2019 Bakersfield Train Robbers Season Recap - Dominant Pitching Carries Bakersfield Back to the Pecos League Championship
The 2019 Bakersfield Train Robbers were one of the strangest championship-caliber teams in Pecos League history.
One year after winning the 2018 Pecos League Championship, Bakersfield returned with a completely different identity.
The 2019 Train Robbers were not powered by a dominant offense. In fact, they had one of the weakest offensive clubs ever to advance all the way to a Pecos League Championship Series.
What carried Bakersfield was pitching.
The Train Robbers assembled one of the best pitching staffs in league history, survived the Pacific Division, defeated the Monterey Amberjacks in the first round, came back from a Game 1 loss against the High Desert Yardbirds and returned to the Pecos League Championship Series for a rematch with the Alpine Cowboys.
This time, however, Bakersfield's luck ran out.
Alpine swept the Train Robbers two games to none in Texas and won the 2019 Pecos League Championship.
The result produced an interesting historical debate between the two seasons. Many around the league felt Alpine may have been the better team in 2018 when Bakersfield won the championship, while Bakersfield may have had the stronger club in 2019 when Alpine took the title.
That is part of what has made the 2018 and 2019 Bakersfield-Alpine rivalry one of the more memorable chapters in Pecos League history.
A Championship Team Built Around Pitching
The 2019 Train Robbers were built differently from most successful Pecos League teams.
The league has traditionally favored offense. Small ballparks, summer conditions, long travel and thin pitching staffs often create high-scoring games.
Bakersfield went the other direction.
The Train Robbers simply tried to prevent runs.
Edilson Alvarez was the workhorse of the staff, throwing 110.1 innings while going 6-5 with a 2.69 ERA.
Alvarez struck out 130 hitters and walked only 19, giving Bakersfield one of the most reliable starting pitchers in the entire league.
Garrett Alvarez added 76 innings with a 3.31 ERA and 108 strikeouts.
Reid Feeley worked 73.2 innings with a 3.42 ERA and 94 strikeouts.
Sergio Valenzuela was dominant in his role, posting a 1.35 ERA over 40 innings while striking out 53 hitters.
Spencer Backstrom was even more difficult to score against, finishing with a 1.21 ERA while striking out 81 hitters in only 37 innings.
That collection of arms gave Bakersfield something few Pecos League teams possessed: the ability to win without scoring a huge number of runs.
The Offense Was Another Story
Offensively, Bakersfield was nowhere near the top of the Pecos League.
The Train Robbers were arguably the worst offensive team in league history to reach the Pecos League Championship Series.
They lacked the overwhelming run production normally associated with a championship club and often had very little margin for error.
That made the performance of the pitching staff even more impressive.
Bakersfield could not simply expect to score 12 or 15 runs every night and survive mistakes on the mound.
The pitchers had to control games.
Most nights, they did.
Nathan Etheridge Leads the Offense
Nathan Etheridge was Bakersfield's most dependable hitter throughout the season.
Etheridge played 50 games and hit .348, collecting 70 hits in 201 at-bats.
He finished with 13 doubles, five home runs and 34 RBIs while scoring 31 runs.
He also drew 37 walks and posted a .450 on-base percentage.
On a team that struggled offensively compared with the rest of the Pecos League, Etheridge provided a consistent presence in the lineup and became Bakersfield's best everyday hitter.
His importance became even greater during the playoffs, when every run mattered because of the way the Train Robbers were constructed.
Bakersfield Finishes Second in the Pacific Division
Despite the extraordinary pitching, Bakersfield did not win the Pacific Division regular season.
The Train Robbers finished in second place and entered the postseason knowing that their defense and pitching would have to continue carrying them.
The Pacific Division featured Monterey, High Desert, California City and other clubs that had battled Bakersfield throughout the summer.
The Train Robbers had already outlasted the California City Whiptails and the rest of the division over the course of the regular season.
Now they had to survive the playoffs.
First Round - Monterey Amberjacks
Bakersfield opened the postseason against the Monterey Amberjacks.
The unusual Pecos League playoff format sent Game 1 to Monterey before the series moved south to Bakersfield for Game 2.
The Train Robbers won both games.
Bakersfield completed the sweep and advanced to the Pacific Division Championship Series.
Once again, the formula was familiar.
Pitch well.
Score enough.
Move on.
The Train Robbers had eliminated Monterey and were one series away from returning to the Pecos League Championship.
High Desert Without a Home
Waiting in the next round was the High Desert Yardbirds.
The High Desert situation had become one of the strangest stories in the Pecos League.
The Yardbirds no longer had a traditional home field because Adelanto Stadium had been converted for soccer use.
High Desert was therefore attempting to make a playoff run without the normal stability of a home ballpark.
