Last season at this time Cuban-born Cesar Garcia was 21 years old and the starting left fielder for the Coos Bay Sea Lions, the Class A affiliate of the Portland Lions.  Yesterday  he was the starting left fielder and #3 hitter for the Portland Lions against the Akron Dandies at Washington Park in Portland.
In what has been an improbable rise through the system, Garcia has managed to bypass both AA and AAA to make the major league squad. The Lions liked what they saw out of Garcia towards the end …

“It’s still early.  We’re not panicking yet. ”
So said two-time manager of the year Stanley Conrad after his team’s latest defeat sent them to 12-13 on the season and 5 games back of the Whitehorse Blue Dogs. Some Portland fans consider the rough start reminiscent to the start the Lions had in 2009, when the team started off 20-29 and 11.5 games back of Colorado on June 1st. That year the Lions ended up winning the division by 9 games, making up 20.5 games in 3 months.
Still, the start has  …

The Portland Lions got off to a strong start in defense of their championship going 4-2 to start the season highlighted by Shawn Roberts’ no-hitter on Saturday vs. the Rapid City Outlaws. It was the first no-hitter in Lions’ history and the second no-hitter in Classic Baseball Union history.
Roberts was absolutely unhittable in limiting the very potent Rapid City offense to just two baserunners the entire game on a walk to 1B Don Vogel in the 2nd inning and an error on SS Fernando Montero. Roberts needed just 90 pitches …

The best of the regular season won out in the playoffs in 2010. The Portland Lions who won 115 times through their tour of 2010 Giamatti League opponents made their postseason trip short and sweet. Pitching was the name of the game for the Lions as they were led by a rotation who all had double digit wins: Chris Bruce 15 wins, Ron Hatch 16 wins, Phil Farrell 17 wins, Mark Owens 14 wins, and Shawn Roberts 10 wins.
The Lions bullpen was also very strong as they were lead by …

Orlando, FL (AP): The Orlando Orcas faced the Portland Lions in their 2nd consecutive CBU World Series. The Lions had the best Regular season record with a mark of 115-47. The Orcas had the 2nd best Regular season record with a mark of 101-61, so it had seemed that fate brought these two clubs together to meet in the CBU World Series. The Lions were hungry for a Championship. Would the Orcas find a way to stay on top as the Champions and deny the Lions a Championship?
The Portland Lions …

(Portland, OR) – In a tight battle that lasted until the end of spring training, the Portland Lions have broken camp for Portland and have decided to go with Julian Gonzalez at 1B again for 2010. Gonzalez had been in a tight battle with Alfredo Garcia for the starting role at 1B, but after Gonzalez’ .343 season last year, a year in which he finished thousandths of a percentage point away from the batting title, and a spring in which Gonzalez batted .368 with a .456 OBP, Portland elected to …

(Portland, OR) – In a move that surprised many in the league and many of the fans in Portland, the city of Portland is still charged up after hearing of the recent signing of reliever Anthony Porter to what was already the best bullpen in the GL.
The move came as a surprise considering the Lions bullpen had already been the top pen in the league in 2009, sporting a 29-12 record and a sub 2.60 ERA. With Porter now in the mix, along with closer Jim Hale’s likely return in …

December 30, 2009

(Portland, OR) – In a signing meant to solidify long relief and spot starting, the Portland Lions today signed 31 year old starting pitcher Juan Guerra to a one year deal worth $1,630,000.
In 21 starts and 22 relief appearances for 3rd place Burlington in 2009, Guerra went 4-10 with a 5.83 ERA. In his 21 starts, 10 of them went for quality starts.
“Our main concern this offseason was adding starting pitching depth”, GM Blake Stephens said. “With the signing of Guerra and AAA starters Lorenzo Gonzalez, Shawn Roberts, …

July 14th 2009 | Princeton Fieldhouse
44,686 fans were in attendance in the Princeton Fieldhouse as the best of the best in the Classic Baseball Union battled it out in the league’s first All-Star game. On a cool night with a slight wind the Landis League and Giamatti League All-Stars took to the field for the 7:05 game time to begin writing history. Taking the mound was Whitehorse’s ace Gustavo Diaz versus Gaston Couture of New Orleans. Couture would go on to line out to centerfield, Sioux Falls’s Bryan Wigmore would …