2015 Trinidad Triggers Season Recap - The Best Regular Season in Triggers History Ends in Playoff Heartbreak
The 2015 Trinidad Triggers entered their fourth season having already established themselves as one of the most consistent franchises in the Pecos League. Trinidad had reached the playoffs in each of its first three seasons, had been featured nationally on Fox Sports 1 through "The Pecos League" television series and had developed Trinidad Central Park into one of the league's most recognizable ballparks.
What the Triggers had not done was win a division championship or reach the Pecos League Championship Series.
In 2015, Trinidad appeared ready to change that.
The Triggers put together the best regular season in franchise history to that point, finishing 43-18 and winning the Northern Division. Trinidad didn't simply win games. The Triggers overwhelmed opponents with one of the most powerful offenses the Pecos League had seen, while also fielding a pitching staff capable of controlling games in a league traditionally dominated by offense.
By the end of the regular season, Trinidad appeared to have everything necessary to make a serious run at the Pecos League championship.
Instead, the season ended suddenly and painfully. The Santa Fe Fuego defeated Trinidad in the Northern Division playoffs, sweeping the Triggers two games to none and ending one of the greatest regular seasons in franchise history before Trinidad could reach the championship series.
It remains one of the great "what if" seasons in Trinidad Triggers history.
A New Manager Takes Over in Trinidad
The 2015 season brought a major change to the Triggers. After J.D. Droddy had managed Trinidad through the previous seasons and had become one of the faces of the organization during the Fox Sports 1 television series, Royce Holder took over as manager.
Holder inherited a franchise that expected to win.
Trinidad had reached the postseason in 2012, 2013 and 2014. The previous year's team had finished 35-27 and pushed the eventual Pecos League champion Santa Fe Fuego to a deciding game in the Northern Division playoffs.
The next step was obvious. Trinidad wanted to win the division and compete for a Pecos League championship.
Holder's 2015 club immediately demonstrated that it was capable of doing exactly that.
The Triggers Become the Best Team in the Northern Division
Trinidad separated itself from the rest of the Northern Division during the regular season. The Triggers finished 43-18 for a .705 winning percentage, comfortably ahead of the Santa Fe Fuego, Las Vegas Train Robbers and expansion Garden City Wind.
Santa Fe finished second at 33-21. Las Vegas struggled to a 23-41 record, while Garden City went 21-43 during its inaugural season.
For the first time in franchise history, Trinidad finished the regular season on top of its division.
The Triggers had gone from an expansion team in 2012 to a division champion only three years later.
The improvement was dramatic. Trinidad had won 31 games in its inaugural season and 37 in 2013 before continuing to establish itself as a contender in 2014. By 2015, the Triggers weren't simply competing for a playoff position. They were setting the pace for the entire Northern Division.
An Explosive Trinidad Offense
The defining characteristic of the 2015 Triggers was their offense.
Trinidad scored more than 650 runs during the regular season, leading the Pecos League. In a league known for high-scoring games and hitter-friendly environments, the Triggers still managed to separate themselves from virtually everyone else.
The centerpiece of that offense was Eric Williams.
Williams produced an extraordinary season at the plate, hitting .467 while driving in 97 runs. His ability to reach base and consistently produce runs made him one of the most dangerous hitters in the Pecos League.
But Trinidad's lineup was much deeper than one hitter.
Caleb Bryson provided enormous power in the middle of the order and finished the season with 30 home runs. That total made him one of the premier power hitters in the league and gave Trinidad a threat capable of changing a game with one swing.
Brian Frazier also provided significant home-run power, giving the Triggers multiple hitters capable of taking advantage of Central Park and the other offensive environments throughout the Pecos League.
Opposing pitchers rarely received a break against Trinidad. If they managed to work around one dangerous hitter, another was waiting behind him.
The result was a lineup that could score quickly, erase deficits and turn close games into blowouts.
Caleb Bryson Brings Power to Central Park
Bryson's 30-home-run season became one of the defining individual performances of the year.
Thirty home runs in a short Pecos League schedule represented an extraordinary level of production. Bryson wasn't simply accumulating home runs over a traditional 140-game minor-league season. He was producing them during a compressed independent baseball schedule in which Trinidad played just over 60 regular-season games.
