Cleburne Railroaders

American independent professional baseball team

Cleburne Railroaders

Information
League| American Association of Professional Baseball (East Division)
Location| Cleburne, Texas
Ballpark| La Moderna Field
Founded| 2017
Colors| Caboose Red, Steel Rail Blue, Whistle Post White

Manager| Pete Incaviglia
Website| railroaderbaseball.com

The Cleburne Railroaders are a professional baseball team based in Cleburne, Texas, that plays in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball.[1] The team, which began play in 2017, plays its home games at La Modern Field.[2]

## History

[edit]

A different team known as the Cleburne Railroaders played in the Texas League, where they won the 1906 championship.[3] The team won the 1911 Texas–Oklahoma League championship. They played their home games at Gorman's Park, now part of Hulen Park.

The modern Railroaders were announced as an expansion franchise in the American Association on October 6, 2016.[4] The team plays in the Depot, a new US$25 million stadium that was recognized as the fan-favorite independent stadium by Ballpark Digest in 2017.[5]

On June 12, 2020, it was announced that the Railroaders were one of six teams that would not be participating in the 2020 American Association season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]

### New ownership

[edit]

The Cleburne Railroaders announced three new additions to their ownership group: Neil Leibman, Alan Miller, and Jon Ryan.[7] Leibman is the Texas Rangers Chief Operating Officer and President of Business Operations and owns multiple professional sports teams.[8] Miller is the owner of COLLiDE Agency and Ryan is a former NFL player and are part owners of the Portland Pickles independent baseball team located in Oregon. These additions to the ownership team came about in 2021 and these three will help in preparation for the upcoming season.

### New colors

[edit]

The Railroaders colors have changed from orange and blue to colors that are inspired by the flag of Texas. The new colors are: caboose red, steel rail blue and whistle post white.[9]

### New uniforms

[edit]

The Railroaders will have three uniforms for this upcoming 2021 season. The home uniform is a white jersey with 'Railroaders' script across the chest. The pants are white with red and navy piping, the numbers are red, and on the sleeve there are Gandy and American Association patches. The away jerseys consist of a grey jersey and grey pants with the same patches as the home uniforms on the sleeves. Lastly, there is the Heritage uniform which features a navy blue top and grey pants with stirrups mimicking the ones worn by the original Railroaders team back in 1906.[9]

## Gandy

[edit]

Railroaders also introduced a new mascot to their team, known as Gandy. Gandy will join Spike, the original mascot, in representing the Railroaders and what they stand for. Gandy's background is that he was a part of the Santa Fe railroad track maintenance gang. These maintenance gangs were known as Gandy Dancers because they would sing a variety of songs while they were working on the track.[9]

## Season-by-season records

[edit]

Cleburne Railroaders season records Season  | League  | Division  | Regular Season  | Postseason  | Manager  | Ref

|
|
|
|
|
|

Record  | Win%  | Division  | GB  | Record  | Win%  | Result
2017 | AA | South | 47–53 | .470 | 2nd  | 14.5  | Did not qualify  |  |
2018 | AA | South | 33–66 | .333 | 5th  | 37.5  | Did not qualify  |  |
2019 | AA | South | 57–43 | .570 | 3rd  | 1  | Did not qualify  |  |
2020 | AA | South | On hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
2021 | AA | South | 54–46 | .540  | 2nd  | 15  | 0–1  | .000  | Lost Wild Card Game 4–0 to Sioux City Explorers | Logan Watkins |
2022  | AA  | East  | 50–50  | .500  | 4th  | 4  | 2–3  | .400  | Won East Division Semi Finals 2–1 to Kane County Cougars, Lost East Division Championship 2–0 Milwaukee Milkmen | Logan Watkins  |
2023  | AA  | East  | 46–54  | .460  | 4th  | 10  |  |  |  |  |
2024  | AA  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## Roster

[edit]

Cleburne Railroaders roster

* v
* t
* e

Active (25-man) roster | Coaches/Other

|

Pitchers

* 32 Dylan Bice
* 18 Luke Boyd
* 25 Beau Burrows
* 23 Jacob Gilliland
* 36 Kyle Johnston
* 31 Theo McDowell
* 16 Kade Mechals
* 2 Jalen Miller
* 33 Chris Muller
* 40 Brady Puckett
* 28 Kristian Scott
* 20 Caleb Smith
* 38 Johnathon Tripp
* 30 Antonio Velez
* 34 Mark Washington

|  |

Catchers

* 27 Blake Grant-Parks
* 11 Jaxx Groshans

Infielders

* 13 Carter Aldrete
* 7 Bret Boswell
* 10 Thomas Dillard
* 4 Shed Long Jr.

