The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named for Baseball Hall of Famer and Texas native Nolan Ryan, who was nicknamed "The Ryan Express." Ryan, along with son Reid Ryan and Don Sanders make up the team's ownership group, Ryan Sanders Baseball.

The Express were established as a Double-A team of the Texas League (TL) in 2000. They won the Texas 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. With Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Express were shifted to the Triple-A West, which was renamed the PCL in 2022.

History The ownership group led by Nolan Ryan and Don Sanders began its operations in Round Rock in 2000 as the Dell Diamond opened, moving the Double-A Texas League's Jackson Generals to the new park, affiliating with the Houston 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.

Meanwhile, the Pacific Coast League's Edmonton Trappers franchise, left isolated by the departure of the Calgary 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. The Triple-A club would carry on the Round Rock Express identity; the Double-A club would become the Corpus Christi Hooks, and the Ryan group was able to negotiate an affiliation swap with the New 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 the Nashville Sounds in five games to take the American Conference championship, they advanced to the PCL championship series, but lost to the Tucson 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 the Texas 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.

On September 20, 2018, the Express announced a 4-year Player Development Contract with the Houston Astros. 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.

The Express later re-affiliated with the Texas Rangers for 2021 and were organized into the Triple-A West. Round Rock ended the season tied for second place in the Eastern Division with a 61–58 record. No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner. 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. Round Rock finished the tournament tied for seventh place with a 6–4 record. 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.

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, Round Rock won the second-half title at 45–30. Overall, the team posted the league's second-best record, 89–60. In a single round of playoffs to determine the PCL championship versus the Oklahoma City Dodgers, winners of the first half, the Express were defeated, two games to none.

Season-by-season records +KeyLeagueThe team's final position in the league standingsDivisionThe team's final position in the divisional standingsGBGames behind the team that finished in first place in the division that seasonClass champions (2005–present)League champions (2000–present)§Conference champions (2005–2020)* Division champions (2000–2022)^Postseason berth (2000–present)

+Season-by-season recordsSeasonLeagueRegular-seasonPostseasonMLB affiliateRecordWin %LeagueDivisionRecordWin %Result2000^ * TL 83–57 .593 7–3 Won First Half Western Division titleWon Western Division title vs. El Paso Diablos, 3–2Won TL championship vs. Wichita Wranglers, 4–1 Houston Astros 2001^ * TL 86–54 .614 3–4 Won First Half Western Division titleWon Western Division title vs. San Antonio Missions, 3–2Lost TL championship vs. Arkansas Travelers, 2–0 Houston Astros 2002^ TL 75–65 .536 2–3 Won First Half Western Division titleLost Western Division title vs. San Antonio Missions, 3–2 Houston Astros 2003 TL 46–94 .329 Houston Astros 2004^ * TL 86–54 .614 1–4 Won First and Second Half Western Division titlesWon Western Division titleLost TL championship vs. Frisco RoughRiders, 4–1 Houston Astros 2005 PCL 74–70 .514 Houston Astros 2006* § PCL 85–59 .590 3–5 Won American Conference Southern Division titleWon American Conference title vs. Nashville Sounds, 3–2Lost PCL championship vs. Tucson Sidewinders, 3–0 Houston Astros 2007 PCL 61–81 .430 Houston Astros 2008 PCL 64–79 .448 Houston Astros 2009 PCL 63–81 .438 Houston Astros 2010 PCL 57–87 .396 Houston Astros 2011* PCL 87–57 .604 1–3 Won American Conference Southern Division titleLost American Conference title vs. Omaha Storm Chasers, 3–1 Texas Rangers 2012 PCL 69–75 .479 Texas Rangers 2013 PCL 73–71 .507 Texas Rangers 2014 PCL 70–74 .486 Texas Rangers 2015* § PCL 78–66 .542 5–3 Won American Conference Southern Division titleWon American Conference title vs. Oklahoma City Dodgers, 3–0Lost PCL championship vs. Fresno Grizzlies, 3–2 Texas Rangers 2016 PCL 71–72 .497 Texas Rangers 2017 PCL 66–72 .478 Texas Rangers 2018 PCL 65–73 .471 Texas Rangers 2019* § PCL 84–56 .600 3–5 Won American Conference Southern Division titleWon American Conference title vs. Iowa Cubs, 3–2Lost PCL championship vs. Sacramento River Cats, 3–0 Houston Astros 2020 PCLSeason cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) Houston Astros 2021 AAAW 67–62 .519 Texas Rangers 2022 PCL 79–71 .527 Texas Rangers 2023^ PCL 89–60 .597 Won second-half titleLost PCL championship vs. Oklahoma City Dodgers, 2–0 Texas Rangers 2024 PCL 71–77 .480 Texas Rangers 2025 PCL 77–73 .513 Texas Rangers 2026 PCL 73–77 .487 Texas Rangers Totals — 1,899–1,817 — — — 25–32 — — —

Dell Diamond attendance

+Season attendance records thebaseballcube.com, Round Rock Express Team Pages, 2000-2004. milb.com, PCL Attendance Tables, 2005-Present. 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) Houston Astros (Triple-A) 2021 4,777 64 305,742 Texas Rangers (Triple-A) 2022 5,507 70 412,988 Texas Rangers (Triple-A) 2023 5,561 74 411,550 Texas Rangers (Triple-A) 2024 5,084 72 366,025 Texas Rangers (Triple-A) 2025 4,929 72 354,867 Texas Rangers (Triple-A)

+Attendance ranking by affiliation (through 2025) Rank Average Affiliation Seasons Games Total attendance 1 9,311 Houston Astros 12 849 7,905,350 2 7,282 Texas Rangers 13 918 6,685,314

Roster

Notable alumni Yordan Alvarez (born 1997), MLB designated hitter and outfielder Josh Banks (born 1982), MLB pitcher Richard Bleier (born 1987), MLB pitcher John Buck, MLB catcher Roger Clemens, MLB pitcher Chris Davis, MLB first baseman Morgan Ensberg, MLB third baseman Joey Gallo, MLB outfielder and first baseman Mike Gallo, MLB pitcher Craig Gentry, MLB outfielder Keith Ginter, MLB onfielder Jason Hirsh, MLB pitcher Josh Jung, MLB third baseman Roy Oswalt, MLB pitcher Humberto Quintero, MLB catcher Myles Straw, MLB outfielder Garrett Stubbs, MLB catcher Taylor Teagarden, MLB catcher Hunter Pence, MLB outfielder Willy Taveras, MLB outfielder Kyle Tucker, MLB outfielder José Urquidy, MLB pitcher

Popular culture The "Play Ball" episode of The Simple Life, a reality television series starring young wealthy socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie, took place during an Express game. The show aired on July 21, 2004, as the 15th episode of the show's second season.List provided by the Texas Film Commission: Katie Kelley, Office Manager - Texas Film Commission, Email, July 23, 2009

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 actor Will Ferrell, who briefly took the mound at Dell Diamond to promote his nearby charity golf tournament. MLB.com, "Will Ferrell pitches, entertains in Round Rock", May 7, 2010.

Notes

References

External links

Official website