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| Round Rock Express | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Class | Triple-A (2005–present) | ||||
| Previous classes | Double-A (2000–2004) | ||||
| League | Pacific Coast League (2005–present) | ||||
| Division | East Division | ||||
Previous leagues | Texas League (2000–2004) | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Team | Texas Rangers (2021–present) | ||||
| Previous teams |
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| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles(1) |
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| Conference titles(3) |
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| Division titles(7) |
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| First-half titles(4) |
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| Second-half titles(2) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Name | Round Rock Express (2000–present) | ||||
| Colors | Navy blue, red, silver, white | ||||
| Mascot | Spike | ||||
| Ballpark | Dell Diamond (2000–present) | ||||
Owner/ Operator | Ryan Sanders Baseball | ||||
| President | Chris Almendarez[1] | ||||
| General manager | Tim Jackson[1] | ||||
| Manager | Doug Davis | ||||
| Website | milb.com/round-rock | ||||
TheRound Rock Express are aMinor League Baseball team of thePacific Coast League (PCL) and theTriple-A affiliate of theTexas Rangers. They are located inRound Rock, Texas, and play their home games at theDell Diamond.[2] The team is named forBaseball Hall of Famer and Texas nativeNolan Ryan, who was nicknamed "The Ryan Express."[3] Ryan, along with sonReid Ryan and Don Sanders make up the team's ownership group, Ryan Sanders Baseball.[4]
The Express were established as aDouble-A team of theTexas League (TL) in 2000. They won theTexas League championship in 2000. Round Rock was replaced by a Triple-A Pacific Coast League team in 2005. The Triple-A Express carried on the history of the Double-A team that preceded them. WithMajor League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Express were shifted to theTriple-A West, which was renamed the PCL in 2022.
The ownership group led by Nolan Ryan and Don Sanders began its operations in Round Rock in 2000 as theDell Diamond opened, moving theDouble-ATexas League'sJackson Generals to the new park, affiliating with theHouston Astros and setting attendance records for the Double-A level. By 2003,Corpus Christi had offered the Ryan-Sanders group $20 million to build a stadium and move a professional franchise there, and the ownership group was convinced Round Rock could support Triple-A baseball.[5]
Meanwhile, thePacific Coast League'sEdmonton Trappers franchise, left isolated by the departure of theCalgary Cannons after the 2002 season for Albuquerque, was under pressure from the rest of the league to relocate to the United States. After the 2003 season, the Ryan group purchased the Trappers franchise with plans to relocate that franchise to Round Rock for 2005, once the Corpus Christi stadium would be ready for the Double-A franchise.[6] The Triple-A club would carry on the Round Rock Express identity; the Double-A club would become theCorpus Christi Hooks, and the Ryan group was able to negotiate an affiliation swap with theNew Orleans Zephyrs to obtain the Astros' Triple-A affiliation for the newly-arriving PCL club.
