The Northwest League is a class A minor league. The league is the descendant of the Western International League which ran as a class B league from 1937-1951 (with time out for WWII) and class A from 1952-1954. The league changed its named and dropped back down to class B for the 1955 season.
The Northwest League (or the Northwestern League) has existed in various forms since 1901, and has been in its current incarnation since 1955.
The original seven charter teams were the Salem Senators, Eugene Emeralds, Yakima Bears, Spokane Indians, Tri-City Braves, Wenatchee Chiefs, and the Lewiston (Idaho) Broncs. At the time of its 50th anniversary season in 2004, five of the seven original cities were still in the league.
The league is classified as a short-season Class A league, which means that its season does not start until June, after major-league teams have signed their amateur draft picks to professional contracts, and ends in September. It has eight teams, each of which is associated with an MLB team:
Current teams
| Division
| Team
| MLB Affiliation
| City
| Stadium
| Capacity
|
| East
| Boise Hawks
| Chicago Cubs
| Boise, Idaho
| Memorial Stadium
| 4,500
|
| Spokane Indians
| Texas Rangers
| Spokane, Washington
| Avista Stadium
| 7,162
|
| Tri-City Dust Devils
| Colorado Rockies
| Pasco, Washington
| Gesa Stadium
| 3,654
|
| Yakima Bears
| Arizona Diamondbacks
| Yakima, Washington
| Yakima County Stadium
| 2,654
|
| West
| Eugene Emeralds
| San Diego Padres
| Eugene, Oregon
| Civic Stadium1
| 6,800
|
| Everett AquaSox
| Seattle Mariners
| Everett, Washington
| Everett Memorial Stadium
| 3,682
|
| Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
| San Francisco Giants
| Keizer, Oregon
| Volcanoes Stadium
| 4,250
|
| Vancouver Canadians
| Oakland Athletics
| Vancouver, British Columbia
| Nat Bailey Stadium
| 6,500
|
- 1 To be replaced in 2010 by a new stadium currently named "Eugene Ballpark"
Current team rosters
Main article: Northwest League rosters
Former Northwest League Teams (1955-)
Notable Alumni
Three alumn of the Northwest League are enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame: Reggie Jackson (Lewiston Broncos, 1966), Ozzie Smith (Walla Walla Padres, 1977), and Tony Gwynn (Walla Walla Padres, 1981).
Other notable alumni include:
-Sandy Alomar, Jr. (Spokane Indians, 1984)
-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)
-José Canseco (Medford A\'s, 1983)
-Eric Davis (Eugene Emeralds, 1980-81)
-Todd Field (Portland Mavericks batboy, 1976 & 1977)
-Chone Figgins (Portland Rockies, 1998)
-George Foster (Medford Giants, 1968)
-Julio Franco (Central Oregon Phillies, 1979)
-Tom Gordon (Eugene Emeralds, 1987)
-Khalil Greene (Eugene Emeralds, 2002)
-Ken Griffey, Jr. (Bellingham Mariners, 1987)
-Pedro Guerrero (Bellingham Dodgers, 1974)
-Rickey Henderson (Boise A\'s, 1976)
-Rick Monday (Lewiston Broncos, 1965)
-Joe Nathan (Bellingham Giants, 1995; Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, 1997)
-Mike Piazza (Salem Dodgers, 1989)
-Kurt Russell (Portland Mavericks, 1977)
-Tim Salmon (Bend Bucks, 1989)
-Mike Scioscia (Bellingham Dodgers, 1976)
-Reggie Thomas (Portland Mavericks, 1975 & 1976)
See also
External links
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia
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