Portland Pickles

The Portland Pickles are a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the South Division of the West Coast League, a premier collegiate summer baseball league based in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. The Pickles play their home games at Walker Stadium in Portland's Lents Park.

The Pickles have been a consistently competitive team for their entire existence. In the ten years that the Pickles have competed, they have only missed the playoffs three times. The Pickles have found their greatest success in recent years with their first playoff series win in 2023 and first league and division championships coming in 2024. The Pickles are also consistently one of the most popular teams in the league finishing in the top three for attendance nearly every single season.

History

Team founding and naming (2015)

In 2010, the Portland Beavers minor league baseball club left Portland, leaving the city without a team. On March 11, 2015, it was announced that baseball would return to Portland with the establishment of a new collegiate wood-bat team. The as-yet-unnamed team would be owned and operated by Rose City Baseball LLC, in partnership with the city of Portland, and would play its games at Charles B. Walker Stadium in Lents Park.

On April 21, 2015, team officials announced the team's name at Woodstock Elementary School in Southeast Portland. The name was selected by online voting from six candidates. In order of vote, Pickles was followed by Mud Hounds, Red Dogs, Posse, Pliers, and Pixels. In August, J.J. Altobelli was named as the team's first manager. The team introduced its mascot, Dillon the pickle, in October.

Great West League (2015–2017)

The Pickles were charter members of the Great West League, having been founded by GWL commissioner Ken Wilson. The Pickles (claimed to have) played before 16 sell-outs and to 99% of capacity in their inaugural 2016 season (announced figures).

On April 5, 2017, it was announced that Seattle Seahawks punter Jon Ryan and marketing entrepreneur Alan Miller would become part of the Pickles ownership group, along with members from Rose City Baseball LLC. Former Major League Baseball pitcher and Oregon-native Jeff Lahti took over the managerial role for the 2017 season, leading the Pickles to their first playoff berth. They were eliminated from the Great West League playoffs by the Medford Rogues in the semifinals.

West Coast League (2018–2019)

On October 24, 2017, the Pickles announced that they were leaving the GWL and joining the West Coast League. Prior to the 2018 season, Gresham GreyWolves head coach Justin Barchus replaced Lahti as manager.

The Pickles won the South Division in the first half of the season with a 17–9 record, securing them a playoff spot in their first year. Portland went on to claim the best record in the WCL by going 37–17 overall, but could not get past the Corvallis Knights in the first round of playoffs. Justin Barchus went on to win WCL Coach of the Year along with Kelowna Falcons manager Bryan Donohue.

In February 2019, Miller and Ryan took over full ownership of the team. On May 15, the Pickles announced a two-year partnership with CBD company Lazarus Naturals, the first of its kind in baseball history. Lazarus Naturals sponsored a concert series at the stadium and provided luxury box seating for selected veterans.

In December, it was announced that Rose City Baseball would operate a farm team called the Portland Gherkins for the 2020 season. The Gherkins would play games against the Pickles, WCL opponents, and other independent teams.

Wild Wild West League (2020)

On June 5, 2020, the West Coast League board of directors voted to cancel the 2020 season due to COVID-19 pandemic. The Pickles organization founded the Wild Wild West League in response, playing in Bob Brack Stadium at North Marion High School in Aurora, Oregon. The league consisted of four teams: the Pickles, Portland Gherkins, Gresham GreyWolves, and West Linn Knights.

Though fans were not allowed to attend, games were broadcast on Facebook and YouTube. Games ran from July to August. The West Linn Knights beat the Pickles in the championship series.

West Coast League (2021-present)

After 2020, the Pickles returned to the West Coast League for the 2021 season. The Wild Wild West League continued and added the Portland Rosebuds and Willamette Wild Bills, two new teams that were also owned by Rose City Baseball.

On June 8, 2021, the Pickles promoted manager Justin Barchus to Director of Player Personnel/Operations and made Mark Magdalena the new manager. In November 2021, the Pickles opened The Pickle Jar, a retail store and community space in Downtown Portland.

On July 18, 2022, intern Emily Paulson became the first woman to play for the Pickles. That year, the Pickles were crowned the Southern Division champions, ending a four-year playoff drought. The team was ultimately swept in the first round by the Ridgefield Raptors.

