Bellingham Dodgers
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The Bellingham minor league baseball team represented Bellingham, Washington in the Northwest League from 1973 to 1996. The team was known as the Bellingham Dodgers (affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers) from 1973 to 1976, as the Bellingham Mariners (affiliated with the Seattle Mariners) from 1977 to 1994, and as the Bellingham Giants (affiliated with the San Francisco Giants) from 1995 to 1996.
The Bellingham Dodgers joined the Northwest League in 1973, representing Bellingham, Washington. In their first season they outdrew Seattle and trailed only Portland with an attendance of 38,396. The Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate went 42-37, second in the western division, under manager Bill Berrier. No one from the team had a great season though OF Jeffrey Leonard (.278/~.341/.364, .908 fielding) went on to a respectable major-league career.
Berrier's club improved to 52-32 in 1974 and won the western division title before falling 2 games to 1 in the finals to the Eugene Emeralds, eastern division champs. The club had three All-Stars - Leonard (.324/~.401/.428) and pitchers Rick Sutcliffe (10-3, 1 Sv, 3.32) and Guy Todd (11-3, 4 Sv, 1.72, the league leader in wins and ERA). Steve McNulty (8-5, 2.33) was second to Todd in ERA while 3B Pedro Guerrero hit a solid .316/~.362/.438 and tied for the league lead with 23 doubles. OF/1B Don Cardoza batted .319/~.372/.496 and led the league with 155 total bases; he tied for the lead with 7 triples.
Bellingham made national headlines in 1975 by setting a then-record of futility by losing their first 25 games. They drew in the fewest fans (21,357) and had the worst record in the league by far, 17-61. Berrier's club hit 40 points lower than the next team, scoring 90 runs less than any other team while allowing 115 more. Dave Stewart (0-5, 5.51) went on to have the best career from the team, though Jim Evans (4-5, 2.82) had the best year, finishing 6th in the league in ERA.
Bellingham again outdrew Seattle a year before they were to become a Seattle farm team, 23.225 to 16,294. Berrier's team improved to 30-42 but again pulled up the rear in their division. Stewart was 1-1 with a 5.04 ERA while Jim Albert was the ace (8-3, 2.82 ERA, 4th in the league). Rudy Law (.335/~.415/.410, 19 for 23 in SB) and Tack Wilson (.329/~.449/.431, a league-best 36 SB in 46 tries and a league-high 8 triples) roamed the outfield, Mike Scioscia (.278/~.420/.457, a league-worst .944 fielding at catcher) showed good power and walked frequently. The sole All-Star was 1B George Kaage, who batted .280/~.379/.416.
The Bellingham Mariners began play in the Northwest League in 1977, replacing the Bellingham Dodgers. Famous alumni of the team include Dave Henderson, Dave Valle, Edgar Martínez, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Raúl Ibáñez. They captured league titles in 1977, 1986, and 1992 and were co-champions in 1980. In 1995, the Mariners were replaced by the Bellingham Giants.
In 1995 the Bellingham Giants replaced the Bellingham Mariners as the Bellingham, Washington representative in the Northwest League. They had a strong first season; while they drew the fewest fans in the league (54,104) they won 20 of 25 at one point and finished 43-33, the best record in the northern division. NWL Manager of the Year Glenn Tufts' squad then took both games in the postseason from the Boise Hawks to seal the title. The team led the league with a 3.05 ERA. 2B Jon Watson (.299/~.355/.364) made the All-Star team, while 3B Deivi Cruz hit .296/~.351/.413. Between them was future pitcher/then-shortstop Joe Nathan, who hit .232/~.317/.345. OF Julio Morales led the league with 18 doubles and stole 26 bases in 35 tries. Russ Ortiz (2-0, 11 Sv, 0.52) allowed just 19 hits in 34 innings while striking out 55 batters. The other top hurlers were Joe Fontenot (0-3, 1.93) and Darin Blood (6-3, 2.54). Yorvit Torrealba hit just .155/~.178/.197.
Ozzie Virgil Jr. and Shane Turner managed Bellingham in 1996 and the team finished 39-36, a half-game behind the Yakima Bears, who beat Bellingham in the final game of the year to take the northern division title. SS Mike Caruso stole 24 bases (to lead the league) and was named the top prospect in a poll of managers; he hit .292/~.326/.359 and led shortstops with 38 errors. Torrealba improved to .267. 2B Tony Zuniga also made the All-Star team after a .299/~.379/.371 season. Three of the four All-Star pitchers in the NWL came from the Giants - Mick Pageler (2-0, 12 Sv, 1.57, 55 K in 34 IP), Brandon Leese (5-6, 3.25, 90 K in 80 IP) and Ken Vining (4-2, 2.09, 69 K in 60 IP).
The Giants did not return in 1997 after again posting the lowest attendance (48,417, almost 30,000 less than the next team), and after disputes with the city of Bellingham regarding capitol improvements to facilities at their home field, Civic Stadium. The team moved to Keizer, Oregon and became the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes to play in a new stadium.
[edit] Year-by-Year Record
| Year | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 42-37 | 3rd | Bill Berrier | none |
| 1974 | 52-32 | 1st | Bill Berrier | Lost League Finals |
| 1975 | 17-61 | 6th | Bill Berrier | |
| 1976 | 30-42 | 6th | Bill Berrier | |
| 1977 | 42-26 | 2nd | Bobby Floyd | League Champs |
| 1978 | 41-30 | 3rd | Bob Didier | |
| 1979 | 41-31 | 3rd (t) | Jeff Scott | |
| 1980 | 45-25 | 1st | Jeff Scott | Co-Champs w/ Eugene Emeralds |
| 1981 | 39-31 | 2nd | Jeff Scott | Lost playoffs |
| 1982 | 33-37 | 3rd | Jeff Scott | |
| 1983 | 40-28 | 2nd | Jeff Scott | Lost playoffs |
| 1984 | 42-32 | 3rd | Gary Pellant | |
| 1985 | 39-35 | 3rd (t) | Gary Pellant | |
| 1986 | 45-29 | 1st (t) | Sal Rende | League Champs |
| 1987 | 30-46 | 7th | Rick Sweet | |
| 1988 | 25-51 | 8th | P.J. Carey | |
| 1989 | 32-43 | 7th | P.J. Carey | |
| 1990 | 32-44 | 6th | P.J. Carey | |
| 1991 | 37-39 | 5th (t) | Dave Myers | |
| 1992 | 43-33 | 1st (t) | Dave Myers | League Champs |
| 1993 | 44-32 | 1st | Mike Goff | Lost playoffs |
| 1994 | 42-34 | 3rd | Mike Goff | |
| 1995 | 43-33 | 2nd | Glenn Tufts | Lost League Finals |
| 1996 | 39-36 | 4th | Ozzie Virgil Sr / Shane Turner |
This article is based on the "Bellingham Dodgers" article at Baseball-Reference.com Bullpen. The Bullpen is a wiki, and its content is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
