Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a Minor League Baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern, and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball. It is officially named the Pacific Coast League of Professional Baseball Clubs, Inc. Its headquarters are in Round Rock, Texas.
Upon its founding in 1903, the Pacific Coast League fielded six teams from the Pacific States of California, Oregon, and Washington. Today, the league is composed of 16 teams across 11 states stretching from Sacramento, California, to Nashville, Tennessee, and from Tacoma, Washington, to San Antonio, Texas.
The PCL was one of the premier regional baseball leagues in the first half of the 20th century. Although it was never recognized as a true major league, to which it aspired, its quality of play was considered very high. A number of top stars of the era, including Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, were products of the league. In 1958, with the arrival of major league teams on the west coast and the availability of televised major league games, the PCL's modern era began with each team signing Player Development Contracts to become farm teams of major league clubs.
A league champion is determined at the end of every season. The San Francisco Seals won 14 Pacific Coast League titles, the most in the league's history, followed by the Los Angeles Angels and the Albuquerque Dukes and Portland Beavers. After the season, the PCL champion plays in the Triple-A National Championship Game against the International League champion to determine an overall champion of Triple-A baseball. The Sacramento River Cats have won three national championships, more than any other PCL team.
History
Formation and early history
The Pacific Coast League was formed on December 29, 1902, when officials from the California State League met in San Francisco for the purpose of expanding the league beyond California. Six franchises were granted. These were the Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Oaks, Portland Beavers, Sacramento Senators, San Francisco Seals, and Seattle Indians. A dispute over territories owned by the Pacific Northwest League, in which the PCL had placed franchises, and the PCL's allowing blacklisted players to compete led to the National Association labeling the PCL as an outlaw league.The mild climate of the West Coast, especially California, allowed the league to play longer seasons, sometimes starting in late February and ending as late as the beginning of December. During the 1905 season the San Francisco Seals set the all-time PCL record by playing 230 games. Teams regularly played between 170 and 200 games in a season until the late 1950s. This allowed players, who were often career minor leaguers, to hone their skills, earn an extra month or two of pay, and reduce the need to find off-season work. These longer seasons gave owners the opportunity to generate more revenue. Another outcome was that a number of the all-time minor league records for season statistical totals are held by players from the PCL.
The inaugural 1903 season, which consisted of over 200 scheduled games for each team, began on March 26. The Los Angeles Angels finished the season in first place with a 133–78 record, making them the first league champions.
In 1904, National Association President Patrick T. Powers brokered terms with the PCL, clearing it of its outlaw status and designating it as a Class A league. In 1909, the league classification was raised to Double-A. In 1919, with the earlier addition of the Salt Lake Bees and Vernon Tigers, league membership reached eight teams for the first time. While the league had experienced little commercial success up to this point, the 1920s were a turning point which saw increased attendance and teams fielding star players.
The Great Depression of the 1930s resulted in a lower quality of play due to the league's salary reduction. Still, a number of top stars, including Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, and Ox Eckhardt, competed on PCL teams that decade. Also helping attendance was the introduction of night games. At Sacramento's Moreing Field, the Sacramento Solons and the Oakland Oaks played the first night baseball game, five years before any major league night game, on June 10, 1930. The Hollywood Stars and San Diego Padres were added to the league in the 1930s as well.
A near-major league
During the first half of the 20th century, the Pacific Coast League developed into one of the premier regional baseball leagues. The cities enfranchised by the other two high-minor leagues, the International League and the American Association, were generally coordinated geographically with the major leagues, but such was not the case with the PCL. With no major league baseball team existing west of St. Louis, the PCL was unrivaled for American west coast baseball. Although it was never recognized as a true major league, its quality of play was considered very high. Drawing from a strong pool of talent in the area, the PCL produced many outstanding players, including such future major-league Hall of Famers as Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Tony Lazzeri, Paul Waner, Earl Averill, Bobby Doerr, Joe Gordon, and Ernie Lombardi. Amid success experienced after World War II, league President Pants Rowland began to envision the PCL as a third major league. During 1945 the league voted to become a major league. However, the American League and National League were uninterested in allowing it to join their ranks.While many PCL players went on to play in the major leagues, teams in the league were often successful enough that they could offer competitive salaries to avoid being outbid for their players' services. Some players made a career out of the minor leagues. One of the better known was Frank Shellenback, whose major league pitching career was brief, but who compiled a record PCL total of 295 wins against 178 losses. Many former major league players came to the PCL to finish their careers after their time in the majors had ended.
