High Desert Mavericks

Last updated
High Desert Mavericks
1988 – 2016
Adelanto, California
HDmavs.PNG HD Mavericks cap.PNG
Team logoCap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Previous classesClass A-Advanced (1988–2016)
Previous leagues
 California League (1988–2016)
Major league affiliations
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles (4)
  • 1991
  • 1993
  • 1997
  • 2016
Team data
Previous names
  • High Desert Mavericks (1991–2016)
  • Riverside Red Wave (1988–1990)
Colors  Red
  Black
  White
MascotWooly-Bully (1991–2016)
Previous parks
 Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium (1991–2016)

The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eight different major league affiliations over its 29 seasons.

Contents

History

The franchise was founded in 1988 and was first based in Riverside, California, and was known as the Red Wave, beginning in 1988. In 1991, the ballclub relocated north, near Hwy 395, to the city of Adelanto, part of the Victor Valley metro area in California's High Desert region.

The Mavericks played their home baseball games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium (known as Stater Bros. Stadium from 2007 to 2014 and Mavericks Stadium until 2007) which opened in 1991 and seats 3,808 fans. The ballpark, next to Hwy 395, is known to be an extreme hitter-friendly venue which tended to inflate home run totals drastically. [1] As a result, offensive statistics for High Desert players were discounted for comparative purposes, while the reverse was the case for statistics accumulated by High Desert pitchers. [2]

On November 29, 2010, High Desert Mavericks were sold to Main Street Baseball after more than a year on the open market. [3] Rumors had the team possibly relocating to Chico, California, if a new proposed ballpark had been built there. Although it was later reported on August 12, 2012, the Mavericks would be staying in the High Desert through the 2015 season and possibly through 2018. [4]

In January 2016, the Adelanto City Council voided the team's lease at Heritage Field. [5] The Mavericks were able to continue for the 2016 season at Heritage Field. However, on August 22, 2016, the California League announced the Mavericks would not return for the 2017 season and would cease operations. [6]

Before the California League announced the Mavericks would not return, rumors had the Mavericks relocating and joining the Carolina League in Kinston, North Carolina, while keeping the Rangers affiliation. However, Minor League Baseball also announced on August 22 that two expansion teams would join the Carolina League in 2017 with the new Kinston team taking over the Rangers affiliation at the A-Advanced level from the Mavericks.

In their final game, the High Desert Mavericks defeated the Visalia Rawhide 7–4 on September 17, 2016, to capture the California League championship. [7]

The final championship completed a bookend for the Mavericks who won the title in 1991, their first year of existence, and in 2016, their final year of existence. [8]

The Mavericks' Luke Tendler hit the final California League home run in Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium and the Mavericks history with a solo home run shot in the bottom of the 8th inning. [8]

In March 2019, the city and the Mavericks' owners settled a lawsuit brought by the owners over the city's 2016 attempt to void the stadium lease, with the city paying $3.8 million to the team owners. [9]

Achievements

Notable High Desert Mavericks alumni

Craig Breslow 091306 106 Craig Breslow.jpg
Craig Breslow
Taylor Stanton pitching for High Desert in 2012 Taylor Stanton Mavs 2012.jpg
Taylor Stanton pitching for High Desert in 2012

Related Research Articles

Adelanto, California City in California, United States

Adelanto is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is approximately 9 miles (14 km) northwest of Victorville in the Victor Valley area of the Mojave Desert, in the northern region of the Inland Empire. The population was 31,765 at the 2010 census.

Victorville, California City in California, United States

Victorville is a city located in the Victor Valley of San Bernardino County, California. Its population as of the 2010 census was 115,903.

The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949.

The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They are named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and play their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's California League, a Class A-Advanced league affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB). With MLB's reorganization of the minor leagues after the 2020 season, Lancaster was not selected to continue in affiliated baseball. The city and the team are exploring options such to continue in baseball for 2021.

The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a minor league baseball team of the Low-A West and the Low-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, their third major league affiliate as the Quakes. The franchise was founded in Lodi, California, in 1966 as members of the California League, with its home field as Tony Zupo Field. The team then went through several new names and ownership changes. After changing their name from the Spirit to the Quakes in 1993 and moving to Rancho Cucamonga, the team plays its home games at LoanMart Field, where the team has broken a number of seasonal attendance records for their league. In the 2015 season, the Quakes won their second Cal League Championship in franchise history, sweeping the San Jose Giants for their first crown since 1994. In 2018, they swept the Visalia Rawhide to win their third league championship. In 2021, as part of Major League Baseball's effort to gain more control over the minor leagues, the California League disbanded and was replaced by the Low-A-West, which now serves as the league home to the Quakes, along with seven other teams.

Adelanto Stadium

Adelanto Stadium is a stadium in Adelanto, California. It is home to the High Desert Elite FC of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL). It holds 3,808 people.

