2020 Tucson Saguaros Season Recap - Champions of the Houston COVID League

There has never been another season in Pecos League history quite like 2020, and there may never be another one like it again. The Tucson Saguaros entered the year expecting to play professional baseball in Tucson, Arizona. Instead, they played their entire season in Houston, Texas. There were no home games at Kino Stadium, no traditional road trips through the Pecos League, no night games and no normal crowds. There were only four teams, one ballpark, the constant uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and daytime professional baseball played on artificial turf during the middle of a Houston summer.

Through all of it, one team clearly separated itself from everyone else: the Tucson Saguaros. Under first-year Tucson manager Sean McNeill, the Saguaros dominated the abbreviated Pecos League season and finished 26-4. They then swept the Salina Stockade in the Pecos League Championship Series, and on August 25 Tucson defeated Salina 7-2 in the championship-clinching game at Coastal Baseball Park. The Tucson Saguaros were the 2020 Pecos League Champions. It was the second championship in franchise history, and they won it without playing a single game in Tucson.

A Season That Almost Didn't Happen

When preparations began for the 2020 Pecos League season, nobody could have imagined what professional baseball was about to face. The COVID-19 pandemic brought organized sports throughout the United States to a halt. Ballparks closed, public gatherings were restricted and professional baseball leagues throughout the country postponed or canceled their seasons. The normal Pecos League model suddenly became impossible.

Pecos League teams normally operated in communities spread across several states, playing in municipal stadiums and relying heavily on fans, concessions, promotions and local sponsorships. In 2020, the league was not permitted to play games in its regular cities with fans. That presented a simple choice: cancel the season or find another way to play. The Pecos League chose to play.

The Pecos League Moves to Houston

The solution was Coastal Baseball Park in Houston, Texas. Rather than attempting to operate teams throughout the league's normal geographic footprint, the 2020 Pecos League season would be centralized at one facility. Four teams would participate: the Tucson Saguaros, Salina Stockade, Roswell Invaders and Houston Apollos. Every team would operate from Houston and every league game would be played there.

The arrangement effectively created a Pecos League COVID bubble before sports bubbles became a familiar concept throughout professional sports. For Tucson, it meant representing a city the team wouldn't actually visit during the season. Players wore Tucson Saguaros uniforms and played for the Tucson franchise, but their entire professional baseball existence that summer was based in Houston.

No Night Games

The conditions made the season even more unusual. There were no night games, with games routinely scheduled at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM. That meant professional baseball was being played during some of the hottest portions of summer days in Houston. The combination of heat, humidity and artificial turf became one of the defining challenges of the season.

The Pecos League would later describe daytime games in the middle of the Houston summer on turf as the season's "number one enemy," and it wasn't difficult to understand why. Players weren't simply trying to win professional baseball games. They were trying to withstand an environment unlike anything most of them had experienced during a normal season. Sean McNeill recognized the difference immediately. During Tucson's June exhibition schedule at Coastal Park, McNeill noted how overwhelming the Houston humidity was for his players. The Saguaros were going to have to adapt quickly, and they did.

Sean McNeill Takes Over the Saguaros

The 2020 season also marked the beginning of an important era in Tucson Saguaros history. Sean McNeill had been named Tucson's manager before anyone knew that COVID-19 would completely alter the season. McNeill already had extensive Pecos League experience. He had played for the Las Vegas Train Robbers in 2015 and the Salina Stockade in 2016 before moving into managing.

McNeill managed the Hollywood Stars travel team in 2017, the Ruidoso Osos in 2018 and the High Desert Yardbirds to the Pacific Division regular-season championship in 2019. For 2020, he was supposed to take over a Tucson franchise attempting to return to championship contention. Instead, his first season managing the Saguaros became a test of adaptability and survival. There was no normal blueprint for managing a professional baseball team through a pandemic, so McNeill and the Saguaros had to create one as they went.

Preparing for the Season at Coastal Park

Tucson began playing exhibition games at Coastal Baseball Park before the regular season. On June 20, the Saguaros defeated the Houston Hot Shots 4-3, with Blake Berry providing the decisive blow on a three-run home run while Jon Schultz pitched five innings. It was an early opportunity for Tucson's players to experience the conditions they would face throughout the summer.

The Saguaros even debuted their all-black jerseys during the game. Soon the exhibitions would end and the strangest regular season in Pecos League history was ready to begin.