That meant opposing teams entered games against the Triggers knowing there was very little margin for error.
A walk, an error or a mistake over the middle of the plate could quickly become multiple runs.
Combined with Williams' ability to hit for average and drive in runs, Trinidad had the type of middle-of-the-order combination capable of carrying a team through long stretches of the season.
Matt Horan Anchors the Pitching Staff
As impressive as Trinidad's offense was, the 2015 Triggers weren't simply winning slugfests.
The pitching staff was also one of the strongest in the Pecos League.
Matt Horan emerged as the ace of the staff, winning nine games while posting an ERA just over 4.00. In the offensive environment of the Pecos League, that represented an outstanding season for a starting pitcher.
Horan gave Trinidad something every championship contender needed: a dependable starter capable of taking the baseball every few days and giving the team a chance to win.
Christian Schneider also became an important part of the rotation, winning six games, while the Triggers assembled enough pitching depth behind their explosive offense to prevent the team from becoming dependent upon scoring double-digit runs every night.
The combination was devastating.
Trinidad could outslug opponents when necessary, but the Triggers could also win when their offense wasn't operating at full strength.
That balance was one of the primary reasons Trinidad was able to separate itself from the Northern Division.
Central Park Becomes a Difficult Place for Opponents
By 2015, Trinidad Central Park had become firmly established as the home of the Triggers.
The novelty of professional baseball coming to Trinidad had disappeared. The Triggers were now in their fourth season, and fans had watched the franchise develop from an expansion team into a perennial playoff contender.
The television series had brought national attention to the park, but the identity of Central Park was being built through the games themselves.
Trinidad's powerful 2015 lineup made the park particularly difficult for visiting pitchers. The Triggers could score runs in bunches, and once Trinidad built momentum at home, games could quickly get away from opponents.
For a franchise that had spent its first three seasons trying to establish itself, 2015 felt different.
The Triggers weren't trying to prove they belonged anymore.
They expected to win.
The Pecos League Changes in 2015
The Triggers' success came during an important transitional season for the Pecos League itself.
The league began strictly enforcing a 22-man paid roster and implemented a 25-and-under age limit. Those changes were designed to strengthen the developmental identity of the Pecos League and create more opportunities for younger players trying to advance their professional careers.
Trinidad fit naturally into that model.
The organization had already demonstrated its ability to move players forward. Nick Rodesky had gone from Trinidad to the Philadelphia Phillies organization following the 2014 regular season, while other former Triggers had advanced to higher levels of independent baseball.
The 2015 roster continued that tradition while simultaneously producing the most successful regular season Trinidad had experienced.
Trinidad Wins the Northern Division
As the summer progressed, the question was no longer whether Trinidad would reach the playoffs.
The question became how far the Triggers could go once they got there.
Trinidad finished well ahead of Santa Fe in the Northern Division standings and entered the postseason with the best record in the division. At 43-18, the Triggers had won more than 70 percent of their regular-season games.
They had the league's most productive offense, one of its strongest pitching staffs and home-field advantage.
Everything appeared to be aligned for Trinidad to make its first appearance in the Pecos League Championship Series.
There was one major problem.
The opponent was Santa Fe.
Santa Fe Once Again Stands in Trinidad's Way
The Triggers and Fuego had developed into familiar rivals by 2015.
One year earlier, Santa Fe had eliminated Trinidad in a three-game playoff series before going on to win the Pecos League championship.
Now the teams were meeting again, but Trinidad entered the series in a much stronger position.
The Triggers had won the division. They had the better regular-season record. They had one of the most explosive offenses in league history and had spent the summer establishing themselves as the team to beat in the North.
None of it mattered once the playoffs began.
Santa Fe won the opening game and immediately put Trinidad in an elimination situation.
The Triggers entered the next game needing a victory to keep their championship hopes alive.
They couldn't get it.
Santa Fe defeated Trinidad 4-2 to complete a two-game sweep and eliminate the Northern Division champions from the playoffs.
Just like that, Trinidad's season was over.
Rain Complicates the Playoff Series
The postseason ending was made even more frustrating by weather.
