Northwest League
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the active Minor League Baseball league. For the defunct Minor League Baseball league, see Pacific Northwest League.
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| Formerly | Western International League (WIL) (1937–1954) |
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| Sport | Baseball |
| Founded | 1955 |
| President | Mike Ellis |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Countries | United States, Canada |
| Most recent champion(s) | Hillsboro Hops |
| Most titles | 8 (tie) – Spokane, Yakima |
| Level on pyramid | Single A Short season |
| Official website | northwestleague.com |
Northwest League of Professional Baseball (or simply the Northwest League or NWL) is a short-season Class A minor league. The league is the descendant of the Western International League (WIL), a class B league from 1937–1951 (with time out for World War II), and class A from 1952–1954. The league reformed, dropped back down to class B, and changed its name for the 1955 season.[1][2]
The Northwest League (or the Northwestern League) has existed in various forms since 1890, and has been in its current incarnation since 1955.[3] It switched to the short season schedule in 1966,[4] with only four teams.[5][6]
The WIL had ten teams in its final year in 1954, with four in Canada. The six U.S. cities plus Eugene were the seven charter teams of the Northwest League in 1955: Salem Senators, Eugene Emeralds, Yakima Bears, Spokane Indians, Tri-City Braves, Wenatchee Chiefs, and Lewiston Broncs.[7][8] During its fiftieth season in 2004, five of the seven original cities were in the league.
The NWL's short season starts in mid-June, after major league teams have signed their amateur draft picks to professional contracts, and ends in early September. All eight teams are affiliated with a major league team.
Contents
Current teams[edit]
| Division | Team | MLB Affiliation | City | Stadium | Seating Capacity |
Attendance (2013) |
Average (2013) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | Everett AquaSox | Seattle Mariners | Everett, Washington | Everett Memorial Stadium | 3,682 | 92,489 | 2,569 |
| Spokane Indians | Texas Rangers | Spokane, Washington | Avista Stadium | 6,803 | 187,371 | 5,064 | |
| Tri-City Dust Devils | San Diego Padres | Pasco, Washington | Gesa Stadium | 3,654 | 83,987 | 2,270 | |
| Vancouver Canadians | Toronto Blue Jays | Vancouver, British Columbia | Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium | 6,013 | 184,042 | 4,843 | |
| South | Boise Hawks | Colorado Rockies | Boise, Idaho | Memorial Stadium | 4,500 | 91,324 | 2,468 |
| Eugene Emeralds | Chicago Cubs | Eugene, Oregon | PK Park | 4,000 | 112,028 | 2,948 | |
| Hillsboro Hops | Arizona Diamondbacks | Hillsboro, Oregon | Ron Tonkin Field | 4,500 | 135,167 | 3,557 | |
| Salem-Keizer Volcanoes | San Francisco Giants | Keizer, Oregon | Volcanoes Stadium | 4,250 | 98,024 | 2,580 |
Source:[9]
Current team rosters[edit]
-
Main article: Northwest League rosters
Former Northwest League Teams (1955–)[edit]
Cities that have hosted NWL Teams[edit]
British Columbia[edit]
Idaho[edit]Oregon[edit]
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Washington[edit]
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Eugene is the most-tenured city in the NWL, having fielded a team in all but five of the NWL's seasons (from 1969–73, they had a PCL franchise)
Notable alumni[edit]
Four alumni of the Northwest League are enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame:
- Tony Gwynn – Walla Walla Padres, 1981; inducted in 2007
- Rickey Henderson – Boise A's, 1976; inducted in 2009
- Reggie Jackson – Lewiston Broncs, 1966; inducted in 1993
- Ozzie Smith – Walla Walla Padres, 1977; inducted in 2002
Other notable alumni include:
- Sandy Alomar, Jr. – Spokane Indians, 1984