Tucson Quickly Takes Control

Once the season began, it didn't take long for Tucson to establish itself as the team to beat. The Saguaros started winning immediately, defeating Roswell 5-4 on July 3 before beating the Houston Apollos 16-3 the following day. By July 9, Tucson had improved to 5-1 with a 13-4 victory over Houston, with Darian Fleming working six innings while James Prockish helped lead the offense.

The following afternoon, Tucson faced Salina, the team that would eventually become its primary competition for the championship. The Saguaros won 13-7, with Cody Earl pitching six innings to earn the victory. Tucson was 6-1, and the shortened season was already beginning to take shape.

Thomas DeBonville Emerges as an Offensive Force

Thomas DeBonville became one of the defining offensive players of Tucson's championship season. His ability to consistently reach base and produce hits helped drive a Saguaros lineup that routinely put pressure on opposing pitching staffs. On July 11 against Roswell, DeBonville produced one of his biggest performances of the season by going 5-for-5.

Erwin Real handled the pitching side, working five innings and striking out eight as Tucson defeated the Invaders 9-3. The Saguaros continued winning, and by July 15 Tucson was 8-1 after defeating Houston, with Nathan Etheridge going 4-for-6.

Three days later, Tucson beat Roswell again. Cody Earl pitched all nine innings, Danny Kerr homered and Nathan Etheridge collected two more hits as Tucson improved to 10-1. The Saguaros weren't merely leading the league. They were beginning to run away from it.

A Team Built for the Strange Circumstances

The 2020 Saguaros featured players who repeatedly surfaced in Tucson's victories throughout the summer. Thomas DeBonville became a major presence in the lineup, Nathan Etheridge provided power and consistent offensive production, Christopher Eusay contributed throughout the season and Danny Kerr provided another dangerous bat. Erwin Real contributed both offensively and on the mound, while pitchers including Cody Earl, Jake Lialios and Darian Fleming gave McNeill the innings necessary to survive the unusual condensed schedule.

There was another important characteristic that statistics couldn't measure. The Saguaros handled the circumstances. Everyone in the league was playing at the same facility. Everyone dealt with the same heat, uncertainty and COVID restrictions. Tucson simply handled those circumstances better than everyone else.

The Saguaros Keep Rolling

By July 23, Tucson was 12-3 after another victory over Roswell, with Thomas DeBonville going 4-for-4. The wins continued into August. On August 6, Tucson defeated Roswell 20-10 as Jake Lialios worked five innings and struck out six. DeBonville went 5-for-6 and Nathan Etheridge added two hits, moving Tucson to 17-3.

One day later, the Saguaros scored 17 more runs against Houston. Etheridge went 3-for-6 and homered, Chris Caffery went 3-for-3 and Tucson improved to 18-3. On August 10, the Saguaros defeated Roswell again, with Cody Earl pitching six innings and striking out five while Etheridge homered. Tucson was now 20-3. At that point, there was little question which team had been the best club in Houston. The only question was whether Tucson could finish the job.

The Constant Threat of COVID-19

Every victory occurred against a backdrop that went far beyond baseball. COVID-19 remained a constant threat to the season, and a positive outbreak could have changed everything. The league had already abandoned its traditional operating model simply to get games played, which made completing the season an accomplishment in itself.

There was little about the experience that resembled a normal summer of independent professional baseball. Players weren't traveling from Tucson to Roswell, Alpine, Santa Fe or other traditional Pecos League cities. They kept returning to the same field in Houston, the same dugouts, the same opponents and the same heat, day after day. Yet the games counted, the standings counted and there would be a Pecos League Champion.

One Final Regular-Season Statement

Tucson continued winning as the season approached its conclusion. On August 20, the Saguaros defeated the Houston Apollos 9-6, with Erwin Real going 3-for-3 and driving in three runs while Christopher Eusay scored twice. The Saguaros completed the regular season with an extraordinary 26-4 record, an .867 winning percentage.

No other team had been particularly close to Tucson over the course of the season. The Saguaros had clearly established themselves as the best team in Houston, but the Pecos League Championship still had to be won.

Tucson and Salina Meet for the Championship

The Salina Stockade emerged as Tucson's opponent in the 2020 Pecos League Championship Series. Salina had been the team most capable of challenging the Saguaros during the regular season and had even handed Tucson one of its rare losses, defeating the Saguaros 14-11 on July 22.

