The Riverside Red Wave were a Minor League Baseball team in Riverside,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. The Red Wave were

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

California League affiliate of the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. Plagued by poor attendance, the franchise moved to Adelanto following the 1990 season. The team would become the

High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eigh ...

History

In the fall of 1987, Bobby Brett and his brothers George, John, and Ken purchased their Salinas franchise for $250,000. The Brett ownership group signed a player development contract with the San Diego Padres. With two months until opening day the city approved a stadium lease with the club that included $1.5 million to upgrade the Riverside Sports Center. The team was headed to the inland empire where they hastily prepared for the season. Construction quickly ensued to bring the stadium capacity from 1,200 to 3,500. Clubhouses, offices, and concession facilities were added to the complex. The Riverside Press-Enterprise newspaper ran a name the team contest. With over three thousand entries a new team name was selected, the Red Wave. Despite a slow start the team finished the year 85-57 to claim the Southern division title. In the division round of the post season the Red Wave beat the Palm Springs Angels in five games to advance to the league championship. Riverside swept the Stockton Ports to win the California League Riverside may have won a league title on the field, but it finished last in attendance. The team was met with resistance in their efforts to sell beer at the games. At the time beer sales accounted for roughly fifteen percent of team's revenue. This would cost the Pilots over $80,000 over the course of their existence. Multiple attempts to obtain a license to sell beer were met with resistance. The club eventually conceded these efforts and accepted that attendance figures would fail to meet expectations. The team's inaugural season proved to be their most successful. The Red Wave went an identical 64-78 in consecutive seasons, finishing in place last of the southern division. Following the conclusion of the 1990 season the club confirmed what had been long speculated, they would be relocating to a brand new ballpark in Adelanto. Upon moving the team adopted a unique moniker to represent the region, the

Ballpark

The Riverside Sports Center served as the Red Wave's primary ballpark. Now known as the

Riverside Sports Complex The Riverside Sports Complex, in Riverside, California, is the home field of the University of California, Riverside baseball team. The stadium seats 2,500 and features a home team locker room built personally by Troy Percival, a UC Riverside alu ...

, the facility is the home of UC Riverside baseball.

Season-by-season record

References

External links

Stats Crew
Riverside Red Wave {{s-end Defunct California League teams San Diego Padres minor league affiliates Professional baseball teams in California Baseball teams established in 1988 Defunct baseball teams in California Baseball teams disestablished in 1990 Sports in Riverside, California