Tri-City Dust Devils

Last updated
Tri-City Dust Devils
Tri-City Dust Devils logo.svg Tri-CityDustDevilsCapLogo.PNG
Team logoCap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class High-A (2021–present)
Previous classes Class A Short Season (2001–2020)
League Northwest League (2001–present)
Major league affiliations
Team Los Angeles Angels (2021–present)
Previous teams
Minor league titles
Division titles (5)
  • 2007
  • 2009
  • 2011
  • 2015
  • 2019
Team data
ColorsNavy blue, gold, white
   
MascotDusty [1]
Ballpark Gesa Stadium
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
 Diamond Baseball Holdings [2]
General managerDerrel Ebert
ManagerWillie Romero
Website milb.com/tri-city-dust-devils

The Tri-City Dust Devils are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pasco, Washington. The Dust Devils are members of the Northwest League and are the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Tri-City plays their home games at Gesa Stadium, which opened in 1995 and has a seating capacity of 3,654.

Contents

History

In 1999 a group called Portland Family Entertainment claimed the Portland territory for AAA franchise. The Portland Rockies had been playing in the Rose City since 1995. Portland Family Entertainment, who had purchased the Albuquerque Dukes franchise would be relocating to Portland for the 2000 season. On July 10 long time owner Jack Cain, who had owned the Rockies franchise dating back to the Bend Phillies, sold the franchise to Portland Family Entertainment. Forced to vacate Portland with arrival of the AAA club, the franchise moved up the Columbia River to the Tri-Cities area. [3]

Upon relocating to the Tri-Cities the team adopted a new unique nickname, Dust Devils. Vice President and general manager Derrel Ebert “We’re pretty big in the agricultural industries around here. With all the farms and all the dirt, we also have a high amount of wind that comes through. We literally get dirt devils, dust devils, those types of mini-tornado type things that come barreling through here at times.” [4]

In their inaugural season the Dust Devils compiled a record of 39-36 to finish second in the north division standings. Despite a losing record, Tri-City won their first division title in 2007. The Dust Devils faced Salem-Keizer in the championship series, but fell to the Volcanoes in four games.

In 2015 the Dust Devils ended their long standing affiliation with the Colorado Rockies. Tri-City signed a player development contract with the San Diego Padres. [5]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minor League Baseball season was cancelled. In the winter of 2020 as part the reorganization of minor league baseball, Tri-City received an invitation to play as High-A affiliate of Los Angeles Angels. [6] In a further change, they were organized into the High-A West along with five other teams previously of the Northwest League. [7] In 2022, the High-A West became known as the Northwest League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. [8]

The Dust Devils' front office is headed up by president Brent Miles and vice president / general manager Derrel Ebert. Prior to Ebert taking over as VP/GM in September 2009, Monica Ortega held the position from 2008 to 2009 as the only female general manager in the Northwest League. The principal owner of the team is hall of famer George Brett, with Miles as a minority owner. [9]

Before the Dust Devils

The Tri-Cities in southeastern Washington, which include Kennewick and Richland along with Pasco, have fielded a number of teams in the Northwest League and its predecessor, the Western International League. The Tri-City Braves were a member of the WIL from 1950 to 1955, when the team became a charter member of the new Northwest League. The Tri-Cities were continually represented through 1974 under various names (Braves 1955–60, 1962; Angels 1961, 1963–64; Atoms 1965–68; A's 1969; Padres 1970–72; Triplets 1973; Ports 1974).

In 1974, the Ports were an independent team and went 27–57 (.321) and drew just 21,611 in home attendance for the season. The team was managed by owner Carl W. Thompson, Sr. before folding.

From 1950 through 1974, home games were held at Sanders-Jacobs Field in Kennewick, [10] [11] located at the northeast corner of Clearwater Avenue and Neel Street ( 46°12′47″N119°10′08″W / 46.213°N 119.169°W / 46.213; -119.169 ). [12] The field was aligned to the northeast and named for Harry Sanders, a Connell farmer, and Tom Jacobs, a former manager and the general manager of the Atoms at the time of his death at age 64 in 1968. [11] [12] The ballpark was demolished in the mid-1970s, shortly after the Ports folded.

The Tri-Cities were without baseball until 1983 when the Tri-Cities Triplets (an homage to the 1973 name) formed, though they only lasted until 1986. The Triplets had relocated from Walla Walla and were an affiliate of the Texas Rangers for the first two years, independent for the final two. They played their home games at Richland High School baseball field, adjacent to the Bomber Bowl football stadium. [13] The team was bought by the Brett brothers in February 1986, [14] then sold that autumn to Diamond Sports, a group headed by the general manager, Mal Fichman. The Triplets relocated to Southwestern Idaho for the 1987 season and became the Boise Hawks.

