2023 Pioneer League season
The 2023 Pioneer League season is the 80th season of professional baseball in the Pioneer League, an independent baseball league in the Western United States, since its creation in 1939. There are 10 Pioneer League teams, split evenly between North and South divisions.
| 2023 Pioneer League season | |
|---|---|
| League | Pioneer League |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | May 23 – September 9 (Playoffs: TBD) |
| Number of games | 96 (480 games in total) |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| North Division | |
| South Division | |
| Pioneer League Championship | |
The Grand Junction Rockies (now named Grand Junction Jackalopes) entered the season as the defending champions, having defeated the Missoula PaddleHeads, two games to zero, in the league's 2022 championship series.[1]
Season schedule
The 10 teams in the league are split evenly between two divisions, North and South. The Grand Junction Rockies changed their name to the Grand Junction Jackalopes.[2]
Over the course of the season, each team will play 96 games in a split schedule between the North Division (Billings, Missoula, Great Falls, Glacier, and Idaho Falls) and the South Division (NoCo, Rocky Mountain, Grand Junction, Boise, and Ogden) with the first half ending on July 16 and the second half ending on September 9.[3] In the playoffs, first-half division winners will play second-half division winners in a best-of-three playoff. The division playoff winners will meet for a final best-of-three championship series.[4]
Regular season standings
First half standings
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | y – Missoula PaddleHeads | 48 | 35 | 13 | .729 | -- |
| 2 | e – Glacier Range Riders | 46 | 31 | 15 | .674 | 3.0 |
| 3 | e – Billings Mustangs | 48 | 19 | 29 | .396 | 16.0 |
| 4 | e – Great Falls Voyagers | 46 | 15 | 31 | .326 | 19.0 |
| 5 | e – Idaho Falls Chukars | 48 | 15 | 33 | .313 | 20.0 |
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | y – Ogden Raptors | 48 | 31 | 17 | .646 | -- |
| 2 | e – Boise Hawks | 48 | 28 | 20 | .583 | 3.0 |
| 3 | e – Northern Colorado Owlz | 47 | 23 | 24 | .489 | 7.5 |
| 4 | e – Rocky Mountain Vibes | 47 | 20 | 27 | .426 | 10.5 |
| 5 | e – Grand Junction Jackalopes | 48 | 20 | 28 | .417 | 11.0 |
Second half standings
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Missoula PaddleHeads | 18 | 13 | 5 | .722 | -- |
| 2 | Great Falls Voyagers | 17 | 10 | 7 | .588 | 2.5 |
| 3 | Billings Mustangs | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 4.0 |
| 4 | Glacier Range Riders | 18 | 6 | 12 | .333 | 7.0 |
| 5 | Idaho Falls Chukars | 18 | 6 | 12 | .333 | 7.0 |
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rocky Mountain Vibes | 19 | 13 | 6 | .684 | -- |
| 2 | Grand Junction Jackalopes | 19 | 10 | 9 | .526 | 3.0 |
| 3 | Northern Colorado Owlz | 19 | 10 | 9 | .563 | 3.0 |
| 4 | Boise Hawks | 19 | 8 | 11 | .421 | 5.0 |
| 5 | Ogden Raptors | 19 | 7 | 12 | .368 | 6.0 |
Full season standings
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x – Missoula PaddleHeads | 66 | 48 | 18 | .727 | -- |
| 2 | Glacier Range Riders | 64 | 37 | 27 | .578 | 10.0 |
| 3 | Billings Mustangs | 66 | 28 | 38 | .424 | 20.0 |
| 4 | Great Falls Voyagers | 63 | 25 | 38 | .397 | 21.5 |
| 5 | Idaho Falls Chukars | 66 | 21 | 45 | .318 | 27.0 |
| Pos | Team | G | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x – Ogden Raptors | 67 | 38 | 29 | .567 | -- |
| 2 | Boise Hawks | 67 | 36 | 31 | .537 | 2.0 |
| 3 | Northern Colorado Owlz | 66 | 33 | 33 | .500 | 4.5 |
| 4 | Rocky Mountain Vibes | 66 | 33 | 33 | .500 | 4.5 |
| 5 | Grand Junction Jackalopes | 67 | 30 | 37 | .448 | 8.0 |
- y – Clinched division
- x – Clinched playoff spot
- e – Eliminated from playoff contention
Statistical leaders
as of August 7, 2023
Hitting
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR | Reese Alexiades | Ogden Raptors | 22 |
| AVG | Jake McMurray | Rocky Mountain Vibes | .500 |
| RBIs | Jaylen Hubbard | Grand Junction Jackalopes | 92 |
| SB | Payton Robertson | Northern Colorado Owlz | 46 |
Pitching
| Stat | Player | Team | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| W | Brock Gilliam, Alfredo Villa | Ogden Raptors, Missoula PaddleHeads | 8 |
| ERA | Zach Penrod | Missoula PaddleHeads | 3.08 |
| SO | Alfredo Villa | Missoula PaddleHeads | 90 |
| SV | Dan Kubiuk | Ogden Raptors | 12 |
Awards
End of year awards
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | TBD | TBD |
| Pitcher of the Year | TBD | TBD |
| Rookie of the Year | TBD | TBD |
| Manager of the Year | TBD | TBD |
All-star selections
|
|
Playoffs
Format
In the playoffs, first-half division winners will play second-half division winners in a best-of-three playoff. The division playoff winners will meet for a final best-of-three championship series.[8]
Playoff bracket
| Division Series (best-of-three) | Championship Series (best-of-three) | |||||||||||
North Division | ||||||||||||
| Missoula PaddleHeads | ||||||||||||
South Division | ||||||||||||
| Ogden Raptors | ||||||||||||
See also
References
- "GJ Rockies Win Their First PBL Championship". 2022-09-20.
- "Meet the Grand Junction Jackalopes". November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
- "THE PIONEER BASEBALL LEAGUE ANNOUNCES 2023 SCHEDULE". pioneerleague.com.
- "About the PBL - Pioneer League". pioneerleague.com.
- "2023 Pioneer League Standings". pioneerleague.com.
- "2023 League Leaders - Pioneer League". pioneerleague.com.
- "PIONEER LEAGUE ANNOUNCES 2023 SEASON ALL-STAR TEAM". pioneerleague.com. August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
- "About the PBL - Pioneer League". pioneerleague.com.