Round Rock Express

Round Rock Express
Founded in 1979
Round Rock, Texas
Team logoCap insignia
Class-level
Current Triple-A (2005–present)
Minor league affiliations
League Pacific Coast League (2005–present)
Conference American Conference
Division Southern Division
Major league affiliations
Current Texas Rangers (2011–present)
Previous Houston Astros (2005–2010)
Montreal Expos (2003–2004)
Minnesota Twins (2001–2002)
Anaheim Angels (1999–2000)
Oakland Athletics (1995–1998)
Florida Marlins (1993–1994)
California Angels (1983–1992)
Chicago White Sox (1981–1982)
Oakland Athletics (1979–1980)
Minor league titles
League titles (4)
  • 1984
  • 1996
  • 1997
  • 2002
Conference titles (2)
  • 2006
  • 2015
Division titles (11)
  • 1984
  • 1990
  • 1996
  • 1997
  • 2001
  • 2002
  • 2003
  • 2004
  • 2006
  • 2011
  • 2015
Team data
Nickname Round Rock Express (2005–present)
Previous names
 Edmonton Trappers (1981–2004)
Ogden A's (1979–1980)
Colors Blue, red, white, silver
                   
Mascot Spike
Ballpark Dell Diamond (2005–present)
Previous parks
 Telus Field (1995–2004)
John Ducey Park (1981–1994)
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
 Ryan-Sanders Baseball
Manager Jason Wood
General Manager Chris Almendarez

The Round Rock Express are a class Triple-A Pacific Coast League minor league baseball team in Round Rock, Texas,[1] owned by RSR Sports (Nolan Ryan, Don Sanders, Reid Ryan) and founded by Reid Ryan, son of Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.[2] The team is affiliated with the Texas Rangers.[3] Home games for the Round Rock Express are played at the Dell Diamond, a facility that is owned by the City of Round Rock and leased long-term to RSR Sports, who run and maintain the facility.[4] The team is named after the senior Ryan's pitcher nickname, "The Ryan Express".[5]

Franchise

The Round Rock Express play home games at the Dell Diamond

The Round Rock Express operated as the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros for 5 years from 2000 to 2004. The Ryan group purchased the PCL Edmonton Trappers franchise in 2003 with the intention of moving the team to Round Rock after the 2004 season. At that time, the Trappers were affiliated with the Montreal Expos. The Express group wanted to maintain its affiliation with the Astros at the Round Rock site; therefore, the Trappers/Express franchise exchanged major league affiliates after the 2004 season with the New Orleans Zephyrs. Several weeks after this switch, the Expos announced their move to Washington, D.C. as the Washington Nationals. In terms of players on the roster, the 2005 Round Rock Express contained a mixture of players from the 2004 New Orleans Zephyrs (players that stayed at Triple-A) and the 2004 Round Rock Express (promoted from Double-A); the 2004 Edmonton Trappers players were either playing as New Orleans Zephyrs or Washington Nationals.

An Express game in the Dell Diamond at night

The original Express franchise has remained under Ryan ownership. After the purchase of the Triple-A PCL franchise, the Ryans announced that the Double-A Texas League club would move to Corpus Christi, Texas, for the 2005 season. That franchise remains the Double-A affiliate of the Astros as the Corpus Christi Hooks.

In 2006, two seasons after moving from Edmonton, the Round Rock Express clinched the Southern Division of the league's American Conference with a win–loss record of 85–59. After defeating the Nashville Sounds in five games to take the American Conference championship, they advanced to the PCL Championship Series, but lost to the Tucson Sidewinders in three straight games.

In 2011, after 6 seasons of serving as the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, and 11 seasons of being affiliated with the Astros overall, the Express became the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Attendance figures have dropped around 10% since changing affiliations from Houston to Texas (see table below). The top 10 season attendances all occurred in the 11 seasons the team was affiliated with Houston.

