2012 Trinidad Triggers Season Recap - Professional Baseball Arrives in Trinidad
The 2012 season marked the beginning of a new era for baseball in Trinidad, Colorado. For the first time, the Trinidad Triggers took the field at Trinidad Central Park as members of the Pecos League, bringing independent professional baseball to the community and beginning what would become one of the league's longest-running relationships between a team and its home city.
The Triggers entered the Pecos League during the league's second season of operation. The Pecos League had launched in 2011 with six teams, but its original geographic footprint was concentrated primarily in New Mexico and West Texas. Trinidad represented an important step north for the league and provided a new Colorado market that would eventually become one of the most recognizable cities in Pecos League history.
The inaugural Triggers weren't expected to arrive as an established powerhouse. Everything had to be built from the beginning. A roster had to be assembled, professional baseball had to be introduced to Trinidad fans, Central Park had to become a Pecos League ballpark and the organization had to establish an identity within a league that itself was still very young.
Central Park Becomes the Home of the Triggers
Trinidad Central Park immediately became one of the defining characteristics of the franchise. Instead of playing in a modern professional stadium, the Triggers built their identity around a community ballpark where fans were close to the field and players were accessible before and after games. That intimate environment became an important part of what professional baseball in Trinidad would represent over the years.
The setting was very different from affiliated Minor League Baseball. Players weren't arriving in Trinidad because a Major League organization assigned them there. They were independent professional players trying to continue their careers, get innings and at-bats, develop their skills and earn another opportunity somewhere else in professional baseball.
That relationship between the players and the community helped establish the personality of the Triggers. Trinidad was a small market by professional baseball standards, but that also allowed the team to become closely connected with the people who attended the games. Central Park wasn't simply a place where the Triggers played. It became the home of the franchise.
A Competitive First Season
On the field, Trinidad experienced the normal challenges of an expansion team but remained competitive enough to stay in the postseason race. The Triggers finished their inaugural regular season with a 31-39 record, placing fourth in the six-team Pecos League. Alpine finished first at 45-24, followed by Las Cruces and Roswell, with Trinidad claiming the fourth and final playoff position. The Triggers finished ahead of White Sands and fellow 2012 expansion club Santa Fe.
The 31 victories were significant for a first-year organization. Trinidad wasn't simply completing a schedule and attempting to establish itself as a viable market. The Triggers qualified for the Pecos League playoffs during their inaugural season, immediately giving the franchise postseason baseball at the end of its first summer.
The season also demonstrated how offense-heavy the early Pecos League could be. Trinidad scored more than 500 runs during the season, but preventing runs proved much more difficult. The Triggers allowed more than 650 runs, and pitching became one of the biggest challenges facing the club throughout the summer. Those high-scoring games were common throughout the early years of the league as teams attempted to build pitching staffs capable of surviving the demanding schedule and hitter-friendly environments around the league. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}
Changes in Leadership During the First Season
The Triggers also experienced changes in leadership during their inaugural campaign. Justin Lowery, Ryan Powell and J.D. Droddy are all listed as managers of the 2012 club. The managerial changes reflected some of the challenges of establishing a completely new independent professional baseball operation while playing a full Pecos League schedule. :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}
Droddy's involvement would ultimately become particularly important to the early history of the franchise. He remained with Trinidad and managed the Triggers in the seasons that followed, helping provide stability as the organization transitioned from an expansion team into an established member of the Pecos League.
The Triggers Earn a Playoff Berth
Finishing fourth put Trinidad into the Pecos League semifinals against the Alpine Cowboys. Alpine had been the best team in the league during the regular season, finishing 45-24 and entering the playoffs as the favorite to win the championship. Trinidad faced a difficult assignment against a Cowboys team playing at historic Kokernot Field.
The Triggers' inaugural postseason ended quickly. Alpine defeated Trinidad two games to none in the semifinal series, eliminating the Triggers and advancing to the Pecos League Championship Series. The Cowboys then defeated Las Cruces two games to one to win the 2012 Pecos League championship. :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}
For Trinidad, however, simply reaching the postseason represented a successful conclusion to the franchise's first year. The Triggers had gone from an organization that didn't exist the previous summer to one of four Pecos League playoff teams.
More Important Than the Final Record
The most significant accomplishment of the 2012 Trinidad Triggers wasn't necessarily their 31 victories or their playoff appearance. It was proving that professional baseball could work in Trinidad.
Independent baseball organizations depend heavily on their local communities. There is no Major League parent club paying the players, supplying equipment or absorbing operating losses. A team has to develop its own fan base, sponsorship relationships, ballpark operation and local identity. Trinidad demonstrated during that first summer that Central Park could become a home for Pecos League baseball.
The relationship lasted. While many independent baseball teams and markets have come and gone, the Triggers became one of the enduring franchises of the Pecos League. The team returned in 2013 and continued developing its identity in Trinidad. The Triggers would eventually produce winning seasons, division contenders and postseason runs while becoming one of the names most closely associated with the Pecos League. :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}
The Beginning of a Pecos League Mainstay
Looking back, the 2012 season was only the first chapter. Trinidad finished below .500 and was swept from the playoffs, but those numbers don't fully describe the importance of that summer. A professional baseball franchise had been established in Trinidad, Central Park had become a professional baseball venue and local fans had been introduced to the Triggers.
The following season would further establish Trinidad's place in the league. The Triggers improved, J.D. Droddy took control of the club, and Trinidad continued developing into a recognizable Pecos League market. The team would later become nationally known when the Triggers and the Pecos League were featured in the television documentary series "The Pecos League," filmed during the 2013 season and aired on Fox Sports 1 in 2014. :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}
None of that history existed when the first Triggers players arrived in Trinidad in 2012.
The inaugural team simply had to establish professional baseball in a new city, compete through a 70-game schedule and convince Trinidad that the Triggers belonged at Central Park. By the end of the summer, they had done exactly that.
The Trinidad Triggers finished their inaugural season 31-39 and reached the Pecos League playoffs. More importantly, they established a franchise and a relationship with Trinidad that would continue well beyond that first summer.
2012 Trinidad Triggers
Regular Season Record: 31-39
Pecos League Finish: 4th
Home Field: Trinidad Central Park
Managers: Justin Lowery, Ryan Powell and J.D. Droddy
Postseason: Pecos League Semifinals
Semifinals: Alpine Cowboys defeated Trinidad Triggers 2 games to 0
Pecos League Champion: Alpine Cowboys