A short championship series offered little room for error, however. Tucson needed two victories and the Saguaros got both. Tucson won the opening game of the series, leaving one more victory between the Saguaros and the most unusual championship in Pecos League history.

August 25, 2020 - Houston, We Have a Champion

The final game began at 10:05 AM on August 25 at Coastal Baseball Park. In many ways, it was the perfect ending to the Houston COVID League: a morning baseball game in Houston in August with the Pecos League Championship at stake. Cody Earl started for Tucson and delivered when the Saguaros needed him most.

Tucson's offense provided the necessary support and the Saguaros defeated Salina 7-2. The final out completed a two-game Championship Series sweep. Tucson had done it. The Saguaros finished the season 26-4 and were Pecos League Champions. The Pecos League's announcement carried an appropriate headline: "Houston We Have a Champion."

And Then Came Hurricane Laura

Even the ending of the 2020 season seemed determined to remind everyone that this wasn't a normal year. The Pecos League completed its championship series only two days before Hurricane Laura was expected to reach the Gulf Coast as a major hurricane.

After surviving the pandemic, schedule changes, daytime games, Houston heat and an entire season based at one facility, the league completed its season just before another major threat arrived. Against enormous logistical challenges, the Pecos League had actually completed a professional baseball season, and Tucson had dominated it.

Does the 2020 Championship Count?

There was nothing traditional about Tucson's championship. The Saguaros didn't play in Tucson, the league had only four participating teams, the schedule was dramatically shorter than a normal Pecos League season, every team played at the same facility, there were no night games and there was no traditional home-field advantage.

But every team operated under those same conditions, and the championship absolutely counted. The Pecos League officially recognizes the Tucson Saguaros as its 2020 champion. The league's historical standings list Tucson at 26-4 and identify the Saguaros as champions after sweeping Salina.

Perhaps the strongest confirmation came one year later. When Tucson won the 2021 Pecos League Championship, the league officially referred to the Saguaros as the "back to back Pecos League Champion." That designation permanently established the Houston season as part of Tucson's championship history.

The Beginning of the Sean McNeill Era

The 2020 championship also looks even more significant when viewed as the beginning of Sean McNeill's tenure in Tucson. His first season managing the Saguaros produced a 26-4 record and a championship. His second season would produce another championship, and Tucson would continue developing into one of the Pecos League's most consistent postseason organizations under McNeill.

None of that was guaranteed when the Saguaros arrived in Houston in 2020. McNeill had taken over a franchise preparing for a normal season in Arizona. Instead, he had to manage a team through circumstances nobody had previously encountered. The result was one of the most dominant seasons in league history.

Tucson's Second Championship

The 2020 championship was the second title in Saguaros history. Tucson had entered the Pecos League in 2016 and immediately won the championship in its inaugural season. Four years later, the Saguaros were champions again.

The two titles could hardly have been more different. The 2016 championship had been celebrated at Kino Stadium in Tucson. In 2020, there was no championship celebration in front of a Tucson crowd, no packed home stadium and no traditional championship road through the Southern or Pacific Division. There was Coastal Baseball Park, there was Houston, there was the summer heat and there was a 26-4 baseball team that proved substantially better than everyone it played.

The Legacy of the 2020 Tucson Saguaros

Years later, the 2020 Tucson Saguaros remain one of the most unusual championship teams in Pecos League history. Their season exists almost as its own separate chapter in the league's history: the Houston COVID League. Four teams, one ballpark, no night games, daytime baseball on artificial turf in the Houston summer, the constant threat of COVID-19 and eventually a hurricane approaching the Gulf Coast as the season concluded.

Through all of it, Tucson went 26-4. The Saguaros swept the Championship Series, won their second Pecos League title and began a run that would become even more significant one year later when Tucson won the 2021 championship and officially became the Pecos League's back-to-back champion.

The 2020 Saguaros never played in Tucson, but they represented Tucson every day. When the strangest season in Pecos League history finally ended on an August morning in Houston, the team standing alone at the top was the Tucson Saguaros.

2020 Pecos League Champions. Final Record: 26-4. Championship Series: Tucson defeats Salina, 2 games to 0. Home for the entire season: Coastal Baseball Park - Houston, Texas.