The Santa Barbara Dodgers was the main nickname of
minor league baseball teams in the Class A
California League based in the Pacific Ocean coastal resort city of
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coa ...
.
History
The Santa Barbara Dodgers were an affiliate of the
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californ ...
(in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...
) of the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
and later their successors, 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 (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookly ...
(after 1955) from 1941 to 1953 and 1964 to1967. They won the league championships in 1941, 1948 and 1951. The Dodgers entered the California League in 1964 to replace the previous
Santa Barbara Rancheros
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnigh ...
. The Dodgers' home stadium was
Laguna Ball Park.
The Santa Barbara Dodgers were plagued by low crowd attendances, averaging only 225 spectators per game.
At the end of the 1967 season, the Santa Barbara Dodgers franchise was transferred east to
Bakersfield, California.
The Laguna Park stadium was demolished in 1970, and replaced by a parking lot,
and no professional minor league baseball team has been based in Santa Barbara since.
Notable alumni
Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball ...
alumni
*
Sparky Anderson (1953) inducted 2000
*
Don Sutton (1965) inducted 1998
*
Dick Williams (1947) inducted 2008
Notable alumni
*
Jack Billingham (1964) MLB All-Star
*
Paul Blair (1962) 2 x MLB All-Star; 8 x Gold Glove
*
Rocky Bridges
Everett Lamar "Rocky" Bridges (August 7, 1927 – January 27, 2015) was a middle infielder and third baseman with an 11-year career in Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1961. Bridges played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Redlegs and St. L ...
(1947-1948) MLB All-Star
*
Willie Crawford (1964)
*
Bruce Edwards (1941) 2 x MLB All-Star
*
Alan Foster (1965)
*
Jim Gentile (1952) 6 x MLB All-Star
*
Hal Gregg
Harold Dana Gregg (July 11, 1921 – May 13, 1991) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1943–47), Pittsburgh Pirates (1948–50) and New York Giants (1952). Gregg batted and threw right-handed. ...
(1941) MLB All-Star
*
Von Joshua (1967)
*
Irv Noren
Irving Arnold Noren (November 29, 1924 – November 15, 2019) was an American professional baseball and basketball player. He was an outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1950 through 1960 for the Washington Senators, New York Yankees, Kans ...
(1946) MLB All-Star
*
Wes Parker (1963)
*
Larry Sherry (1953) 1959 World Series Most Valuable Player
References
External links
Professional Baseball in Santa BarbaraMinor league ball in Santa BarbaraBaseball Reference.com: Baseball in Santa Barbara
Defunct baseball teams in California
01
Defunct minor league baseball teams
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 (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
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 (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
Defunct California League teams
Los Angeles Dodgers minor league affiliates
Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates
New York Mets minor league affiliates
20th century in California
History of Santa Barbara, California
Baseball teams disestablished in 1967
Baseball teams established in 1941
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