The Portland Rockies were a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team that played in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

. The Rockies 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 (cre ...

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 Basebal ...

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.

History

The Rose City was without baseball as then-owner

Joe Buzas Joseph John Buzas (October 2, 1918 – March 19, 2003)Portland Beavers 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. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

of the Class AAA

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

following the 1993 season. Calgary Cannons owner Russ Parker threatened to move his club south to Portland, but ultimately remained in Alberta. With Oregon's largest city open, the Bend Rockies opted to fill the void by relocating from

Central Oregon Central Oregon is a geographic region in the U.S. state of Oregon and is traditionally considered to be made up of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook counties. Other definitions include larger areas, often encompassing areas to the north towards ...

. The Bend Rockies were the parent club's first minor league team, continued their affiliation in the move to Portland. The Rockies had success in Portland, including a league championship in 1997. Although few Class A teams play in cities as large as Portland, the Rockies were able to maintain local interest in baseball. The team served an important role for the city, whose demand for a major league team was growing. With the community's support for the Portland Rockies, Civic Stadium was renovated in 2000 to regain Triple-A baseball. Their efforts proved to be successful as the

Albuquerque Dukes The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. History The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Frank ...

moved from New Mexico to Portland and became a new incarnation of the Triple-A Beavers for the 2001 PCL season. The displaced Northwest League franchise relocated up the Columbia River to

Pasco, Washington Pasco ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 59,781 at the 2010 census, and 75,432 as of the July 1, 2019 Census Bureau estimate. Pasco is one of three cities (the others b ...

located in the

Tri-Cities Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada *Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of Co ...

area. The team was renamed the Tri-City Dust Devils.

Identity

Their name and logo mimicked the mountain theme of the Colorado club, even though Portland is not located in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

. A

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

was added to the team's cap logo to signify Portland's nickname, the "Rose City."

Ballpark

The Rockies played at Civic Stadium (now known as

Providence Park Providence Park (formerly Jeld-Wen Field; PGE Park; Civic Stadium; originally Multnomah Stadium; and from 1893 until the stadium was built, Multnomah Field) is an outdoor soccer venue located in the Goose Hollow neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. ...

) located in Portland. In 2000, PGE Park was renovated and a new incarnation of the AAA Beavers moved into the stadium in 2001. With the departure of professional baseball the stadium was converted into a soccer only venue in 2011 as part of a $31 million reinvention and is now the home of the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at ...

Season-by-season record

Former players

Notable former Portland Rockies include MLB players

Chone Figgins Desmond DeChone Figgins (; ; born January 22, 1978) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Seattle Mariners, and Los Angeles Dodgers ...

Juan Pierre Juan D'Vaughn Pierre (born August 14, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2000–2013 for the Colorado Rockies, Florida/Miami Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, C ...

, Clint Barmes,

Brad Hawpe Bradley Bonte Hawpe (born June 22, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Hawpe played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Before he be ...

, Jake Westbrook, and

Garrett Atkins Garrett Bernard Atkins (born December 12, 1979) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. Between 2003 and 2010, he played for the Colorado Rockies and Baltimore Orioles. Amateur career High school career Atkins attended Univer ...

. Portland Rockies players (1995–2000)

References

External links

Minor League Geek
Portland Rockies
Baseball Reference
Portland Rockies {{Baseball teams based in Portland, Oregon Defunct Northwest League teams Rockies Defunct baseball teams in Oregon Colorado Rockies minor league affiliates Professional baseball teams in Oregon 1995 establishments in Oregon 2000 disestablishments in Oregon Baseball teams established in 1995 Baseball teams disestablished in 2000 Baseball in Portland, Oregon