Minor League Baseball is About to Start in the Pacific Northwest
Tri-City Dust Devils
The first of two Northwest League teams that have only ever been a short-season team. Tri-City fans will get to experience a full minor league season. There were other teams in the Tri-City area, and that had even carried the name Tri-City. However, this team is relatively new (established in 2000). One an original minor league team of the Colorado Rockies, they are now part of the Angels system (2021).
The Dust Devils play at Gesa Stadium, which opened in 1995. Previously it was the home stadium of the Tri-City Posse, which was a member of n professional independent league team. The locals refer to the stadium as Dust Devil stadium despite Gesa having the naming rights.
Hillsboro Hops
The newest member of this neat conglomeration of short-season teams is the Hillsboro Hops (2013). Arizona is the only MLB affiliation in the Hops short history. Despite how new this team is, they have one of the strongest attendance resumes since their inception.
Their popularity is partially due to no other minor league affiliates in Portland (Hillsboro is a suburb). The Hops have won three championships in their short history and they are the current defending champions of the now-defunct Northwest League.
Playing their games at Ron Tonkin Field (4,710 capacity), they have led the Northwest League in attendance. Their average of just north of 3,774 fans per game in 2015 was the best average to capacity (80.12%) in all of the minors. They are routinely in the top 10 in this category.
Get out and represent
Minor League baseball is absolutely an important part of the entire baseball experience. There isn’t a feeder system in professional sports similar in scope to what Minor League baseball provides. The NHL is the closest, but attendance and consistent affiliation are both a struggle for the 4th most popular North American sport.
Getting out to a local venue to support professional baseball can be a wonderful experience, even if they aren’t affiliated with your favorite team. Minor League baseball is about to start again. The season is a month delayed, rather than a week delayed, but it will happen. In the Northwest, there will be more opportunities to see baseball because of these six teams and all of your other favorite area minor league teams.
Joe Swenson is a lifelong Seattle Sports fan, author of Letter #3 and the soon-to-be-published The Key. He’s also a co-host of the popular sports podcast, In The Clutch. Additionally, Joe is president, director, writer, and producer of Broken Arts Entertainment.