In 1952, the PCL became the only minor league in history to be given the "Open" classification, a grade above the Triple-A level. This limited the rights of major league clubs to draft players from the PCL, and was considered an act toward the circuit becoming a third major league.
Sudden decline
The shift to the Open classification came just as minor league teams from coast to coast suffered a sharp drop in attendance, primarily due to the availability of major league games on television. The hammer blow to the PCL's major league dreams came in 1958 with the arrival of the first MLB teams on the west coast. As a result, three of the PCL's flagship teams were immediately forced to relocate to smaller markets. The Oakland Oaks had moved to Canada two years before the Giants arrived. The San Diego Padres and Seattle Rainiers suffered the same fate when they were displaced by major league teams in 1969. Additionally, the PCL lost customers to the major league teams which then occupied the same territory. The league never recovered from these blows. The Pacific Coast League reverted to Triple-A classification in 1958, where it remains, and soon diminished in the public eye to nothing more than another minor league.Moving beyond the coast
The PCL began to spread out across the nation, and internationally, in the 1950s. Previously, Salt Lake City had been the easternmost city in the league. In 1956, the Oakland Oaks relocated to Canada where they became the Vancouver Mounties, the circuit's first international team. Two years later, the Los Angeles Angels moved to become the Spokane Indians and the San Francisco Seals became the Phoenix Giants.The league continued to expand throughout the country in the 1960s. Clubs representing new cities during the decade included the Dallas Rangers, Denver Bears, Hawaii Islanders, Indianapolis Indians, Oklahoma City 89ers, Tacoma/Phoenix Giants, and Tucson Toros. From 1964 to 1968 the PCL swelled to twelve teams. The Albuquerque Dukes were one of several teams to begin play in the 1970s. Several new teams arrived in the 1980s, such as the Calgary Cannons, Colorado Springs Sky Sox, Edmonton Trappers, and Las Vegas Stars, but the league began to stabilize as franchise relocations became less frequent.
Recent expansion
In 1998, the Pacific Coast League took on five teams from the disbanding American Association, which had operated in the Midwest, and a sixth franchise was added to the league as an expansion team, thus providing the scheduling convenience of an even number of teams. The addition of the Iowa Cubs, Nashville Sounds, Oklahoma RedHawks, Omaha Royals, New Orleans Zephyrs, and the expansion Memphis Redbirds grew the league to an all-time-high 16 clubs. Despite its name, the league now extends well beyond the Pacific coast, stretching from Western Washington to Middle Tennessee. Half of its teams are located east of the Rocky Mountains.The league's presence in Canada diminished and ended in the early 2000s, as the Calgary Cannons moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to become the Albuquerque Isotopes in 2003, and the Edmonton Trappers, the circuit's final Canadian team moved to Round Rock in 2005. Of the cities represented in the PCL in its heyday, only Salt Lake City and Sacramento remain, and even these are represented by franchises different from those that originally called these cities home. In 2005, the Pacific Coast League became the first minor league ever to achieve a season attendance of over 7 million. In 2007, league attendance reached an all-time high of 7,420,095.
In 2019, the team previously known as the Colorado Springs Sky Sox relocated to San Antonio, Texas and continued play in the PCL as the San Antonio Missions, assuming the identity of a team which had previously competed in the Double-A Texas League. This move was accompanied by realignment in the American Conference. Nashville and Memphis moved to the Northern Division, and Oklahoma City and San Antonio moved to the Southern Division. In a further move, the New Orleans Baby Cakes relocated to Wichita, Kansas where they became known as the Wichita Wind Surge.
The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before ultimately being cancelled on June 30.
Structure and season
The league is divided into two conferences, the American Conference and the Pacific Conference. Each conference is divided into a Northern Division and a Southern Division. Each conference consists of eight teams evenly divided into four-team divisions.Each club has 140 games scheduled per season. Of these, 112 games are played against conference opponents, with 48 against teams in their division and 64 against teams in the other division. The other 28 games are played against teams in the opposing conference. These interconference games are organized as eight, three-or-four-game series. A team will play one opposite conference's division's teams at home and the other's on the road. Play alternates each year so that interconference opponents will have played each other at home and on the road over the span of two seasons. The season typically begins during the first week of April and concludes in the first week of September on Labor Day.
