Author Archives: Chris King

The Corvallis Knights’ historic run – already among the most impressive in modern amateur sports – became even more impressive Monday night when the Knights, with more than 2,000 fans on hand, captured their sixth straight West Coast League championship with a 5-0 victory over the visiting Bellingham Bells. The Knights’ championship is also their …

Continue reading “Corvallis Captures Sixth Straight WCL Title”

Monday night, the Corvallis Knights will host the Bellingham Bells in the West Coast League’s first-ever Championship Game. The Knights, winners of the last five WCL championships, reached the title game by taking two of three games from Yakima Valley in their divisional series, then topping the Ridgefield Raptors in the South Division championship game. …

Continue reading “Bells and Knights to Meet Monday in WCL Championship Game”

The pairings are now set for the Divisional Championship matchups, with the two showdowns set to take place on Saturday. Now that the best-of-three divisional playoffs are wrapped up, both the division and league championships will consist of just one game. In the South, the Ridgefield Raptors are on a collision course with the Corvallis …

Continue reading “Four Teams Advance to Saturday’s Divisional Championship Clashes”

Tuesday night in four locations ranging from British Columbia’s Vancouver Island to Central Washington to the Greater Portland area, the West Coast League’s playoffs are set to kick off in unprecedented fashion. For the first time in League history, eight teams qualified for the postseason, following a regular season in which the last two playoff …

Continue reading “Playoff Pairings Set, Postseason Begins Tuesday”

With each day this week, we gained another shred of clarity in the West Coast League postseason picture. But with only three days left, there’s still a great deal in question. For the first time in West Coast League history, this summer eight teams will qualify for the postseason. By virtue of their first-half titles, …

Continue reading “Playoff Chase Enters Final Weekend”

*Note the playoff bracket included with the story is if the season ended before the games on 8/2 are played. Monday night, the West Coast League’s playoff picture became a bit more clear when the visiting Kamloops NorthPaws topped the Kelowna Falcons in a makeup game. For the first time in West Coast League history, …

Continue reading “Postseason Race Sprints Towards Final Stretch”

Last winter, the West Coast League’s board of directors approved a new postseason format designed to do two things: (1) increase the number of postseason teams, in part to reflect the jump in league members from 12 to 16, and (2) inject even more excitement into the second half of the season, not to mention …

Continue reading “WCL Playoff Picture Comes Into Focus”

Earlier this week, 30 current and former West Coast League players were selected in Major League Baseball’s annual amateur Draft. With both Brooks Lee (Corvallis Knights, No. 8) and Gabriel Hughes (Bellingham Bells, No. 10) among the first 10 overall picks, 2022 marks the sixth straight year with at least one former WCL standout drafted …

Continue reading “30 WCL Alumni Selected in 2022 MLB Draft”

With the selection of 11 players on Monday, 14 WCL alumni have now been taken in the first 10 rounds of this year’s MLB Draft. Three former WCL players were picked on the Draft’s first day, with both Brooks Lee (Corvallis Knights, No. 8) and Gabriel Hughes (Bellingham Bells, No. 10) among the first 10 …

Continue reading “11 Former WCL Players Selected on Day Two of MLB Draft”

Sunday, former West Coast League standouts Brooks Lee (Cal Poly) and Gabriel Hughes (Gonzaga) both were among the first 10 picks in the 2022 MLB Draft. The Minnesota Twins selected Lee eighth overall, and just moments later the Colorado Rockies chose Hughes 10th. This marks the sixth straight year featuring at least one former WCL …

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By Rob Neyer How often do we reduce, in our minds, a baseball life to a line or two in Baseball-Reference.com or one of those old doorstop encyclopedias? In 1983, Gorman Heimueller started 14 games for the Oakland Athletics, all in the second half of the season. He won three of those, and lost five. …

Continue reading “Heimueller Brings Lifetime of Baseball Experience to Nanaimo”

Golden Tate hit the ground running Tuesday night in his first game playing in the West Coast League for the Port Angeles Lefties, as the former Pro Bowl wide receiver went 2-for-4 in his debut. Tate had a double, single, stolen base, drove in a run, and scored a run in the Lefties’ 5-2 win …

Continue reading “Golden Tate Impresses in WCL Debut”

