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Information about Pacific Coast League

For the high school sports league, see .
Pacific Coast League
Enlarge picture
Pacific Coast League logo
SportBaseball
Founded1903
No. of teams16
Country(ies) United States
Most recent champion(s)Sacramento River Cats
Official websitewww.pclbaseball.com
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a minor league baseball league operating in the West and Midwest of the United States. It is one of two leagues, along with the International League, playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.

History

The PCL has had a long tradition on the West Coast, with teams with evocative names such as the Hollywood Stars, Los Angeles Angels, Mission Reds (representing San Francisco's Mission District), Oakland Oaks, Portland Beavers, Sacramento Solons, Salt Lake Bees, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Seals, Seattle Rainiers, and Vernon Tigers.

A near-major league

In the early 20th century, the Pacific Coast League developed into one of the premier regional baseball leagues. With no Major League Baseball team existing west of St. Louis, the PCL was unrivaled as the vehicle for West Coast baseball. Although never recognized as a true major league, the quality of play was considered very high. Drawing from a strong pool of talent in the area, the PCL produced a number of outstanding players, including future major-league stars Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Tony Lazzeri, Paul Waner, Earl Averill, and Ernie Lombardi.

While many PCL stars went on to play in the major leagues, teams in the league were often successful enough that they could offer competitive salaries to avoid being outbid for their stars' services. In addition, the mild climate of the West Coast, especially in California, allowed the league to play longer seasons, sometimes starting in late February and ending as late as the beginning of December. This let players earn an extra month or two worth of pay and reduced the need to find offseason work, something which even some major league players found necessary because of the low salaries, by today's standards, paid to many players. The longer playing season also provided room for additional games on the schedule, giving team owners a chance at generating more revenue. Teams sometimes played over 200 games in a single season. One consequence is that a number of the all-time minor league records for season statistical totals are held by players from the PCL.

In 1952, the PCL became the only minor league in history to be given the "Open" classification, a step above the AAA level. This limited the rights of major league clubs to draft players from the PCL, and was seen as a step toward the circuit becoming a third major league.

Sudden decline

The shift to the Open classification came just as minor league teams from coast to coast suffered a sharp drop in attendance, primarily due to the availability of major league games on television. The hammer blow to the PCL's major league dreams came in 1958, when the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles and the New York Giants moved to San Francisco. As a result, three of the PCL's flagship teams (the Los Angeles Angels, the Hollywood Stars, and the San Francisco Seals) were immediately forced to relocate to smaller markets. Additionally, the PCL did not benefit from the comparison with the major leagues, which now occupied the same territory and drew away much of the attention of its former fans. The league never recovered from this blow. It reverted to AAA classification, and soon diminished in the public eye to nothing more than another minor league.

Of the cities represented in the PCL in its heyday, only Salt Lake City, Portland, and Sacramento remain, and even these are represented by different franchises than those that had originally called these cities home. The Oakland Oaks had moved to Canada two years before the arrival of the Giants. The San Diego Padres and Seattle Rainiers were displaced by Major League teams in 1968, but by this time the PCL's decline was already far advanced.

Recent expansion

In 1997, the Pacific Coast League agreed to take teams from the disbanding American Association, which had operated in the Midwest. The league now stretches from western Washington to Middle Tennessee. The league is divided into two conferences, the American Conference and Pacific Conference; after a realignment for 2005 necessitated by the move of the Edmonton Trappers to Round Rock, Texas, each is divided into a North Division and a South Division. The Trappers' move also ended the league's presence in Canada; as recently as 1999 the league had teams north of the border in Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton, but they left for Sacramento in 2000, Albuquerque in 2003, and Round Rock in 2005 respectively. In 2005, the Pacific Coast League became the first minor league ever to achieve a season attendance of over 7 million.