Championship and interleague play
At the end of the season, the Northern and Southern Division winners within each conference meet in a best-of-five series to determine conference champions. The American and Pacific Conference winners then play a best-of-five series to determine a league champion.Since 2006, the PCL champion has played against the International League's champion in the Triple-A National Championship Game, a single game to determine an overall champion of Triple-A baseball. Previously, the PCL champion also competed in the Triple-A World Series, Junior World Series, and other sporadic postseason competitions throughout the league's history.
Other interleague play occurs during the Triple-A All-Star Game. Traditionally, the game has taken place on the day after the mid-summer Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The game is meant to mark a symbolic halfway-point in the season. During the All-Star break, no regular-season games are scheduled for two days before the All-Star Game itself.
Rules
The Pacific Coast League plays by the same rules listed in the Official Baseball Rules published by Major League Baseball. One exception is the use of the Designated hitter. Whereas the application of the DH rule in Major League Baseball is determined by the identity of the home team, with the rules of the home team's league applying to both teams, PCL pitchers hit when both clubs are National League affiliates and they have agreed to have their pitchers hit. Two National League affiliated clubs may agree to use the DH instead. The reason for this is that as players move up and get closer to reaching the majors, teams prefer to have the rules follow those of the major leagues. The DH is always used when one or both teams are American League affiliates.Other differences lie in the use of professional baseball's pace-of-play initiatives which began to be implemented in 2015. A 15-second pitch clock is used when no runners are on base; 20 seconds are allowed with runners present. Each half extra inning begins with a runner on second base. Teams are limited to five mound visits during a nine-inning game. Pitchers are required to face a minimum of three consecutive batters until the side is retired or the pitcher becomes injured and is unable to continue playing.
Current teams
| Conference | Division | Team | Founded | MLB Affiliation | Affiliated | City | Stadium | Capacity |
| American | Northern | Iowa Cubs | 1969 | Chicago Cubs | 1981 | Des Moines, Iowa | Principal Park | 11,500 |
| American | Northern | Memphis Redbirds | 1998 | St. Louis Cardinals | 1998 | Memphis, Tennessee | AutoZone Park | 10,000 |
| American | Northern | Nashville Sounds | 1978 | Texas Rangers | 2019 | Nashville, Tennessee | First Horizon Park | 10,000 |
| American | Northern | Omaha Storm Chasers | 1969 | Kansas City Royals | 1969 | Papillion, Nebraska | Werner Park | 9,023 |
| American | Southern | Oklahoma City Dodgers | 1962 | Los Angeles Dodgers | 2015 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark | 9,000 |
| American | Southern | Round Rock Express | 2000 | Houston Astros | 2019 | Round Rock, Texas | Dell Diamond | 11,631 |
| American | Southern | San Antonio Missions | 1888 | Milwaukee Brewers | 2019 | San Antonio, Texas | Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium | 9,200 |
| American | Southern | Wichita Wind Surge | 2020 | Miami Marlins | 2020 | Wichita, Kansas | Riverfront Stadium | 10,000 |
| Pacific | Northern | Fresno Grizzlies | 1998 | Washington Nationals | 2019 | Fresno, California | Chukchansi Park | 10,500 |
| Pacific | Northern | Reno Aces | 2009 | Arizona Diamondbacks | 2009 | Reno, Nevada | Greater Nevada Field | 9,013 |
| Pacific | Northern | Sacramento River Cats | 2000 | San Francisco Giants | 2015 | West Sacramento, California | Sutter Health Park | 14,014 |
| Pacific | Northern | Tacoma Rainiers | 1960 | Seattle Mariners | 1995 | Tacoma, Washington | Cheney Stadium | 6,500 |
| Pacific | Southern | Albuquerque Isotopes | 2003 | Colorado Rockies | 2015 | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park | 13,500 |