That situation eventually created a controversial roster issue that would have a major impact on Bakersfield's postseason.
High Desert requested permission to make roster additions after the league's normal roster deadline.
The Yardbirds argued that because they did not have a home field and potentially faced a long trip to Texas for the Pecos League Championship Series, they needed additional players to ensure they would have enough bodies to complete the postseason.
Once High Desert was permitted to make roster changes, Bakersfield was given the same opportunity.
The Train Robbers took full advantage.
They added Manny Corpas.
Manny Corpas Arrives in Bakersfield
This was not a normal Pecos League roster addition.
Manny Corpas had pitched in Major League Baseball and had served as the closer for the Colorado Rockies.
Corpas had pitched on baseball's biggest stage, including the Rockies' 2007 World Series season.
Now, because of the unusual High Desert roster situation, he was suddenly eligible to pitch for the Bakersfield Train Robbers in the Pecos League playoffs.
It became one of the most unusual roster moves in Pecos League postseason history.
High Desert's request for extra players had unintentionally opened the door for its opponent to add a former Major League closer.
From High Desert's perspective, the request was about having enough players available for a possible trip to Texas.
The practical result was that Bakersfield was able to add one of the most accomplished pitchers ever to appear in a Pecos League game.
It became one of the worst unintended consequences of a roster request in Pecos League playoff history.
High Desert Wins Game 1
The Pacific Division Championship Series opened in Bakersfield with High Desert shutting out the Train Robbers 4-0.
For a Bakersfield club that already struggled to generate offense, the loss placed enormous pressure on the pitching staff.
The Train Robbers were one loss away from elimination.
But this team had survived all season behind its arms.
It would do so again.
Bakersfield won Game 2, forcing a deciding third game at Sam Lynn Ballpark.
Manny Corpas Delivers in the Playoffs
Corpas would make only one pitching appearance for Bakersfield, but it became one of the most memorable individual playoff performances in Train Robbers history.
Corpas threw nine innings and struck out 10 hitters.
He allowed only four hits and one run while going the distance.
The former Colorado Rockies closer had arrived in Bakersfield almost out of nowhere and immediately delivered a complete-game postseason performance.
For a Train Robbers team already defined by pitching, the addition of Corpas seemed almost excessive.
Bakersfield completed its comeback against High Desert, winning Games 2 and 3 and capturing the Pacific Division Championship.
The Train Robbers were going back to the Pecos League Championship Series.
And once again, they were going to Alpine, Texas.
Corpas Would Not Be Going to Alpine
The roster situation changed again when Bakersfield prepared for the championship series.
Alpine adhered to the original roster rules and did not agree to allow Bakersfield's late roster addition for the championship matchup.
That meant Corpas could not pitch in the finals.
The former Major League closer who had played such an important role in getting Bakersfield through the Pacific Division would not make the trip as an eligible championship-series pitcher.
The Train Robbers would have to rely on the pitching staff that had carried them throughout the regular season.
That staff was certainly good enough.
But the opponent was Alpine.
The 2018 Championship Rematch
Bakersfield and Alpine knew each other very well.
The clubs had met in the 2018 Pecos League Championship Series, when the Train Robbers won the title in Alpine.
One year later, the Cowboys had their opportunity for revenge.
The rematch again required Bakersfield to make the enormous trip from California to Alpine, Texas, roughly 1,100 miles from Sam Lynn Ballpark.
The atmosphere was very different from an ordinary regular-season series.
Alpine had not forgotten 2018.
Neither had Bakersfield.
There was a feeling among many around the league that the previous championship had unfinished business attached to it.
Some believed Alpine had been the stronger club in 2018 despite Bakersfield winning the title.
In 2019, the roles seemed almost reversed.
Bakersfield had assembled one of the most dominant pitching staffs in league history and believed it had the team capable of repeating.
But the championship would again be decided on the field.
A Physical Championship Series
The rematch was intense from the beginning.
The Cowboys attempted to establish an aggressive tone against the defending champions.
One of the most controversial moments occurred on a close play at first base involving Nathan Etheridge and Alpine's Mark Traylor.
Bakersfield believed Traylor intentionally stepped on Etheridge's ankle during the play, adding even more tension to an already heated championship rematch.
The incident reflected the atmosphere surrounding the series.
This was not simply another matchup between two unfamiliar opponents.
These were teams with recent championship history, strong personalities and very different memories of the 2018 finals.
Alpine Gets Its Revenge
This time there would be no Bakersfield celebration in Alpine.
The Cowboys swept the Train Robbers two games to none.
After surviving Monterey, overcoming a 1-0 series deficit against High Desert and winning the Pacific Division Championship, Bakersfield finally ran out of answers.