Current member teams, affiliations, and stadiums

American Conference

North Division
Name MLB Affiliation Stadium
Iowa CubsChicago CubsPrincipal Park
Memphis RedbirdsSt. Louis CardinalsAutoZone Park
Nashville SoundsMilwaukee BrewersHerschel Greer Stadium
Omaha RoyalsKansas City RoyalsJohnny Rosenblatt Stadium


South Division
Name MLB Affiliation Stadium
Albuquerque IsotopesFlorida MarlinsIsotopes Park
New Orleans ZephyrsNew York MetsZephyr Field
Oklahoma RedHawksTexas RangersAT&T Bricktown Ballpark
Round Rock ExpressHouston AstrosDell Diamond

Pacific Conference

North Division
Name MLB Affiliation Stadium
Colorado Springs Sky SoxColorado RockiesSecurity Service Field
Portland BeaversSan Diego PadresPGE Park
Salt Lake BeesLos Angeles Angels of AnaheimFranklin Covey Field
Tacoma RainiersSeattle MarinersCheney Stadium


South Division
Name MLB Affiliation Stadium
Fresno GrizzliesSan Francisco GiantsChukchansi Park
Las Vegas 51sLos Angeles DodgersCashman Field
Sacramento River CatsOakland AthleticsRaley Field
Tucson SidewindersArizona DiamondbacksTucson Electric Park

2007 Standings

Final standings for the 2007 season
American Conference
North Division
Team W L Win % GB Finish*
Nashville Sounds8955.618-1st
Iowa Cubs7965.54910.03rd
Omaha Royals7371.50716.09th
Memphis Redbirds5688.38933.016th
South Division
Team W L Win % GB Finish*
New Orleans Zephyrs7569.521-6th
Albuquerque Isotopes7270.5072.08th
Oklahoma RedHawks7172.4973.510th
Round Rock Express6181.43013.014th
Pacific Conference
North Division
Team W L Win % GB Finish*
Salt Lake Bees7469.517-7th
Colorado Springs Sky Sox6975.4795.511th
Tacoma Rainiers6876.4726.512th
Portland Beavers5886.40316.515th
South Division
Team W L Win % GB Finish*
Sacramento River Cats8360.580-2nd
Fresno Grizzlies7767.5356.54th
Tucson Sidewinders7566.5327.05th
Las Vegas 51s6777.46516.513th
* Finish denotes position in the overall league standings.

Teams timeline

Note: Teams in italics are PCL "classic" teams.

Former American Association teams

Five current league teams were acquired by the PCL following the disbandment of the American Association after the 1997 season.

Presidents of the PCL

  • 1903-1906 Eugene F. Bert
  • 1907-1909 J. Cal Ewing
  • 1910-1911 Judge Thomas F. Graham
  • 1912-1919 Allan T. Baum
  • 1920-1923 William H. McCarthy
  • 1924-1931 Harry A. Williams
  • 1932-1935 Hyland H. Baggerly
  • 1936-1943 William C. Tuttle
  • 1944-1954 Clarence H. Rowland
  • 1955-1955 Claire V. Goodwin
  • 1956-1959 Leslie M. O’ Connor
  • 1960-1968 Dewey Soriano
  • 1968-1973 William B. McKechnie, Jr.
  • 1974-1978 Roy Jackson
  • 1979-1997 William S. Cutler
  • 1998-present Branch Rickey III

See also

References

1. ^ [1]

External links

Professional Baseball Leagues
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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Sacramento River Cats Founded in 1978
West Sacramento, California

Team Logo Cap Insignia
Class-Level
  • Triple-A (2000-Present)

Minor League affiliations

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Minor League Baseball, formerly the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues and also known in the past as NAPBL, National Baseball Association, and NA
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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Sport Baseball
Founded 1885
No. of teams 14
Country(ies)  United States

Most recent champion(s) Richmond Braves

Official website www.ilbaseball.
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AAA (or Triple-A) refers to the highest level Minor league baseball affiliate of a team in Major League Baseball.