In 2006, the Round Rock Express clinched the Southern Division of the league's American Conference with a win–loss record of 85–59. After defeating theNashville Sounds in five games to take the American Conference championship, they advanced to the PCL championship series, but lost to theTucson 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 theTexas Rangers. Through the end of the 2018 season, attendance figures have dropped 8% since changing affiliations from Houston to Texas (see table below). Each of the top 9 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.[7]
On September 20, 2018, the Express announced a 4-year Player Development Contract with the Houston Astros.[8] In conjunction with Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minors after the 2020 season, the Astros opted to discontinue their affiliation with Round Rock, leaving them in need of a new major league affiliate.[9][10]
The Express later re-affiliated with the Texas Rangers for 2021 and were organized into theTriple-A West.[11][12] Round Rock ended the season tied for second place in the Eastern Division with a 61–58 record.[13] No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner.[14] However, 10 games that had been postponed from the start of the season were reinserted into the schedule as a postseason tournament called the Triple-A Final Stretch in which all 30 Triple-A clubs competed for the highest winning percentage.[14] Round Rock finished the tournament tied for seventh place with a 6–4 record.[15] In 2022, the Triple-A West became known as the Pacific Coast League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.[16]
Playing under a split-season format in 2023 in which the teams with the best league-wide records at the end of each half qualified for the playoffs,[17] Round Rock won the second-half title at 45–30.[18] Overall, the team posted the league's second-best record, 89–60.[19] In a single round of playoffs to determine the PCL championship versus theOklahoma City Dodgers, winners of the first half, the Express were defeated, two games to none.[20]
| League | The team's final position in the league standings |
|---|---|
| Division | The team's final position in the divisional standings |
| GB | Games behind the team that finished in first place in the division that season |
| ‡ | Class champions (2005–present) |
| † | League champions (2000–present) |
| § | Conference champions (2005–2020) |
| * | Division champions (2000–2022) |
| ^ | Postseason berth (2000–present) |
| Season | League | Regular-season | Postseason | MLB affiliate | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record | Win % | League | Division | GB | Record | Win % | Result | ||||
| 2000 ^ * † | TL | 83–57 | .593 | 1st | 1st | — | 7–3 | .700 | Won First Half Western Division title Won Western Division title vs.El Paso Diablos, 3–2 WonTL championship vs.Wichita Wranglers, 4–1[21] | Houston Astros | [22] |
| 2001 ^ * | TL | 86–54 | .614 | 1st | 1st | — | 3–4 | .429 | Won First Half Western Division title Won Western Division title vs.San Antonio Missions, 3–2 LostTL championship vs.Arkansas Travelers, 2–0[23] | Houston Astros | [24] |
| 2002 ^ | TL | 75–65 | .536 | 4th | 3rd | 2 | 2–3 | .400 | Won First Half Western Division title Lost Western Division title vs.San Antonio Missions, 3–2[25] | Houston Astros | [26] |
| 2003 | TL | 46–94 | .329 | 8th | 4th | 42+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Houston Astros | [27] |
| 2004 ^ * | TL | 86–54 | .614 | 1st | 1st | — | 1–4 | .200 | Won First and Second Half Western Division titles Won Western Division title LostTL championship vs.Frisco RoughRiders, 4–1[28] | Houston Astros | [29] |
| 2005 | PCL | 74–70 | .514 | 7th | 3rd | 6+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Houston Astros | [30] |
| 2006 * § | PCL | 85–59 | .590 | 2nd | 1st | — | 3–5 | .375 | Won American Conference Southern Division title Won American Conference title vs.Nashville Sounds, 3–2 LostPCL championship vs.Tucson Sidewinders, 3–0 | Houston Astros | [31] |
| 2007 | PCL | 61–81 | .430 | 14th | 4th | 13 | — | — | — | Houston Astros | [32] |
| 2008 | PCL | 64–79 | .448 | 13th | 4th | 11+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Houston Astros | [33] |
| 2009 | PCL | 63–81 | .438 | 15th | 4th | 17 | — | — | — | Houston Astros | [34] |
| 2010 | PCL | 57–87 | .396 | 16th | 4th | 16+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Houston Astros | [35] |