- Garret Anderson – Boise Hawks, 1990
- Kevin Appier – Eugene Emeralds, 1987
- Pedro Astacio – Yakima Bears, 1990
- Garrett Atkins – Portland Rockies, 2000
- Jim Bouton – Portland Mavericks, 1973 & 1977
- Jason Bartlett – Eugene Emeralds, 2001
- Dante Bichette – Salem Angels, 1984
- Carlos Beltran – Spokane Indians, 1996
- Dallas Braden – Vancouver Canadians, 2004
- José Canseco – Medford A's, 1983
- Aaron Cook – Portland Rockies, 1998
- Eric Davis – Eugene Emeralds, 1980–81
- Mark DeRosa – Eugene Emeralds, 1996
- Dick Dietz – Eugene Emeralds, 1962
- Andre Ethier – Vancouver Canadians, 2003
- Todd Field – Portland Mavericks batboy, 1976–77
- Chone Figgins – Portland Rockies, 1998
- Chuck Finley – Salem Angels, 1985
- George Foster – Medford Giants, 1968
- Matt Franco – Portland Mavericks batboy, 1977
- Julio Franco – Central Oregon Phillies, 1979
- Tom Gordon – Eugene Emeralds, 1987
- Jason Giambi – Southern Oregon A's, 1992
- Carlos González – Yakima Bears, 2004
- Khalil Greene – Eugene Emeralds, 2002
- Ken Griffey, Jr. – Bellingham Mariners, 1987
- Pedro Guerrero – Bellingham Dodgers, 1974
- Bob Hamelin – Eugene Emeralds, 1988
- Felix Hernandez – Everett AquaSox, 2003
- John Kruk – Walla Walla Padres, 1981
- Paul Konerko – Yakima Bears, 1994
- Adam Jones – Everett AquaSox, 2003
- John Lackey – Boise Hawks, 1999
- Tim Lincecum – Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, 2006
- Edgar Martinez – Bellingham Mariners, 1983
- Kirk McCaskill – Salem Angels, 1982
- Rick Monday – Lewiston Broncos, 1965
- Mike Mungin - Southern Oregon A's,1988
- Bill Murray - Grays Harbor Loggers, 1978
- Joe Nathan – Bellingham Giants, 1995; Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, 1997
- Troy Percival – Boise Hawks, 1991
- Eduardo Pérez – Boise Hawks, 1991
- Mike Piazza – Salem Dodgers, 1989
- Juan Pierre – Portland Rockies, 1998
- Buster Posey – Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, 2008
- Francisco Rodríguez – Boise Hawks, 1999
- Kurt Russell – Bend Rainbows, Walla Walla Islanders, Portland Mavericks, 1971–73, 1977
- Tim Salmon – Bend Bucks, 1989
- Jeff Samardzija – Boise Hawks, 2006
- Casey Sander – Seattle Rainiers, 1975
- Pablo Sandoval – Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, 2005
- Mike Scioscia – Bellingham Dodgers, 1976
- Kurt Suzuki – Vancouver Canadians, 2004
- Mike Sweeney – Eugene Emeralds, 1992–93
- Nick Swisher – Vancouver Canadians, 2002
- Miguel Tejada – Southern Oregon A's, 1995
- Matt Williams – Everett Giants, 1986
- Dan Uggla – Yakima Bears, 2001
- Shane Victorino – Yakima Bears, 2000
- Russell Wilson – Tri-City Dust Devils, 2010
- Mike Zunino – Everett AquaSox, 2012
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Spokane gets berth in new ball league". Spokane Daily Chronicle (Washington). November 8, 1954. p. 18.
- ^ "Indians "on first" in baseball plans". Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington). November 9, 1954. p. 14.
- ^ Missildine, Harry (April 20, 1972). "Northwest League goes back to 1890". Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington). p. 22.
- ^ "Northwest League assured for 1966". Eugene Register-Guard (Oregon). November 30, 1965. p. 3B.
- ^ Harvey, Paul, III (June 23, 1966). "4-team NWL slates 12th opener Friday". Eugene Register-Guard (Oregon). p. 2D.
- ^ "Northwest League: final standings". Eugene Register-Guard (Oregon). September 6, 1966. p. 3B.
- ^ "Northwest loop begins to shape into a tight seven-team battle". Spokane Daily Chronicle (Washington). June 11, 1955. p. 8.
- ^ Rodman, Bob (June 17, 1981). "29 years of minor league baseball". Eugene Register-Guard (Oregon). p. 1E.
- ^ http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?y=2013&t=l_att&lid=126&sid=l126
External links[edit]
- Official website
- Baseball Reference – Northwest League
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