The Tri-Cities was also home to the Tri-City Posse of the independent Western Baseball League from 1995 to 2000. The Posse were founded in the WBL's first year in 1995, [15] won the league title in 1999, but folded after the 2000 season. [16]

Identity

The Dust Devils, who had continued their relationship with the Colorado Rockies, originally intended to keep purple as their team color. However, when the Dust Devils took the field they donned navy and khaki. The colors were derived from the local topography. "If you drive through the Tri-Cities there three main things you’ll notice, it’s in the desert, so the sky is huge, it’s big sky country, and that’s obviously blue; the Columbia River is the main geographic feature, and that’s a deep, dark blue; and the hills are kind of a brown, khaki color." [4]

Ballpark

The Dust Devils play their home games at Gesa Stadium, which opened in 1995 as Tri-City Stadium. Upon the arrival of the Dust Devils in 2001 the stadium was changed from its original name to Dust Devil Stadium. The stadium has a seating capacity of 3,654.

Season-by-season record

SeasonPDC Division Finish Wins Losses Win% Post-seasonManagerAttendance
Tri-City Dust Devils
2001 COL North2nd3936.520Stu Cole55,613
2002 COL East2nd4036.526Ron Gideon69,824
2003 COL East3rd3343.434Ron Gideon58,976
2004 COL East3rd5036.526Ron Gideon54,087
2005 COL East2nd3640.474Ron Gideon63,173
2006 COL East2nd3838.500Danny Cox67,545
2007 COL East1st3739.487Lost to Salem-Keizer in championship series 3-1Fred Ocasio75,308
2008 COL East3rd3640.474Fred Ocasio82,021
2009 COL East1st4729.618Lost to Salem-Keizer in championship series 3-1Fred Ocasio84,198
2010 COL East4th3046.395Fred Ocasio84,921
2011 COL East1st4432.579Defeated Boise in division finals 2-0
Lost to Vancouver in championship series 2-1		Fred Ocasio85,953
2012 COL East3rd3244.421Fred Ocasio86,095
2013 COL North4th3442.447Fred Ocasio83,987
2014 COL North3rd3343.434Drew Saylor85,679
2015 SDP North2nd4234.553Defeated Everett in division finals 2-1
Lost to Hillsboro in championship series 2-1		 Robbie Wine 100,613
2016 SDP North2nd3442.447 Ben Fritz 86,886
2017 SDP North2nd4036.526Ben Fritz86,461
2018 SDP North4th3541.461 Mike McCoy 86,283
2019 SDP North2nd3838.500Defeated Spokane in division finals 2-1
Lost to Hillsboro in championship series 3-2		Mike McCoy87,021

|2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19

Division winnerLeague champions

Roster

Tri-City Dust Devils roster
PlayersCoaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 40 Glenn Albanese Jr.
  • 27 Chris Clark
  • 19 Ryan Costeiu
  • 15 Leonard Garcia
  • 55 Max Gieg
  • 31 Stone Hewlett
  •  7 Joel Hurtado
  • 10 Jorge Marcheco
  • 18 Nick Mondak
  • 22 Samy Natera Jr.
  • 25 Roman Phansalkar
  • 24 Dylan Phillips
  • 14 Walbert Urena Injury icon 2.svg

Catchers

  •  3 Kevin Bruggeman
  • 12 Peter Burns
  • 26 Juan Flores
  •  9 Alberto Rios

Infielders

Outfielders


Manager

  • 21 Willie Romero

Coaches


Injury icon 2.svg 7-day injured list
* On Los Angeles Angels 40-man roster
~ Development list
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporarily inactive list
Roster updated September 10, 2024
 Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB  •  Northwest League
→ Los Angeles Angels minor league players

Notable alumni

Former players

Tri-City Dust Devils players   (2001–present)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tri-Cities, Washington</span> Place in Washington, United States

The Tri-Cities are three closely linked cities at the confluence of the Yakima, Snake, and Columbia Rivers in the Columbia Basin of Eastern Washington. The cities border one another, making the Tri-Cities seem like one uninterrupted mid-sized city. The three cities function as the center of the Tri-Cities metropolitan area, which consists of Benton and Franklin counties. The Tri-Cities urban area includes the city of West Richland, the census-designated places (CDP) of West Pasco and Finley, as well as the CDP of Burbank, despite the latter being located in Walla Walla County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northwest League</span> Minor League Baseball Class High-A league based in the Pacific Northwest

The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league operated as the High-A West in 2021, then resumed its original moniker in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pasco, Washington</span> City in Washington, United States

Pasco is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Washington, United States. The population was 77,108 at the 2020 census, and 79,315 as of the July 1, 2022 estimate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boise Hawks</span> Minor league baseball team

The Boise Hawks are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in unincorporated Ada County, Idaho, near Boise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spokane Indians</span> Minor league baseball team