In 2023, the Pickles swept the Ridgefield Raptors in the first round of the playoffs to face the Corvallis Knights in the Divisional Championship game. The Pickles lost the game 4–1 and were eliminated from the playoffs.

2024

In March 2024, Rose City Baseball opened the Portland Pickles Public House, a Portland Pickles-themed sports bar on Mississippi Avenue.

On July 9th, Tanner Griffith, Patrick Keighran, Freddie Rodriguez, and Shay Timmer were selected to represent the Pickles in the 2024 all star game in Bellingham.

The Pickles qualified for the playoffs for the third straight season and clinched the South Division Second Half Championship. The Pickles swept the Elks 2-0 in the Divisional Series and upset the seven time defending WCL Champion Knights in Corvallis to win their first South Division Championship in franchise history. The Pickles hosted the AppleSox in the WCL Championship Game.

Going into the bottom of the ninth inning of a close game, the Pickles found themselves down 4-5. After loading the bases, Diego Castellanos would be walked to bring in the tying run. On the very next pitch, Conner Stewart would hit a difficult to field ground ball that brought Tanner Griffith home to give the Pickles the walk off win and their first WCL Championship in franchise history. Commissioner Rob Neyer was unable to award the Pickles the trophy for a long period of time due to fans storming the field.

The Pickles released a feature length documentary titled Pickles, Pickles, Pickles on MLB Network, February 15th, 2025. Documenting their story and run to their Championship, the 47 min feature is available on MLB.TV

2025

The Pickles currently lead the South Division with the league best record of 14-1. Infielder Kyle McDaniel (Utah Tech) leads the league with a .456 batting average and also has 16 RBI's. Outfielder Josh Schleichardt (Vanguard) leads the league with eight home runs and thirty runs batted in. Schleichardt also has a .400 batting average. On the mount, Logan Moser (Northern Colorado) and Ryder Edwards (George Fox) are tied for first in the league with three wins. Edwards has also thrown twenty strikeouts and has a 0.61 ERA. The Pickles are second in league attendance. 33,805 fans have attended Portland's nine home games for an average of 3,756.

Pitcher Ryder Edwards (George Fox) was named pitcher of the week by the league on June 2nd.

Relationship with Mazatlan

The Portland Pickles have a special relationship with Venados de Mazatlan of the Mexican Pacific League. In June 2019, the Pickles held Venados Night, where the team wore Mazatlan jerseys. In October, the Pickles traveled to Mexico and played against Venados de Mazatlan in a friendly exhibition game in front of 16,000 people. In the lead up to the game, the Pickles held tryouts amongst fans in Portland for the chance to travel with the team to Mexico and play in the game.

In September 2021, the Pickles returned to Mexico for another series against Venados de Mazatlan. USA Baseball's Kelcie Whitmore joined the Pickles and threw five scoreless innings in game two.

Mascot-related incidents

In January 2022, Pickles mascot Dillon T. Pickle posted an inappropriate photo on Twitter during a social media takeover. The image appeared to show the mascot exposing his genitalia.

In February 2022, the mascot costume for Dillon T. Pickle was stolen after delivery in a case of package theft. The team had been playing in the Dominican Republic and the luggage containing the mascot costume was separated from the team. After being found by the airline, it was shipped to the wrong address in Portland and subsequently stolen off the front porch. It was eventually dropped off at Voodoo Doughnut by a person wishing to remain anonymous. The incident attracted the attention of some national media, who covered the saga in an amused fashion.

Results by season

All-Star Game selections

See also

* Portland Bangers FC

Notes

References

;General
*
The Pickles Are Portland's Best Baseball-Playing Orphans
in ''Willamette Week''

New Pickles owner trades gridiron for baseball diamond from Fox 12

Jon Ryan, Alan Miller Join Pickles Ownership Group from ''Baseball Digest''


Seahawks punter Jon Ryan wants to build a baseball empire from ''The Seattle Times''

External links

Portland Pickles official website

{{West Coast League

2015 establishments in Oregon
Amateur baseball teams in Oregon
Baseball in Portland, Oregon
Sports clubs and teams in Portland, Oregon
Baseball teams established in 2015