Today the West Coast League’s Port Angeles Lefties announced that ex-NFL wide receiver Golden Tate has signed as a Lefties player for the remainder of the 2022 season. While Jake Locker and Jordan Poyer both played for WCL teams before their NFL careers, Tate will become the first former NFL player in the league. “I …

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Official League, a new lifestyle apparel brand exclusively for passionate fans, yesterday announced a new limited-edition hat collection celebrating Opening Day for the West Coast League, the West’s premier summer collegiate baseball league. Official League has created brand-new, exclusive hat designs for the Bend Elks, Corvallis Knights, Portland Pickles, and Wenatchee AppleSox, with all four …

Continue reading “Official League Offering Limited Edition WCL Hat Collection”

It’s Opening Night in the West Coast League, with four games slated for this evening in Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. And in just three days, 16 WCL teams are set for an action-packed weekend. “I’ve got exactly zero doubt,” said Commissioner Rob Neyer, “that this season will be our League’s best yet. We’ll have …

Continue reading “2022 WCL Season Opens Tonight”

The West Coast League’s highest-ranked prospect has been called up to the big leagues. Adley Rutschman, the sport’s top prospect according to MLB.com, has been promoted by the Baltimore Orioles and is set to make his MLB debut (Friday night, the Orioles posted video of Rutschman getting the good news). In 2019, Rutschman became the …

Continue reading “#1 MLB Prospect Adley Rutschman Joins Orioles”

According to MLB.com’s Jim Callis, former Corvallis Knights infielder Brooks Lee is one of four former West Coast League players ranked among the Top 150 MLB Draft Prospects for 2022. Lee, the star shortstop for Cal Poly, is listed as the Draft’s No. 5 overall prospect. In each of the last five years, at least …

Continue reading “For 2022 Draft, Lee Ranked as No. 5 Prospect”

This year, a record 33 players with West Coast League experience have earned spots on Major League Baseball Opening Day rosters. It is the second consecutive season the WCL has set a new record for alumni on MLB Opening Day rosters after there were 31 in 2021. Former WCL players gearing up to start the …

Continue reading “MLB Opening Day Rosters Include 33 WCL Alumni”

The West Coast League mourns the loss of the former league commissioner Jim Dietz. As the League’s first commissioner, Dietz oversaw the WCL’s launch and laid a strong foundation for the WCL’s continuing growth and success. He served as the WCL commissioner from 2005 through 2007, when he transitioned to a key role on the …

Continue reading “WCL Remembers Former Commissioner Jim Dietz”

Today, the West Coast League unveiled a striking rebrand, beginning a transition from the league’s traditional WC logo to a new WCL mark that evokes the league’s sprawling geography, ranging from central Oregon north through Washington state, British Columbia and, beginning this year, well into Alberta, Canada. “The West Coast League’s geography is simply unparalleled,” …

Continue reading “West Coast League Launches New Visual Identity”

Last weekend in Portland, the West Coast League’s board of directors gathered, both in person and via teleconference, for the League’s annual winter meetings. Most notably, the League’s board of directors approved a new postseason format that includes eight of the WCL’s 16 teams, with all eight postseason teams hosting at least one playoff game. …

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Saturday night in Portland, the West Coast League tabbed Jerry Smoot as the inaugural winner of the WCL’s first Grass Roots Award. “Our Grass Roots Award celebrates coaches from our communities,” said WCL Commissioner Rob Neyer, “who have spent much of their lives working to promote amateur baseball and help young players achieve their full …

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This morning the West Coast League released its official 2022 schedule, as announced by Commissioner Rob Neyer. “Now it feels real,” said Neyer. “After a 2020 without games and a 2021 without our Canadian members, a 2022 with everyone — including three new teams in Canada, plus our fourth Oregon member — certainly figures to …

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Earlier this week in Indio, California, the West Coast League’s board of directors met in person for the first time in nearly two years, and reached consensus on a number of matters while renewing the deep, international ties between League members in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alberta. “Our league’s No. 1 asset is our …

Continue reading “Board of Directors Gather for Fall League Meetings”

In 2021, 305 alumni of West Coast League teams were active in affiliated professional baseball. A number of WCL alumni had impressive MLB seasons, such as former Cy Young Award winner and 2021 American League All-Star Shane Bieber (Cowlitz, 2014). Other notable WCL alumni include pitchers Nick Pivetta (Victoria, 2013), Matt Boyd (Corvallis, 2010) and …