Outfielders

* 3 Hill Alexander
* 9 Blaze Brothers
* 29 Korey Holland
* 1 Jesus Lujano
* 21 Brian O'Grady

|  |

Manager

* 5 Pete Incaviglia

Coaches

* 14 Brooks Carey (bench)
* 22 Billy Horn (pitching)
* 13 Rudy Jaramillo (hitting)
* Jacob Popoff (clubhouse manager)
* Arturo Valles (trainer)

Disabled list
‡ Inactive list
§ Suspended list

Roster updated August 9, 2024
Transactions

## Notable alumni

[edit]

* Mitch Glasser (2017)
* Shawn Zarraga (2017)
* Winston Abreu (2017)
* Rafael Palmeiro (2018)
* Ryan Brett (2019)
* Nefi Ogando (2019)
* Daniel Robertson (2019)
* Bubby Rossman (2019)
* Ozzie Martínez (2021)
* Logan Verrett (2021)
* Jacob Rhame (2021)
* D. J. Peterson (2021)
* Michael Mariot (2021, 2023)
* Nick Gardewine (2021–2023)
* Nick Shumpert (2022)
* Héctor Sánchez (2022)
* Hunter Cervenka (2022)
* Kevin McCarthy (2022)
* Josh Lucas (2022)
* Zac Reininger (2022)
* Wyatt Mathisen (2022)
* Riley Smith (2023)
* Delino DeShields Jr. (2023)
* Bret Boswell (2023–present)
* Chris Muller (2024–present)
* Brian O'Grady (2024–present)
* Thomas Dillard (2024–present)
* Shed Long Jr. (2024–present)
* Trent Giambrone (2024)
* Seth Romero (2024)
* Beau Burrows (2024–present)
* Caleb Smith (2024–present)

## Further reading

[edit]

* Cleburne Baseball: A Railroader History by Scott Cain[10]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Reichard, Kevin (September 24, 2020). "American Association, Frontier League now MLB Partner Leagues". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
2. ^ Smith, Matt (June 13, 2016). "The Depot stadium construction begins". Cleburne Times-Review. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
3. ^ "League Champions". October 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
4. ^ "Cleburne Railroaders join American Association". American Association of Independent Baseball. October 6, 2016. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016.
5. ^ "Best of the Ballparks 2017, Independent Baseball: The Depot at Cleburne Station". Ballpark Digest. July 3, 2017. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
6. ^ "Independent American Association to start baseball season July 3 with limited fans". ESPN. June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
7. ^ Francis, Robert (March 18, 2021). "Texas Rangers executive, others added to Cleburne Railroaders ownership group". Fort Worth Business Press. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
8. ^ Stevenson, Stefan (March 17, 2021). "Texas Rangers President, Former NFL Punter Join Cleburne Railroaders Ownership Group". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
9. ^ a b c Crisp, A. J. "Railroader makeover; New colors, logos, uniforms 'put Cleburne on the map'". Cleburne Times-Review. Retrieved March 24, 2021.
10. ^ Cain, Scott (2017). Cleburne Baseball: A Railroader History. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press. ISBN 9781467137010. OCLC 959035985.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

American Association of Professional Baseball

East Division|

* Chicago Dogs
* Cleburne Railroaders
* Gary SouthShore RailCats
* Kane County Cougars
* Lake Country DockHounds
* Milwaukee Milkmen

West Division|

* Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
* Kansas City Monarchs
* Lincoln Saltdogs
* Sioux City Explorers
* Sioux Falls Canaries
* Winnipeg Goldeyes

* All-Star Game
* Championship
* Rosters
* Baseball Champions League Americas

* v
* t
* e

Sports teams based in Texas

Baseball|

MLB
Houston Astros
Texas Rangers
PCL
El Paso Chihuahuas
Round Rock Express
Sugar Land Space Cowboys