AAA teams are typically located in the largest metropolitan areas without Major League Baseball franchises (Sacramento; Portland; Buffalo; Las Vegas;
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Sport Baseball
Founded 1876
No. of teams 30
Country(ies)  United States
 Canada

Most recent champion(s) St. Louis Cardinals

TV partner(s) FOX, ESPN, and TBS
Official website MLB.
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Hollywood Stars were a minor league baseball team which played in the Pacific Coast League during the early and mid 20th century. There were actually two different teams which played in Los Angeles as the Hollywood Stars, as rivals of the Los Angeles Angels.
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Los Angeles Angels were a minor league baseball based in Los Angeles, California that played from 1903 through 1957. They were members of the Pacific Coast League.

Team History

From 1903 through 1957, the Los Angeles Angels
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The Mission Reds was a minor league baseball team located in San Francisco, California that played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1926 through 1937.

Original Missions


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Mission District, also commonly called "The Mission", is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, USA named after the sixth Alta California mission, Mission San Francisco de Asis.
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Oakland Oaks were a minor league baseball team which played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 until 1955. Along with the Los Angeles Angels, Portland Beavers, Sacramento Solons, San Francisco Seals, and Seattle Indians, the Oaks were charter members of the Pacific Coast League
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Portland Beavers Founded in 1903
Portland, Oregon

Team Logo Cap Insignia
Class-Level
  • Triple-A
  • Class B (1918)
Minor League affiliations

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The Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods (1903, 1905, 1909-1914, 1918-1960, 1974-1976).
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Salt Lake Bees Founded in 1994
Salt Lake City, Utah

Team Logo Cap Insignia
Class-Level
  • Triple-A

Minor League affiliations

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For the current National League baseball team, see .
The San Diego Padres were a minor league baseball team which played in the Pacific Coast League from 1936 through 1968.
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San Francisco Seals were a minor league baseball team which played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 until 1957. Along with the Los Angeles Angels, Portland Beavers, Oakland Oaks, Sacramento Solons, and Seattle Indians, the Seals were charter members of the Pacific Coast League
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The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians, were a minor league baseball team which played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 through 1906, and from 1919 though 1968.
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The Vernon Tigers were a minor league baseball team which played in the Pacific Coast League from 1909 through 1925. Vernon, California was and is a small town in Los Angeles County.
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Joseph Paul DiMaggio, born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, Jr. (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed Joltin' Joe and The Yankee Clipper, was a Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire MLB career (1936–1951) for the New York
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As Player
  • Boston Red Sox (1939-1942), (1946-1952), (1953-1960)
As Manager
  • Washington Senators (1969-1971)
  • Texas Rangers (1972)
Career Highlights and Awards
Career Records:

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Anthony Michael "Tony" Lazzeri (December 6, 1903 — August 6, 1946) was an American Major League Baseball player during the 1920s and 1930s, predominantly with the New York Yankees.
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Paul Glee Waner (April 16, 1903 - August 29, 1965) was an American player in professional baseball who, along with his brother Lloyd, starred in the Pittsburgh Pirates' outfield in the 1920s and 1930s.
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Howard Earl Averill (May 21, 1902 - August 16, 1983) was an American player in Major League Baseball who was a center fielder from 1929 to 1941. He was a six-time All-Star (1933-38) and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.
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Ernesto Natali (Ernie) Lombardi (born April 6, 1908 in Oakland, California — died September 26, 1977 in Santa Cruz, California), was a Major League Baseball catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Cincinnati Reds, the Boston Braves and the New York Giants during a Hall of Fame
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Statistics are very important to baseball, perhaps as much as they are for cricket, and more than almost any other sport. Since the flow of baseball has natural breaks to it, the game lends itself to easy record keeping and statistics.
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1920s  1930s  1940s  - 1950s -  1960s  1970s  1980s
1949 1950 1951 - 1952 - 1953 1954 1955

Year 1952 (MCMLII
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