Gulf Coast League


The Gulf Coast League is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Together with the Arizona League, it forms the lowest rung on the North American minor-league ladder.
GCL teams play at the minor league spring training complexes of their parent Major League Baseball clubs and are owned by those parent clubs. Admission is not charged and no concessions are operated at the teams' games. The players assigned to this level are first-year players who are drafted in the MLB entry draft a few weeks prior to the start of the GCL season, and emphasis is therefore placed on skill development, rather than competitive play.

History

Prior to the formation of this league, three separate leagues used the Gulf Coast League name, a 1907–1908 Class D league, a 1926 class D league and a 1951–1953 Class C League.
The 1907 founding members were the Alexandria White Sox, Lafayette Browns, Lake Charles Creoles, Monroe Municipals, Opelousas Indians and Orange Hoos-Hoos.
The 1951-53 version featured the Brownsville Charros, Corpus Christi Aces, Galveston White Caps, Harlingen Capitals, Lake Charles Lakers, Laredo Apaches, Port Arthur Seahawks and Texas City Texans. All three leagues operated around the Gulf coasts of Texas and Louisiana.
Complex-based baseball leagues, which played before sparse crowds and often scheduled morning games to avoid the summer heat and afternoon thunderstorms, were adopted after the drastic shrinking of minor league baseball during the 1950s and 1960s. MLB teams needed an entry level to professional baseball for 18- and 19-year-old players graduating from high schools or signed from Latin America. They are typically considered the lowest rung on the minor league ladder, a notch below other Rookie-level leagues such as the Appalachian or the Pioneer circuits.
The league was founded in 1964 as the Sarasota Rookie League with four teams playing in Sarasota. It was originally intended to be the Gulf Coast division of a statewide rookie league, with the eastern division based in Cocoa. However, the eastern and western teams never played each other. The SRL's four teams consisted of squads sponsored by the Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Braves, New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals. The SRL Braves, managed by Paul Snyder, future Atlanta farm system director, won the championship with a 36–23 record.
The league added teams in Bradenton in 1965 and changed its name to the Florida Rookie League.
The league adopted its current name, Gulf Coast League, for the 1966 season. It expanded to Florida's east coast in the 1990s.
On June 21, 2016, the GCL hired Jen Pawol, the first female umpire in Minor League Baseball since 2007, and the first in the GCL since 1978. In 2017 the GCL hired another woman umpire, Emma Charlesworth-Seiler.
The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before ultimately being cancelled on June 30.

League procedures

The league plays a 52- to 56-game season that runs from mid-June to late August. Following the relocation of the Atlanta Braves spring training complex in 2019, teams in the league were divided into three divisions: East, North, and South. The three division winners plus a wild-card team play in a one-game semifinal; the team with the best regular-season record plays the wild-card team, while the division winner with the second-best record plays the division winner with the third-best record. The semifinal winners meet in a best-of-3 game series for the Gulf Coast League championship.

Current teams

GCL teams are not referred to by their home city, but simply by their parent club's name, the prefix "GCL" or "Gulf Coast" if necessary to differentiate between them and another club sharing the nickname, and a cardinal number if the parent club sponsors more than one team in the league. Some of these teams share stadiums with their club's High-A affiliate in the Florida State League, which can lead to confusion, as FSL teams do use the city name.
The New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, and Philadelphia Phillies began fielding two teams in 2013, 2016, and 2018, the first time since 1981 when the Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals did so.
DivisionTeamMLB AffiliationCityStadiumCapacity
EastGCL AstrosHouston AstrosWest Palm Beach, FloridaFITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches6,500
EastGCL CardinalsSt. Louis CardinalsJupiter, FloridaRoger Dean Stadium7,200
EastGCL MarlinsMiami MarlinsJupiter, FloridaRoger Dean Stadium7,200
EastGCL MetsNew York MetsPort St. Lucie, FloridaClover Park7,160
EastGCL NationalsWashington NationalsWest Palm Beach, FloridaFITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches6,500
NorthGCL Blue JaysToronto Blue JaysDunedin, FloridaBobby Mattick Training Center at Englebert Complex5,500
NorthGCL Phillies EastPhiladelphia PhilliesClearwater, FloridaCarpenter Complex500
NorthGCL Phillies WestPhiladelphia PhilliesClearwater, FloridaCarpenter Complex500
NorthGCL Tigers EastDetroit TigersLakeland, FloridaPublix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium8,500
NorthGCL Tigers WestDetroit TigersLakeland, FloridaPublix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium8,500
NorthGCL Yankees EastNew York YankeesTampa, FloridaGeorge M. Steinbrenner Field11,000
NorthGCL Yankees WestNew York YankeesTampa, FloridaGeorge M. Steinbrenner Field11,000
SouthGCL BravesAtlanta BravesNorth Port, FloridaCoolToday Park9,500
SouthGCL OriolesBaltimore OriolesSarasota, FloridaEd Smith Stadium8,340
SouthGCL PiratesPittsburgh PiratesBradenton, FloridaPirate City7,500
SouthGCL RaysTampa Bay RaysPort Charlotte, FloridaCharlotte Sports Park7,000
SouthGCL Red SoxBoston Red SoxFort Myers, FloridaJetBlue Park at Fenway South8,000
SouthGCL TwinsMinnesota TwinsFort Myers, FloridaLee County Sports Complex7,500

Past teams