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Portland Rockies


FieldValue
namePortland Rockies
firstseason1995
lastseason2000
cityPortland, Oregon
logoPortlandrockies logo.png
class levelClass A Short Season
leagueNorthwest League
divisionSouth
ballparkCivic Stadium
pastmajorleagueColorado Rockies
colorsPurple, black, silver, white
mascotRocky the Raccoon
leaguenum1
leaguechamps1997
divnum2
divisionchamps

The Portland Rockies were a minor league baseball team that played in Portland, Oregon. The Rockies were members of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League for six years, from 1995 through 2000. Prior to relocating to Portland, the franchise played in Bend as the Bend Rockies from 1992 through 1994.

History

The Rose City was without baseball as then-owner Joe Buzas relocated the Portland Beavers of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League to Salt Lake City following the 1993 season. Calgary Cannons owner Russ Parker threatened to move his club south to Portland, but ultimately remained in Alberta. With Oregon's largest city open, the Bend Rockies opted to fill the void by relocating from Central Oregon. The Bend Rockies were the parent club's first minor league team, continued their affiliation in the move to Portland.

The Rockies had success in Portland, including a league championship in 1997. Although few Class A teams play in cities as large as Portland, the Rockies were able to maintain local interest in baseball. The team served an important role for the city, whose demand for a major league team was growing.

With the community's support for the Portland Rockies, Civic Stadium was renovated in 2000 to regain Triple-A baseball. Their efforts proved to be successful as the Albuquerque Dukes moved from New Mexico to Portland and became a new incarnation of the Triple-A Beavers for the 2001 PCL season. The displaced Northwest League franchise relocated up the Columbia River to Pasco, Washington located in the Tri-Cities area. The team was renamed the Tri-City Dust Devils.

Identity

Their name and logo mimicked the mountain theme of the Colorado club, even though Portland is not located in the Rocky Mountains. A rose was added to the team's cap logo to signify Portland's nickname, the "Rose City."

Ballpark

The Rockies played at Civic Stadium (now known as Providence Park) located in Portland. In 2000, PGE Park was renovated and a new incarnation of the AAA Beavers moved into the stadium in 2001. With the departure of professional baseball the stadium was converted into a soccer only venue in 2011 as part of a $31 million reinvention and is now the home of the Portland Timbers.

Season-by-season record

SeasonPDCDivisionFinishWinsLossesWin%PostseasonManagerAttendance
Portland Rockies
1995COLSouth2nd4134.547P. J. Carey249,696
1996COLSouth3rd3343.434Ron Gideon249,995
1997COLSouth1st4432.579Defeated Boise in championship series 3-2Jim Eppard213,242
1998COLSouth3rd3442.447Jim Eppard184,172
1999COLSouth1st3937.513Lost to Spokane in championship series 3-0Alan Cockrell206,136
2000COLSouth4th3244.421Billy White161,446
Division winnerLeague champions

Former players

Notable former Portland Rockies include MLB players Chone Figgins, Juan Pierre, Clint Barmes, Brad Hawpe, Jake Westbrook, and Garrett Atkins.

Portland Rockies players (1995–2000)

References

References

  1. (August 5, 1993). "Calgary still holding key to Rockies' possible move". The Bulletin.
  2. (December 10, 1991). "Colorado Rockies select Bend as teams 1st minor league club". Eugene Register-Guard.
  3. (September 11, 1997). "Portland claims first NWL title after trailing series 0-2". Spokesman-Review.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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