The Medford Giants were a

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team based in

Medford, Oregon Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824, making it the List of cities in Oregon, eighth-most populo ...

. The Giants were members of the

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (crea ...

Northwest League 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 Baseba ...

from 1967-1968 and were an affiliate of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

History

In early 1967 it was announced that Rouge Valley Baseball, Inc. had secured a Northwest League franchise. The club signed a player development contract with the

. Adopting their parent club's moniker the club began to play in the summer of 1967 as the Medford Giants. In their innagural season the Giants finished with a record of 51-33. The Giants and

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays ...

were in a dead heat down the stretch. Medford swept the

Tri-City Atoms 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 an ...

in a season finale double-header to finish one game ahead of Eugene in the standings to claim the Northwest League pennant. There was uncertainty about whether the franchise would remain in Medford due to a dispute over ballpark rent. Jackson County Commissioners sought to raise rent, an increase that owner Joseph Graham strongly opposed. The county agreed to maintain the same rental rate, which secured the Giants return for the 1968 season. After the completion of the season, citing a lack of available players, San Francisco ended their affiliation with Medford. Medford signed on with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

and became the Rogue Valley Dodgers.

Season-by-season record

Notable alumni

* George Foster (1968) 5 x MLB All-Star; 1977 NL Most Valuable Player *

Gary Lavelle Gary Robert Lavelle (born January 3, 1949) is a retired professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1987. Early life and education Lavelle was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania on January 3, 1949, and grew up in B ...

(1968) 2 x MLB All-Star

References

External links

Stats Crew
Medford Giants {{s-end Defunct Northwest League teams San Francisco Giants minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Oregon Sports in Medford, Oregon 1967 establishments in Oregon 1968 disestablishments in Oregon Baseball teams established in 1967 Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1968 Baseball teams disestablished in 1968