Alpine captured the 2019 Pecos League Championship and avenged its loss from the previous summer.
For Bakersfield, the loss was painful because the Train Robbers believed they had a team capable of repeating.
Their pitching staff had carried them farther than an offense of that level would normally be expected to travel.
They had reached the final two games of the season despite having one of the weakest offenses ever to make a Pecos League Championship Series.
But two losses in Alpine ended the repeat bid.
2018 and 2019 - Two Seasons Connected Forever
The 2018 and 2019 championship series will always be connected in Train Robbers history.
Bakersfield won in 2018.
Alpine won in 2019.
Yet there has always been an argument that the championship results could just as easily have been reversed.
Many believed Alpine should have won in 2018.
Many in Bakersfield believed the Train Robbers should have won in 2019.
Baseball does not award championships based on which roster looks strongest or which team appears better over an entire summer.
It rewards the club that wins the games when they matter most.
In 2018, that club was Bakersfield.
In 2019, it was Alpine.
The two seasons effectively became mirror images of one another.
A Pitching Staff Worth Remembering
The championship loss should not overshadow what the 2019 Bakersfield pitching staff accomplished.
Edilson Alvarez threw more than 110 innings with a 2.69 ERA and 130 strikeouts.
Garrett Alvarez threw 76 innings with 108 strikeouts.
Reid Feeley added 73.2 innings and 94 strikeouts.
Sergio Valenzuela posted a 1.35 ERA.
Spencer Backstrom posted a 1.21 ERA while averaging nearly two strikeouts per inning.
And then, for one unforgettable playoff appearance, Manny Corpas threw nine innings and struck out 10.
That staff dragged an offensively limited team all the way to the Pecos League Championship Series.
It remains one of the finest examples in Pecos League history of a team winning primarily because it could prevent opponents from scoring.
Nathan Etheridge Was the Bat Bakersfield Needed
Within that pitching-first team, Nathan Etheridge's season became even more valuable.
His .348 average and .450 on-base percentage gave Bakersfield a legitimate offensive threat when the rest of the lineup often struggled to produce.
He did not have to lead the league in home runs to be important.
He simply needed to consistently reach base, drive in runs and give Bakersfield's pitchers enough support to win.
That is exactly what he did.
Etheridge was the best hitter on a club whose identity belonged almost entirely to its pitching staff.
The High Desert Decision That Changed the Playoffs
One of the lasting stories from 2019 remains High Desert's roster request.
The Yardbirds were dealing with a legitimate operational problem. They had lost their home stadium and believed they needed additional players available if they advanced to Texas.
But by requesting an exception after the roster deadline, they opened the same door for Bakersfield.
Bakersfield walked through that door with Manny Corpas.
A request designed to strengthen High Desert's roster instead allowed its playoff opponent to add a former Major League closer.
Corpas then threw a complete nine-inning game with 10 strikeouts during Bakersfield's playoff run.
It remains one of the most unusual examples of a roster ruling changing the complexion of a postseason series.
The 2019 Train Robbers Were Different
The 2019 Bakersfield Train Robbers did not look like a typical Pecos League finalist.
They did not bludgeon opponents with an overwhelming lineup.
They did not finish first in the Pacific Division.
They had to travel to Monterey and win.
They had to overcome a 4-0 loss to High Desert in Game 1 of the Pacific Division Finals.
They had to navigate an unusual roster controversy.
They had to make another 1,100-mile trip to Alpine.
And throughout almost all of it, they relied on pitching.
That pitching carried Bakersfield to a second consecutive Pacific Division Championship and a second consecutive appearance in the Pecos League Championship Series.
A Great Season Without the Final Trophy
The 2019 Train Robbers ultimately finished one step short of repeating as Pecos League champions.
They finished second in the Pacific Division during the regular season.
They swept Monterey in the opening round.
They defeated High Desert in three games after losing the opener.
They won the Pacific Division Championship.
They returned to Alpine for a rematch of the 2018 finals.
And they were swept two games to none by the Cowboys.
But the season remains one of the most distinctive in Bakersfield history because of how the Train Robbers got there.
They reached the championship with an offense that had no business being there based on production alone.
Their pitchers made it possible.
Nathan Etheridge provided the lineup's most consistent bat.
Manny Corpas provided perhaps the strangest and most memorable one-game pitching addition in Train Robbers history.
And the Alpine rivalry produced a second consecutive championship matchup that left both franchises with one title apiece.
The 2018 Train Robbers won the championship when some believed Alpine was the better team. The 2019 Train Robbers may have been better positioned to win it all, but this time Alpine took the trophy.
That is baseball, and that is why the 2019 Bakersfield Train Robbers remain one of the most fascinating teams in Pecos League history.
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