Northwest League logo |
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| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1955 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country(ies) | USA Canada |
| Most recent champion(s) | Vancouver Canadians |
| Official website | northwestleague.com |
The Northwest League of Professional Baseball (or simply the Northwest League or NWL) is a Class A-Short Season minor baseball 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 name 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 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 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.
Contents |
| Division | Team | MLB Affiliation | City | Stadium | Seating Capacity |
Attendance (2010) |
Average (2010) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | Boise Hawks | Chicago Cubs | Boise, Idaho | Memorial Stadium | 4,500 | 105,671 | 2,781 |
| Spokane Indians | Texas Rangers | Spokane, Washington | Avista Stadium | 7,162 | 175,287 | 4,613 | |
| Tri-City Dust Devils | Colorado Rockies | Pasco, Washington | Gesa Stadium | 3,654 | 84,921 | 2,235 | |
| Yakima Bears | Arizona Diamondbacks | Yakima, Washington | Yakima County Stadium | 2,654 | 70,695 | 1,860 | |
| West | Eugene Emeralds | San Diego Padres | Eugene, Oregon | PK Park | 4,000 | 107,561 | 2,830 |
| Everett AquaSox | Seattle Mariners | Everett, Washington | Everett Memorial Stadium | 3,682 | 90,079 | 2,370 | |
| Salem-Keizer Volcanoes | San Francisco Giants | Keizer, Oregon | Volcanoes Stadium | 4,250 | 96,219 | 2,532 | |
| Vancouver Canadians | Toronto Blue Jays | Vancouver, British Columbia | Nat Bailey Stadium | 5,157 | 154,592 | 4,068 |
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Eugene has fielded a team in all but five of the NWL's seasons (from 1969–73, they had a PCL franchise)
Four alumni of the Northwest League are enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame:
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
- Dante Bichette - Salem Angels, 1984
- José Canseco - Medford A's, 1983
- Aaron Cook - Portland Rockies, 1998
- Eric Davis - Eugene Emeralds, 1980-81
- Mark DeRosa - Eugene Emeralds, 1996
- 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
- Khalil Greene - Eugene Emeralds, 2002
- Ken Griffey, Jr. - Bellingham Mariners, 1987
- Pedro Guerrero - Bellingham Dodgers, 1974
- Bob Hamelin - Eugene Emeralds, 1988
- Kirk McCaskill - Salem Angels, 1982
- Rick Monday - Lewiston Broncos, 1965
- Joe Nathan - Bellingham Giants, 1995; Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, 1997
- Mike Piazza - Salem Dodgers, 1989
- Juan Pierre - Portland Rockies, 1998
- Kurt Russell - Bend Rainbows, Walla Walla Islanders, Portland Mavericks, 1971–73, 1977
- Tim Salmon - Bend Bucks, 1989
- Casey Sander - Seattle Rainiers, 1975
- Mike Scioscia - Bellingham Dodgers, 1976
- Mike Sweeney - Eugene Emeralds, 1992-93
- Reggie Thomas - Portland Mavericks, 1975-76
- Shane Victorino - Yakima Bears, 2000
- Nick Swisher - Vancouver Canadians, 2002
- Andre Ethier - Vancouver Canadians, 2003
- Kurt Suzuki - Vancouver Canadians, 2004
- Dallas Braden - Vancouver Canadians, 2004
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