Facelift In Nwl Adds Zeal
Judging the transition of Northwest League baseball shouldn’t take any longer than one night.
Portland, the eight-team league’s new member, opens Thursday against visiting Eugene.
The Rockies have reportedly sold 18,000 tickets for the game, which marks their return to the NWL after 18 seasons. If true, Portland would shatter the single-date attendance mark of 10,208 set by the Spokane Indians in 1986.
The defending NWL champion Boise Hawks recorded the league’s season attendance record of 156,950 last year. With 38 home dates, Portland may break that by the season’s halfway point.
That’s quite a change for the Rockies and their president, Portland native Jack Cain. Last year the Rockies played in Bend, Ore., and drew just 69,225 all season.
Other NWL teams with adjusted looks - Spokane, Bellingham (Wash.), Everett and Eugene (Ore.) - share Portland’s enthusiasm about the new short-season Class A campaign.
Spokane, which has a four-year player development agreement with the Kansas City Royals after 12 years with San Diego, reports a record sale of 1,500 season tickets. General admission tickets are still available for Saturday’s home opener with Yakima.
Parent clubs have traded allegiances in the Puget Sound area, with the Seattle Mariners hooking up with Everett after 19 years in Bellingham. The San Francisco Giants, formerly with Everett, filled the void in Bellingham.
Everett has altered its nickname from Giants to AquaSox. The AquaSox mascot, a central American tree frog that is said to “resemble” Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, is reportedly one of the hottest-selling merchandise items in the minor leagues.
Bellingham was stung by the Mariners’ departure, but its agreement with the Giants included major clubhouse improvements.
Eugene lost the Royals, but gained another of baseball’s quality organizations, the Atlanta Braves. The Emeralds are nervous about their expired Civic Stadium lease agreement with the Eugene School District. The baseball community, however, welcomes the Braves’ tendency to send experience professional players to this level.
Bellingham: New manager Glenn Tufts was the sixth overall selection during the 1973 June amateur draft. Chosen just ahead of Tufts that year were 3,000-hit club members Dave Winfield and Robin Yount. Tufts’ career was shortened by a serious automobile accident.
Boise: Tom Kotchman, the dean of NWL managers, returns for his sixth year. The California Angels have stocked the Hawks with Jarrod Washburn, their second selection from the recent amateur draft, and No. 5 pick Justin Baughman, of Lewis & Clark College in Portland.
Eugene: Left-hander P.K. Koehler, whose brother Russ is assigned to Everett, has grown 10 inches since high school and is 6-foot-8. Hot prospect Glenn Williams, 17, a shortstop from Ingleburn, Australia, signed for a reported $900,000 two years ago.
Everett: Outfielder/pitcher Matt Sachse, a Ferris High graduate, is expected in camp today after wrapping up classes at Stanford. Everett plays in Spokane Monday through Wednesday next week.
Portland: Jason Romine of Omak, Wash., is penciled in as the No. 5 pitcher in the rotation. Minor league coordinator of instruction Gene Glynn is expected to replace Colorado dugout coach Don Zimmer, who retired last week during the middle of a game. Glynn managed the Indians to the 1990 NWL championship.
Southern Oregon: Five players return from last year, including catcher Manny DaSilva, who led the club in doubles and runs batted in. Right-hander Bill Abbott is the son of Glenn Abbott, a former Mariners pitcher and current pitching coach at Oakland’s Class AA team in Huntsville, Ala.
Spokane: George Brett, Indians part owner and Royals vice president of baseball operations, plans to attend Spokane’s first two home games at Seafirst Stadium, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.
, DataTimes