In 2016, Forbes listed the Express as the sixth-most valuable Minor League Baseball team with a value of $40 million.[6]

Year-by-year win-loss records

Dell Diamond attendance

Season average attendance[8][9]
Season Average Games Total attendance Affiliation
2000 9,430 70 660,110 Houston Astros AA
2001 9,554 70 668,792 Houston Astros AA
2002 9,573 70 670,176 Houston Astros AA
2003 9,799 70 685,973 Houston Astros AA
2004 9,847 70 689,286 Houston Astros AA
2005 9,726 72 700,277 Houston Astros AAA
2006 9,413 72 677,706 Houston Astros AAA
2007 9,466 70 662,595 Houston Astros AAA
2008 9,286 72 668,623 Houston Astros AAA
2009 8,707 72 626,899 Houston Astros AAA
2010 8,408 71 596,985 Houston Astros AAA
2011 8,587 72 618,261 Texas Rangers AAA
2012 8,389 71 595,584 Texas Rangers AAA
2013 8,181 72 589,042 Texas Rangers AAA
2014 8,390 71 595,700 Texas Rangers AAA
2015 8,623 69 595,012 Texas Rangers AAA
2016 8,627 71 613,226 Texas Rangers AAA
Attendance ranking by affiliation (through 2016)
Rank Average Affiliation Seasons Games Total attendance
1 9,381 Houston Astros 11 779 7,307,422
2 8,467 Texas Rangers 6 426 3,606,825

Notable alumni

Roster

Round Rock Express roster
Players Coaches/Other

Pitchers

Catchers

  •  2 Jhonniel Alvarez
  •  3 Patrick Cantwell

Infielders

Outfielders

  •  9 Preston Beck

Manager

Coaches



7-day disabled list
* On Texas Rangers 40-man roster
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporary inactive list
Roster updated December 3, 2016
Transactions
→ More MiLB rosters
→ Texas Rangers minor league players

On camera

  • The Simple Life is a reality television series that was broadcast from December 2, 2003 to August 5, 2007. The first three seasons aired on Fox, and the final two on E!. The comedic show depicts two wealthy young socialites (Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie) as they struggle to do manual, low-paying jobs such as cleaning rooms, doing farm work, serving meals in fast-food restaurants and working as camp counselors. Season 2, Episode 15 took place during a Round Rock Express baseball game.[11]
  • The team made headlines in 2010 when it "signed" Billy Ray "Rojo" Johnson, described in a press release as an East Texan who grew up in Venezuela and had run-ins with the law. In reality, Johnson was actor Will Ferrell, who briefly took the mound at Dell Diamond to promote his nearby charity golf tournament.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Official Site of Minor League Baseball and the Round Rock Express". Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  2. ↑ Jacobs, Janet (14 January 2011). "Dell Roots, Roots, Roots for the Home Team". Austin American-Statesman.
  3. ↑ Garrett (Sports Editor), Jon (August 6, 2010). "Ryan victory felt in Round Rock". Round Rock Leader.
  4. ↑ "The Dell Diamond". 16 April 2005.
  5. ↑ "NOLAN RYAN, THE MAN: Profile, History, Facts and Figures". C&D Publishers. 1998. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  6. ↑ Klebnikov, Sergei (July 8, 2016). "Minor League Baseball's Most Valuable Teams – 6. Round Rock Express". Forbes. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  7. ↑ "2013 Round Rock Express Season Notes" (PDF). Retrieved June 1, 2014.
  8. ↑ thebaseballcube.com, Round Rock Express Team Pages, 2000-2004.
  9. ↑ milb.com, PCL Attendance Tables, 2005-Present.
  10. ↑ "The Rookie - 2002". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
  11. ↑ List provided by the Texas Film Commission: Katie Kelley, Office Manager - Texas Film Commission, Email, July 23, 2009
  12. ↑ MLB.com, "Will Ferrell pitches, entertains in Round Rock", May 7, 2010.
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