Amarillo Sod Poodles
Corpus Christi Hooks
Frisco RoughRiders
Midland RockHounds
San Antonio Missions
LMB
Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos

Cleburne Railroaders

Alpine Cowboys
Austin Weirdos
Pecos Bills

Basketball|

NBA
Dallas Mavericks
Houston Rockets
San Antonio Spurs
G League
Austin Spurs
Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Texas Legends
WNBA
Dallas Wings
ABA
Dallas Impact
IBL
Texas Lone Star Strikers

Football|

NFL
Dallas Cowboys
Houston Texans
UFL
Arlington Renegades
Houston Roughnecks
San Antonio Brahmas
AFL
West Texas Desert Hawks
IFL
Frisco Fighters
San Antonio Gunslingers
WFA
Arlington Impact
Austin Outlaws
Dallas Elite
Houston Power
IWFL
Austin Yellow Jackets
Houston Energy
San Antonio Regulators
South Texas Lady Crushers

Hockey|

NHL
Dallas Stars
AHL
Texas Stars
ECHL
Allen Americans
NAHL
Amarillo Wranglers
Corpus Christi IceRays
El Paso Rhinos
Lone Star Brahmas
Odessa Jackalopes
NA3HL
Austin Ice Bats
El Paso Rhinos
Mid-Cities Junior Stars
Texas Jr. Brahmas
Texas RoadRunners

Soccer|

MLS
Austin FC
FC Dallas
Houston Dynamo FC
NWSL
Houston Dash
USLS
Dallas Trinity FC
USLC
El Paso Locomotive FC
San Antonio FC
MLSNP
Austin FC II
Houston Dynamo 2
North Texas SC
USL1
Texoma FC (2025)
USL2
AC Houston Sur
AHFC Royals
Corpus Christi FC
Hill Country Lobos
Houston FC
Twin City Toucans FC
USL PDL
Austin Lightning
Austin Aztex U23
NPSL
Austin United FC
FC Brownsville
Coyotes FC
Dallas City FC
Denton Diablos FC
Fort Worth Vaqueros FC
Laredo Heat
Midland-Odessa Sockers FC
SISL/USISL
Austin Lone Stars
LSSA
Austin Thunder
MASL
Dallas Sidekicks
Mesquite Outlaws
MASL2
Amarillo Bombers
RGV Barracudas FC
UWS
FC Austin Elite
San Antonio Athenians SC
WPSL
Austin Rise FC
Houston Aces
USL W-2
Austin Lady Lone Stars

Lacrosse|

NLL
Panther City Lacrosse Club

Australian rules
football|

USAFL
Austin Crows
Dallas Dingoes
Houston Lonestars

Roller derby|

WFTDA
Alamo City Rollergirls
Assassination City Roller Derby
Cowboy Capital Rollergirls
Dallas Derby Devils
Houston Roller Derby
Spindletop Roller Girls
Texas Rollergirls
West Texas Roller Derby

Rugby union|

MLR
Houston SaberCats
Dallas Jackals
TGU
Alamo City Rugby Football Club
Austin Blacks
Austin Huns
Corpus Christi Rugby Football Club
Dallas Griffins
Dallas Harlequins R.F.C.
Dallas RFC

Softball|

WPF
Texas Smoke

Volleyball|

LOVB
LOVB Austin
LOVB Houston

Cricket|

MLC
Texas Super Kings
MiLC
Dallas Mustangs
Lone Star Athletics
Houston Hurricanes (cricket)

Ultimate|

UFA
Austin Sol
Dallas Legion
Houston Havoc

Esports|

Multi-sport
OpTic Gaming
Complexity
OWL
Dallas Fuel
Houston Outlaws
CDL
OpTic Texas
NBA 2K League
Mavs Gaming

College athletics
(NCAA Division I)|

Abilene Christian
Baylor
Dallas Baptist (baseball only)
Houston
Houston Christian
Incarnate Word
Lamar
North Texas
Prairie View A&M
Rice
Sam Houston
SMU
Stephen F. Austin
Tarleton State
TCU
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas A&M–Commerce
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi
Texas Southern
Texas State
Texas Tech
UT Arlington
UTEP
UTSA
UT Rio Grande Valley
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template