Continue reading “305 Alumni of WCL Teams Appear in Affiliated Baseball”

Friday, the West Coast League received a bit of tremendous news: for the second straight season, Perfect Game has announced the Corvallis Knights as their Summer Collegiate Team of the Year. “I can’t say I’m completely surprised,” said Rob Neyer, West Coast League Commissioner, “since in their last two seasons, the Knights have won 77 …

Continue reading “Knights Named Perfect Game Summer Collegiate Team of the Year”

Tuesday morning, the winners of the West Coast League’s Top Prospect, Coach of the Year, Executive of the Year and the Team Sportsmanship Award were announced by West Coast League Commissioner Rob Neyer. Incoming Oregon State freshman Travis Bazzana of the Corvallis Knights, who was also named the WCL’s MVP, earned the league’s Top Prospect …

Continue reading “WCL Announces Additional Postseason Award Honorees”

Wednesday morning, the 2021 All-West Coast League teams were announced by West Coast League Commissioner Rob Neyer. “It’s my tremendous pleasure every year,” said Neyer, “to announce the WCL’s All-League teams. Considering the WCL’s position as the premier summer collegiate baseball league in the entire western half of the continent, saying our teams represent ‘the best …

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Monday, West Coast League Commissioner Rob Neyer announced the winners of the League’s top two individual awards: Most Valuable Player and Pitcher of the Year. “As the West’s top summer collegiate baseball league,” Neyer said, “we obviously featured a great wealth of exciting talent in 2021. Sifting through all that talent and arriving at these two …

Continue reading “WCL MVP and Pitcher of the Year Winners Announced”

The historic run is now a five-peat for the Corvallis Knights. On Friday night at Goss Stadium, the Knights topped the Yakima Valley Pippins 13-2 to capture their fifth consecutive West Coast League title. “When I became Commissioner four years ago,” Rob Neyer said after Friday night’s game in Corvallis, “I was well-aware of the …

Continue reading “Knights Win Fifth Consecutive WCL Title”

With their backs against the wall, the Corvallis Knights were able to respond on Thursday night at Goss Stadium. The Knights beat the Yakima Valley Pippins 2-1 to even the West Coast League Championship Series 1-1 and set up a deciding Game 3. First pitch tonight from Goss Stadium in Corvallis is at 6:35 pm. …

Continue reading “Pippins and Knights Ready for WCLCS Winner-Take-All Game”

The Yakima Valley Pippins and Corvallis Knights are set to square off in the 2021 West Coast League Championship Series. The Pippins punched their ticket to the WCLCS after defeating the Bellingham Bells 11-5 on Monday night in the deciding game of the North’s Divisional Series. For Yakima Valley it is their first trip to …

Continue reading “Yakima Valley and Corvallis Advance to WCLCS”

With the West Coast League’s final postseason berth secured by the Ridgefield Raptors, both first-round matchups are finally set. Thursday night, the Raptors finished the regular season in a three-way tie with the Portland Pickles and Bend Elks, but Ridgefield owned the tiebreaker by virtue of their combined 9-3 record against Portland and Bend. Ridgefield will …

Continue reading “WCL Playoff Pairings Set”

Oregon & Washington, Aug. 12—As the final week of the West Coast League’s regular season dawned, four teams were still squarely in the hunt for the South Division’s second playoff spot, which this season goes to the team with the division’s second-best overall record (as the Corvallis Knights have locked up the best record in …

Continue reading “Final Postseason Bid Still Up for Grabs”

The West Coast League enters the final days of an already unprecedented regular season with not two, or even three, but four teams with highly viable paths to the league’s fourth and final postseason berth. The bracket is set in the WCL’s North Division, as the Yakima Valley Pippins finished atop the first-half standings, and …

Continue reading “Hotly Contested Race for Final Playoff Bid”

Saturday night, the West Coast League reached a huge milestone when Jarren Duran batted sixth and started in center field for the first-place Boston Red Sox, becoming the 100th alumnus of a current or past West Coast League team to make his MLB debut. Chronologically, the list of 100 begins with Mike Thurman, who pitched …

Continue reading “Duran Becomes 100th WCL Alumni to Reach the Major Leagues”

Earlier this week, 42 current and former West Coast League players were selected in Major League Baseball’s annual Rule 4 amateur draft. With the Cincinnati Reds’ selection of Matt McLain with the 17th overall pick, 2021 marks the fifth straight year with a WCL standout drafted in the first round. There were 19 WCL alumni …