| Pacific | Southern | El Paso Chihuahuas | 2014 | San Diego Padres | 2014 | El Paso, Texas | Southwest University Park | 9,500 |
| Pacific | Southern | Las Vegas Aviators | 1983 | Oakland Athletics | 2019 | Summerlin, Nevada | Las Vegas Ballpark | 10,000 |
| Pacific | Southern | Salt Lake Bees | 1994 | Los Angeles Angels | 2001 | Salt Lake City, Utah | Smith's Ballpark | 14,511 |
Current team rosters
Teams timeline
Note: Teams in italics are PCL "classic" teams from the league's height in the 1950s.Source:
- Los Angeles Angels → Spokane Indians → Albuquerque Dukes → Portland Beavers → Tucson Padres → El Paso Chihuahuas
- Memphis Redbirds
- Oakland Oaks → Vancouver Mounties → Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers → Dallas Rangers → Vancouver Mounties → Salt Lake City Bees → Salt Lake City Angels → Salt Lake City Gulls → Calgary Cannons → Albuquerque Isotopes
- Portland Beavers → Spokane Indians → Las Vegas Stars → Las Vegas 51s → Las Vegas Aviators
- Portland Beavers → Salt Lake Buzz → Salt Lake Stingers → Salt Lake Bees
- Portland Browns → Portland Giants → Portland Beavers 1 → Sacramento Senators → Sacramento Solons → Hawaii Islanders → Colorado Springs Sky Sox → San Antonio Missions
- Sacramento Senators → Tacoma Tigers → Tacoma Tigers/Sacramento 2 → Fresno Raisin Eaters 3 → Sacramento Sacts → Sacramento/Mission Wolves → Salt Lake City Bees → Hollywood Stars →San Diego Padres → Eugene Emeralds → Sacramento Solons → San Jose Missions → Ogden A's → Edmonton Trappers → Round Rock Express
- San Francisco Seals → Phoenix Giants → Tacoma Giants → Phoenix Giants → Phoenix Firebirds → Tucson Sidewinders → Reno Aces
- Seattle Siwashes → Seattle Rainiers 4 → Seattle Indians → Seattle Rainiers → Seattle Angels → Tucson Toros → Fresno Grizzlies
- Vancouver Canadians → Sacramento River Cats
- Vernon Tigers → Venice Tigers → Venice/Vernon Tigers → Vernon Tigers → Mission Bells → Mission Reds → Hollywood Stars → Salt Lake City Bees → Tacoma Cubs → Tacoma Twins → Tacoma Yankees → Tacoma Tugs → Tacoma Tigers → Tacoma Rainiers
2The 1905 Tacoma Tigers were moved back to Sacramento in the middle of the 1905 season due to poor play, then were moved again to Fresno the following season.
3The 1907–1908 Sacramento Cordovas played in the California League after returning from Fresno.
4The 1907–1918 Seattle club played in the Northwest League and Pacific Coast International League.
Former American Association teams
Five current league teams were acquired by the PCL following the disbandment of the American Association after the 1997 season.- Evansville Triplets → Nashville Sounds
- Houston Buffaloes → Oklahoma City 89ers 5 → Oklahoma RedHawks → Oklahoma City RedHawks → Oklahoma City Dodgers
- Iowa Oaks → Iowa Cubs
- Kansas City Cowboys → Kansas City Blues → Denver Bears6 → Denver Zephyrs → New Orleans Zephyrs → New Orleans Baby Cakes → Wichita Wind Surge
- Omaha Royals → Omaha Golden Spikes → Omaha Royals → Omaha Storm Chasers
6The Denver Bears were a member of the Pacific Coast League from 1963–1968.
Defunct teams
Two former league teams played in the PCL from the 1964 to 1968. Each one had played in the International League during the 1963 season, and each was transferred to the American Association after the 1968 season.- Arkansas Travelers → Tulsa Oilers
- Indianapolis Indians
Presidents
- 1902–1903: James Moran
- 1903–1906: Eugene F. Bert
- 1907–1909: J. Cal Ewing
- 1910–1911: Judge Thomas F. Graham
- 1912–1919: Allan T. Baum
- 1920–1923: William H. McCarthy
- 1924–1931: Harry A. Williams
- 1932–1935: Hyland H. Baggerly
- 1936–1943: W. C. Tuttle
- 1944–1954: Clarence H. Rowland
- 1955: Claire V. Goodwin
- 1956–1959: Leslie O'Connor
- 1960–1968: Dewey Soriano
- 1968–1973: William B. McKechnie Jr.
- 1974–1978: Roy Jackson
- 1979–1997: Bill Cutler
- 1998–present: Branch B. Rickey
Past champions
The San Francisco Seals have won 14 PCL championships, the most among all teams in the league, followed by the Los Angeles Angels and the Albuquerque Dukes and Portland Beavers. Among active PCL franchises, the Sacramento River Cats and Tacoma Rainiers and have each won 5 championships, tied for most in the league, followed by the Memphis Redbirds and the Omaha Storm Chasers.