website is
dedicated to bringing professional baseball back to the Rogue Valley.
It's been 10 years since the original Southern Oregon Timberjacks (of the
Northwest League) left town for Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and
became the Vancouver Canadians. And historic Miles Field has since been
torn down while a new ballpark has since opened for business - Harry & David
Field on South Pacific Highway across from the Harry & David World
Headquarters and plays host to high school, American Legion (Medford Mustangs) and
collegiate wood bat baseball (Southern Oregon River Dogs). Sadly, H&DF
is off-limits to professional teams who want to set up shop in the area.
There had been talk for years about bring a new pro team back to the
Rogue Valley. Now with the Golden Baseball League having a successful
run with nine current teams stretching from Arizona all the way up to
Alberta, fans and investors have been taking notice, especially those
in Southern Oregon!
At this website,
we look to bring a complete and detailed history of professional baseball
in the Rogue Valley from the Medford Nuggets/Rogues of the Far West
League to the Medford A's to the Southern Oregon A's to the Timberjacks
and the impact the hometown teams had in the Rogue Valley. We are also
going to update you on the progress being made to help make this dream
a full-fledged reality.
If you are a business
who like to help bring professional baseball back to the Rogue Valley,
please contact me at southernoregontimberjacks@gmail.com.
Don't hesitate to contact me personally. Don't give up on the dream!
As was said in Field Of
Dreams, 'If you build it, they will come!'
"Please help bring
professional baseball back to Southern Oregon!!!
Michael S. Summers,
founder of Southern Oregon Pro Sports Group, L.P./Timberjacks co-owner & team
president
Photos courtesy of
Charles O'Reilly and the Medford Mail Tribune
ATTENTION!!!
ATTENTION!!! ATTENTION!!!
Southern Oregon Pro Sports Group, L.P., the new
owner of the Southern Oregon Timberjacks brand, is hopeful that a group of
investors can come together to help make the dream of bringing professional
baseball back to the Rogue Valley become a reality. If you are a business
or businesses who would like to be a founding partner of our new expansion
team and are interested in making this dream a reality,
please contact me at southernoregontimberjacks@gmail.com.
YOU can make it happen.
~ Mike Summers,
founder of Southern Oregon Pro Sports Group, L.P. and Timberjacks team
president
Timberjacks considering
pushing back debut season to 2012! (03/10/2010): The
Southern Oregon Timberjacks are currently considering holding off on their
planned inaugural season a year from 2011 to 2012 because of ongoing lack
of exposure and a proper playing facility.
"It's been pretty
frustrating not having a chance to promote our team when I'm in Chico and
am not able to make it up to Southern Oregon to spread the word, "says team
president Mike Summers. "I am seriously considering putting this project and
franchise on hold for one year so we can continue to get our ducks in a row."
The Timberjacks brand is
now owned by Southern Oregon Pro Sports Group.
Arizona Summer League
sign-ups now going! (03/03/2010): This may be the opportunity
of a lifetime as this new professional showcase league enters its second year
after a great success in 2009. 100 players will be selected by the Arizona
Summer League to be showcased for a month this season in front of independent
minor league teams and major league organization's scouts. A minimum of ten
(10) players are guaranteed to be signed to Golden Baseball League professional
contracts for the duration of the 2010 season, with an option for 2011! And just
like the highly acclaimed Arizona Winter League, many more will be signed by
other independent leagues, foreign leagues, and even major league
organizations.
League action begins on
Sunday, June 20, 2010 at 10:00am and ends on Sunday, July 18, 2010 at 1:00pm at
Desert Sun Stadium in Yuma, Arizona. To read more on this story, log on to www.goldenbaseball.com/summer.
For more information on registration, click here.
Calgary Vipers follow up
GBL title with their first AWL title! 55 players signed! (03/02/2010): For the
first time in history, one team has captured both the Golden Baseball League
Championship and the Arizona Winter League Championship. That team is the
Calgary Vipers, and they did it with one calendar year. The AWL version of
the Vipers downed the San Luis Atleticos 8-1 in a game shortened to eight
innings due to rain to capture the title at Desert Sun Stadium in Yuma, Arizona.
But more important than that, 55 players were signed to professional contracts
with included one MLB contract! To read more on this story, click
here.
Timberjacks owner
suggests geographic rivalry and franchise move! (02/11/2010): Before any
assumptions are made about the future of the Southern Oregon Timberjacks, they
are not going anywhere. But team president Mike Summers is making a suggestion
to anyone who would like to bring a Golden Baseball League franchise to the
state of Washington. The suggested team is already established... the Long
Beach Armada!
"I believe that the state
of Washington would be a great place to have a GBL franchise," says Summers.
"But again, it's up to an ownership group and/or group of investors who would
to start a new team or help to relocate the Armada because of what is happening
in Long Beach. It's time for someone to 'step up to the plate', if you will,
and save the Armada!"
The Armada suspended
operations for the 2010 season and their future in the city of Long Beach is
in serious doubt because of the ongoing battle over the team's lease
with Blair Field, which doesn't expire for another couple of years. Legal
proceedings could come soon. But if the franchise, owned by the GBL, is forced
out by the city, they could fold. Though the league doesn't see that happening.
The state of Washington
has never had a GBL franchise, but they do have some well established teams in
other leagues such as the Everett Aquasox, Spokane Indians, Tri-City Dust Devils,
and Yakima Bears of the Northwest League, the Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific
Coast League, and (of course) the Seattle Mariners of MLB's American League. The
state's very first MLB franchise, the Seattle Pilots, played only one season
before relocating to Milwaukee.