The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Spokane plays its home games at Avista Stadium, which opened in 1958 and has a seating capacity of 6,752.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salem-Keizer Volcanoes</span> Minor league baseball team

The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes are a baseball team located in Keizer, Oregon, who are charter members of the Mavericks Independent Baseball League, a four-team league entirely based in the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area and playing all their home games at Volcanoes Stadium. From 1997 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Northwest League as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. With the reorganization of baseball after the 2020 season, the Volcanoes were not offered a player development license with any Major League Baseball club, though the Volcanoes promised to continue play in 2021, a promise they kept in forming the Mavericks League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Rockies</span> Minor league baseball team

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, Oregon as the Bend Rockies from 1992 until 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gesa Stadium</span> Baseball stadium in Pasco, Washington

Gesa Stadium is a Minor League Baseball park in the northwest United States, located in Pasco, Washington. Opened 29 years ago in 1995, it is the home field of the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Northwest League.

Fran Rish Stadium is a football/track stadium in the northwest United States, located adjacent to the campus of Richland High School in Richland, Washington.

The Tri-City Atoms were a minor league baseball team located in Kennewick, Washington. The Tri-Cities in southeastern Washington, which include Kennewick, Richland, and Pasco, fielded a number of minor league teams in the Northwest League and its predecessor, the Western International League, from 1955 to 1974.

The Walla Walla Padres were the primary name of a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, located in Walla Walla, Washington. Named after their parent club, the Padres were members of the Class A short-season Northwest League for ten years, from 1973 through 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of professional baseball in Portland, Oregon</span>

Portland, Oregon, has been home to many baseball teams, dating back to the 19th century. Despite this, Portland has never fielded a Major League Baseball team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stu Cole</span> American baseball player and coach (born 1966)

Stewart Bryan Cole is an American former professional baseball infielder and current coach. He is the third base coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Cole played in MLB Kansas City Royals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portland Beavers</span> Minor league baseball team

The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL.

The Triple-Cities Triplets were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, located in Richland, Washington, one of the Tri-Cities. The Triplets were members of the Class A short-season Northwest League for four seasons, from 1983 through 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakima Bears</span> Minor league baseball team

The Yakima Bears were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, located in Yakima, Washington. The Bears competed at the Class A Short Season level as members of the Northwest League from 1990 to 2012. Following the 2012 season, the franchise relocated to Hillsboro, Oregon, and became Hillsboro Hops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salem Senators</span> Minor league baseball team

The Salem Senators are the longest lasting name used by several minor league baseball teams based in Salem in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team name derived from Salem being the capital of Oregon. The team was founded in 1940. The current incarnation competes in the Mavericks Independent Baseball League.

The following is a timeline of the history of the Tri-Cities, an area of the U.S. state of Washington encompassing the cities of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland.

The Northwest League Manager of the Year Award is an annual award given to the best manager in Minor League Baseball's Northwest League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. Broadcasters, Minor League Baseball executives, and members of the media have previously voted as well. Though the league was established in 1955, the award was not created until 1956. After the cancellation of the 2020 season, the league was known as the High-A West in 2021 before reverting to the Northwest League name in 2022.

References

  1. ↑ "Tri-City Dust Devils Mascot Appearance Request Form". Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  2. ↑ "Tri-City Dust Devils Welcome Diamond Baseball Holdings as New Owner". Minor League Baseball. December 12, 2024. Retrieved December 14, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Colorado Rockies Baseball News: The Denver Post Online". extras.denverpost.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  4. 1 2 Caputo, Paul. "Blown Away: The Story Behind the Tri-City Dust Devils". SportsLogos.Net News. Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  5. ↑ "Tri-City Dust Devils to Become Padres Affiliate in 2015". NBC Right Now. 19 September 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  6. ↑ Bollinger, Rhett (2020-12-09). "Angels extend affiliation invites for 2021". MLB.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  7. ↑ Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  9. ↑ Millikin, Jack (April 19, 2007). "Miles acquires ownership". Tr-City Herald. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-04-19.
  10. ↑ "Tri-City stadium for sale". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. October 18, 1968. p. 24. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  11. 1 2 "Tri-City's leader taken by death". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. July 27, 1968. p. 8. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  12. 1 2 Morrow, Jeff (March 22, 2013). "Charlie Petersen, Tri-Cities' first professional baseball manager, still kicking at 100". Tri-City Herald. Pasco, Washington. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Bomber Bowl – Richland, Washington". ballparkreviews.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
  14. ↑ "Bretts purchase Tri-Cities team". Spokane Chronicle. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. February 19, 1986. p. C2. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Trebelhorn to manage Tri-Cities team". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Moscow, Idaho. November 24, 1994. p. 2D. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  16. ↑ Caputo, Paul. "Blown Away: The Story Behind the Tri-City Dust Devils". Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
Preceded by Northwest League franchise
2001–present		Succeeded by
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.