| 2011 * | PCL | 87–57 | .604 | 2nd | 1st | — | 1–3 | .250 | Won American Conference Southern Division title Lost American Conference title vs.Omaha Storm Chasers, 3–1 | Texas Rangers | [36] |
| 2012 | PCL | 69–75 | .479 | 11th | 4th | 11 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [37] |
| 2013 | PCL | 73–71 | .507 | 8th | 3rd | 9 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [38] |
| 2014 | PCL | 70–74 | .486 | 11th (tie) | 3rd (tie) | 9+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [39] |
| 2015 * § | PCL | 78–66 | .542 | 5th (tie) | 1st | — | 5–3 | .625 | Won American Conference Southern Division title Won American Conference title vs.Oklahoma City Dodgers, 3–0 LostPCL championship vs.Fresno Grizzlies, 3–2 | Texas Rangers | [40] |
| 2016 | PCL | 71–72 | .497 | 7th (tie) | 2nd | 12+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [41] |
| 2017 | PCL | 66–72 | .478 | 12th | 3rd | 23+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [42] |
| 2018 | PCL | 65–73 | .471 | 12th (tie) | 4th | 17 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [43] |
| 2019 * § | PCL | 84–56 | .600 | 1st | 1st | — | 3–5 | .375 | Won American Conference Southern Division title Won American Conference title vs.Iowa Cubs, 3–2 LostPCL championship vs.Sacramento River Cats, 3–0 | Houston Astros | [44] |
| 2020 | PCL | Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)[45] | Houston Astros | [46] | |||||||
| 2021 | AAAW | 61–58 | .513 | 5th (tie) | 2nd (tie) | 9+1⁄2 | 6–4 | .600 | Won series vs.Tacoma Rainiers, 3–2 Won series vs.Sugar Land Skeeters, 3–2 Placed 7th (tie) in the Triple-A Final Stretch[15] | Texas Rangers | [13] |
| 2022 | PCL | 79–71 | .527 | 3rd | 2nd | 6 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [47] |
| 2023 ^ | PCL | 89–60 | .597 | 2nd | 2nd | 1+1⁄2 | 0–2 | .000 | Won second-half title[18] LostPCL championship vs.Oklahoma City Dodgers, 2–0[20] | Texas Rangers | [19] |
| 2024 | PCL | 71–77 | .480 | 7th | 3rd | 21+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [48] |
| 2025 | PCL | 77–73 | .513 | 5th (tie) | 3rd | 7 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [49] |
| Totals | — | 1,820–1,736 | .512 | — | — | — | 31–36 | .463 | — | — | — |
| Season | Average | Games | Total attendance | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 9,430 | 70 | 660,110 | Houston Astros (Double-A) |
| 2001 | 9,554 | 70 | 668,792 | Houston Astros (Double-A) |
| 2002 | 9,573 | 70 | 670,176 | Houston Astros (Double-A) |
| 2003 | 9,799 | 70 | 685,973 | Houston Astros (Double-A) |
| 2004 | 9,847 | 70 | 689,286 | Houston Astros (Double-A) |
| 2005 | 9,726 | 72 | 700,277 | Houston Astros (Triple-A) |
| 2006 | 9,413 | 72 | 677,706 | Houston Astros (Triple-A) |
| 2007 | 9,466 | 70 | 662,595 | Houston Astros (Triple-A) |
| 2008 | 9,286 | 72 | 668,623 | Houston Astros (Triple-A) |
| 2009 | 8,707 | 72 | 626,899 | Houston Astros (Triple-A) |
| 2010 | 8,408 | 71 | 596,985 | Houston Astros (Triple-A) |
| 2011 | 8,587 | 72 | 618,261 | Texas Rangers (Triple-A) |
| 2012 | 8,389 | 71 | 595,584 | Texas Rangers (Triple-A) |
| 2013 | 8,181 | 72 | 589,042 | Texas Rangers (Triple-A) |
| 2014 | 8,390 | 71 | 595,700 | Texas Rangers (Triple-A) |
| 2015 | 8,623 | 69 | 595,012 | Texas Rangers (Triple-A) |
| 2016 | 8,627 | 71 | 613,226 | Texas Rangers (Triple-A) |
| 2017 | 8,724 | 70 | 610,681 | Texas Rangers (Triple-A) |
| 2018 | 8,809 | 70 | 616,636 | Texas Rangers (Triple-A) |
| 2019 | 8,542 | 70 | 597,928 | Houston Astros (Triple-A) |
| 2020 | Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)[45] | Houston Astros (Triple-A) | ||
| Rank | Average | Affiliation | Seasons | Games | Total attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9,311 | Houston Astros | 12 | 849 | 7,905,350 |
| 2 | 8,540 | Texas Rangers | 8 | 566 | 4,834,142 |
| Players | Coaches/Other |
|---|---|
Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
| Manager Coaches
|
The "Play Ball" episode ofThe Simple Life, a reality television series starring young wealthy socialitesParis Hilton andNicole Richie, took place during an Express game. The show aired on July 21, 2004, as the 15th episode of the show's second season.[52]
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 actorWill Ferrell, who briefly took the mound at Dell Diamond to promote his nearby charity golf tournament.[53]