The Trinidad-Santa Fe series was affected by rain and ultimately shortened. Instead of the regular-season dominance leading to an extended postseason opportunity, the Triggers found themselves eliminated after only two playoff losses.
For a team that had spent months building a 43-18 record, it was a particularly difficult ending.
Independent baseball seasons can be unforgiving. A team can dominate for two months, but once the postseason begins, a short series can erase virtually every advantage built during the regular season.
The 2015 Triggers became one of the clearest examples of that reality in Pecos League history.
Santa Fe Advances but Roswell Wins the Championship
After eliminating Trinidad, Santa Fe advanced to the Pecos League Championship Series.
The Fuego's attempt to repeat as champions ended against the Roswell Invaders.
Roswell had survived its own difficult semifinal series against the Alpine Cowboys, winning three games to two. The Invaders then defeated Santa Fe to capture the 2015 Pecos League championship, their third league title in five seasons.
For Trinidad, watching Santa Fe advance reinforced how close the Triggers had been to reaching the championship series themselves.
The best regular season in franchise history had ended two victories into the postseason.
One of the Best Pecos League Teams Not to Win It All
The reputation of the 2015 Triggers has grown with time.
Years later, when the Pecos League ranked the ten best teams in league history that failed to win the championship, the 2015 Trinidad Triggers were ranked fourth.
That ranking reflected just how dominant Trinidad had been during the regular season.
The Triggers weren't simply a good team that happened to lose in the playoffs. They were a 43-win division champion with an explosive offense, a strong pitching staff and several of the best individual performers in the league.
They were built to win a championship.
Baseball simply didn't cooperate.
The Peak of the First Era of Triggers Baseball
The 2015 season represented the culmination of everything Trinidad had built since joining the Pecos League in 2012.
The inaugural Triggers had reached the playoffs. The 2013 team improved to 37 wins while being followed by the television cameras that produced "The Pecos League." The 2014 team produced another winning season, reached the playoffs and saw Nick Rodesky advance to the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
Then came 2015.
For the first time, Trinidad won its division.
For the first time, the Triggers entered the postseason as the clear favorite from the North.
Eric Williams produced an extraordinary offensive season. Caleb Bryson hit 30 home runs. Matt Horan anchored the pitching staff. Royce Holder guided the club to the best record in franchise history.
The only thing missing was the championship.
A Great Season With a Painful Ending
The 2015 Trinidad Triggers are remembered because their season demonstrates how little separation can exist between a historic season and postseason disappointment.
For more than 60 games, Trinidad was the best team in the Northern Division. The Triggers won 43 games and lost only 18. They scored runs at a remarkable pace, received quality pitching and earned the right to enter the playoffs as division champions.
Then Santa Fe won twice.
That was enough to end everything.
The playoff loss shouldn't overshadow what Trinidad accomplished. The 2015 team established a standard that future Triggers teams would be measured against. It proved that a franchise playing at Trinidad Central Park could build one of the strongest rosters in the Pecos League and dominate an entire division.
Trinidad would continue producing competitive teams in the seasons that followed, but the 2015 club would remain special.
It was the team that won the Northern Division.
It was the team that featured a .467 hitter, a 30-home-run slugger and a nine-game winner.
It was the team that appeared capable of finally bringing a Pecos League championship to Trinidad.
And it was the team whose season ended before anyone expected it to.
The 2015 Trinidad Triggers didn't win the Pecos League championship, but they established themselves as one of the greatest teams in franchise history and one of the best Pecos League teams never to win the title.
2015 Trinidad Triggers
Official Pecos League Regular Season Record: 43-18
Northern Division Finish: 1st Place
Manager: Royce Holder
Home Field: Trinidad Central Park
Postseason: Northern Division Playoffs
Northern Division Playoffs: Santa Fe Fuego defeated Trinidad Triggers 2 games to 0
Final Playoff Game: Santa Fe 4, Trinidad 2
Pecos League Champion: Roswell Invaders
Leading Hitter: Eric Williams - .467
RBI Leader: Eric Williams - 97 RBI
Home Run Leader: Caleb Bryson - 30 HR
Pitching Wins Leader: Matt Horan - 9 Wins
Historical Recognition: Ranked #4 among the Pecos League's best teams not to win a championship