Continue reading “42 WCL Alumni Selected in 2021 MLB Draft”

A total of 19 WCL alumni have been taken in the first 10 rounds of this year’s MLB Draft after 18 additional players were selected on Monday, including four among the top 63 picks. Matt McLain, who earned the WCL’s Top Prospect Award in 2018 as a member of the Bellingham Bells, was selected by the …

Continue reading “18 Former WCL Players Selected on Day Two of MLB Draft”

West Coast League alumni Matt McLain of UCLA was selected in the first round of the MLB Draft, as the Cincinnati Reds picked McLain 17th overall. It is the fifth consecutive season that a former WCL player has been taken in the first round of the MLB Draft. McLain, a UCLA infielder, earned the WCL’s …

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Seven West Coast League alumni were named to All-America teams by Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, highlighted by first-team selection Aaron Zavala of the University of Oregon. Zavala, who played for the Ridgefield Raptors in 2019, had a .392 batting average with nine home runs, 38 RBIs and 64 runs scored …

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It’s Opening Night in the West Coast League, with five games slated for the circuit this evening in Washington and Oregon. All ten U.S.-based teams will be in action for Opening Night, with the Bellingham Bells hosting the Port Angeles Lefties, the Ridgefield Raptors hosting the Bend Elks, the Yakima Valley Pippins hosting the Corvallis …

Continue reading “WCL Opens 2021 Campaign”

Thursday, the West Coast League announced the addition of the expansion Springfield Drifters as the league’s 16th member team. The Drifters will join the Bend Elks, Corvallis Knights, and Portland Pickles as the league’s fourth Oregon-based team. “When you look at a map,” said WCL Commissioner Rob Neyer, “adding another team in the Willamette Valley …

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Wednesday, the West Coast League announced that all five of the league’s Canadian members have withdrawn from the 2021 season, due to continuing, pandemic-related border and gathering limitations. In addition to the Kelowna Falcons, who previously canceled their season, the Victoria HarbourCats, Edmonton Riverhawks, Kamloops NorthPaws, and Nanaimo NightOwls have also made the difficult decision …

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This year, a record 31 players with West Coast League experience have earned spots on Major League Baseball Opening Day rosters. What’s more, three of those players—reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber, of the Cleveland Indians; the Seattle Mariners’ Marco Gonzales; and the Detroit Tigers’ Matt Boyd—will serve as their teams’ Opening …

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Wednesday, the West Coast League announced that Driveline Baseball is now an Official Development Partner, with a wide range of elements that will provide unprecedented opportunities for WCL teams and Driveline athletes. “I’ve been admiring Driveline for years,” said Commissioner Rob Neyer, “and I’m thrilled that now we’ll be working so closely with them. Our …

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Tuesday, West Coast League Commissioner Rob Neyer released a revised 2021 schedule for the League’s 10 U.S.-based teams. The League and four Canadian teams—the Victoria HarbourCats, along with the expansion Edmonton Riverhawks, Kamloops NorthPaws, and Nanaimo NightOwls—continue to work toward a Canadian-only schedule, while closely monitoring the pandemic responses by border officials and provincial health …

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The Kelowna Falcons have featured a long list of big leaguers over the years, including slugger Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles and the newest Seattle Mariner – The Big Maple, James Paxton. Paxton is back in the Pacific Northwest and joins former WCLers Mitch Haniger of the Knights and Marco Gonzales of Wenatchee to …

Continue reading “Kelowna Alumni James Paxton Returns to the Pacific Northwest”

It’s often been said by those inside the game that the baseball world is very small. As widespread as the game is across the country on Little League fields, high school and college fields, and in professional stadiums, baseball has maintained a decidedly intimate feel with myriad small-town connections. The sport reaches deep into communities, …

Continue reading “A Team Reborn, a Birthday Anniversary, and Ties Between Two Baseball Cities”

The Corvallis Knights and Wenatchee AppleSox are a tradition celebrated each summer, one inning at a time. The two baseball clubs partnered from the very beginning as founding West Coast League members in 2005. From that inaugural summer collegiate season forward they have enjoyed extraordinary success on the field and in their respective communities.  In …

Continue reading “WCL Alumni Mitch Haniger & Marco Gonzales Embody Winning Ways”