LoanMart Field

LoanMart Field is a stadium in Rancho Cucamonga, California. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home field of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes minor league baseball team. It was opened on April 3, 1993, with the nickname The Epicenter, and has a seating capacity of 6,588 people. While playing home games at the stadium since 1993, the Quakes have broken a number of stadium attendance records.

Salem Memorial Ballpark

Salem Memorial Ballpark is a baseball park in Salem, Virginia. It is part of the James E. Taliferro Sports and Entertainment Complex, along with the Salem Civic Center and Salem Football Stadium, located approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) southeast of downtown. Opened on August 7, 1995, it is home to the Salem Red Sox, a minor-league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. It was built in 1995 at a cost of $10.1 million to replace Municipal Stadium. With a seating capacity of 6,300 people, it offers an impressive view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. For sponsorship reasons, since 2017 the full name of the facility has been Haley Toyota Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark.

Grainger Stadium

Grainger Stadium is a sports venue located in Kinston, North Carolina. It is the home ballpark for the Down East Wood Ducks, which joined the Carolina League starting in the 2017 season, and was placed in the Low-A East for the 2021 season. Grainger was previously home to the Kinston Indians and all the professional Kinston baseball teams since 1949.

Brent Miles is the president of the Tri-City Dust Devils, a short-season single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres of the Northwest League, the president of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, and the president of the High Desert Mavericks of the California League.

Sam Lynn Ballpark is a baseball venue in Bakersfield, California and was the oldest ballpark of the Class-A Advanced California League. It was built in 1941 for the Bakersfield Badgers who began that season as a charter member of the California League. The current tenant is called the Bakersfield Train Robbers, who play in the Pecos League and are not affiliated with any team in Major or Minor League Baseball.

The Riverside Pilots were a Minor League Baseball team in Riverside, California. They were a Class A-Advanced team that played in the California League, and were a farm team of the Seattle Mariners. In spite of making the playoffs each year of its existence, poor attendance plagued the franchise throughout its tenure. The Pilots finished last in the league in attendance for three consecutive seasons. The franchise was moved to Lancaster, for the 1996 season as the Lancaster JetHawks.

Pecos League

The Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs is an independent professional baseball league headquartered in Houston, which operates in cities in desert mountain regions throughout California, New Mexico, Arizona, southern Colorado, Kansas and West Texas. The league plays in cities that do not have Major League Baseball or Minor League Baseball teams and is not affiliated with either.

The Seacoast Mavericks were a collegiate summer baseball team located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. It was a charter member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league in New England. It suspended operation in 2017 pending completion of a sports complex in Dover, New Hampshire. However, in 2019, it abandoned its FCBL franchise.

The Riverside Red Wave were a Minor League Baseball team in Riverside, California. The Red Wave were Class A-Advanced California League affiliate of the San Diego Padres. Plagued by poor attendance, the franchise moved to Adelanto following the 1990 season. The team would become the High Desert Mavericks.

The Down East Wood Ducks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Low-A East and the owned-and-operated Low-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Kinston, North Carolina, and are named for the wood duck, a local colorful waterfowl. Established in 2017, the team plays its home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949 and holds 4,100 people.

The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Low-A East and the Low-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and play their home games at Segra Stadium. From 2017 to 2018, the team was known as the Buies Creek Astros and played at Jim Perry Stadium on the campus of Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina. They were members of the Carolina League from 2017 to 2020.

High Desert Yardbirds

The High Desert Yardbirds were a professional baseball team based in Adelanto, California that began play in 2017. They played in the Pecos League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with MLB or Minor League Baseball.

Adelanto High School is a comprehensive high school of the Victor Valley Union High School District, in Adelanto, California, in the Inland Empire region.

High Desert Elite FC Football club

High Desert Elite FC is an American soccer team based in the Adelanto, California that plays in the National Premier Soccer League.

References

  1. ↑ Cooper, J.J. (June 29, 2009). "Monday Dish: High Desert's Park Strikes Again". Baseball America. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011.
  2. ↑ Sickels, John (January 11, 2010). "Seattle Mariners Top 20 Prospects for 2010". Minor League Ball.
  3. ↑ Peters, Matthew (November 29, 2010). "Mavs sold to Main Street Baseball". Daily Press . Victorville, California . Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  4. ↑ Glaser, Kyle (August 12, 2012). "Adelanto approves new lease with Mavericks". Daily Press . Victorville, California . Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  5. ↑ Heller, Dave; Coufos, Jim (January 26, 2016). "An Open Letter from Mavericks Ownership". OurSports Central (Press release). High Desert Mavericks.
  6. ↑ "Cal League to Downsize in 2017". OurSports Central (Press release). California League. August 22, 2016.
  7. ↑ Avallone, Michael (September 18, 2016). "Mavs wave goodbye with a championship". milb.com. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  8. 1 2 "High Desert Mavericks finish history in style, with California League championship". Inland Valley Daily Bulletin . Rancho Cucamonga, California. September 17, 2016. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  9. ↑ Spedden, Zach (March 12, 2019). "Adelanto, Mavericks Ownership Reach $3.8 Million Settlement". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.