Category: Western Baseball League 1995

1995 Long Beach Barracuda Baseball Scorecard from the Western Baseball League

Long Beach Barracuda

July 14, 2022

The Long Beach Barracuda were one of eight founding members of the independent Western Baseball League during the summer of 1995. The Barracuda, who played at Blair Field, were Long Beach’s first professional team since the Beachcombers of 1913. The club was strong on the field under the direction of former American League Most Valuable Player and a circus behind the scenes. By the end of the summer, the Barracuda had declared bankruptcy, fought off a takeover bid from actress Heather Locklear, changed their name and won the league championship.

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1997 Chico Heat baseball program from the Western Baseball League

Chico Heat (1997-2002)

March 7, 2022

The Chico Heat were the class of the independent Western Baseball League during their six summers of play between 1997 and 2002. The Heat appeared in the WBL championship series five times in six seasons, winning it all in 1997 and 2002. Chico also led the Western League in attendance in all six of their campaigns.

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1999 Reno Blackjacks program from the Western Baseball League

Reno BlackJacks

February 17, 2022

The Reno BlackJacks were a One-Year Wonder in the independent Western Baseball League (WBL) during the summer of 1999. The BlackJacks were the last professional baseball team to make their home at Moana Stadium, Reno’s long-time home of minor league baseball dating back to 1947. The ballpark was demolished in 2012.

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Grays Harbor Gulls

March 15, 2021

The Grays Harbor Gulls of Washington state were founding members of the independent Western Baseball League (WBL) in 1995. The Gulls played against WBL clubs up and down the Pacific Coast from British Columbia in the north down to Long Beach, California in the south. The team’s ownership collapsed due to financial problems in June 1998 midway through the Gulls’ fourth season. The league took over the team, re-named it the “Western Warriors” and put the players on a months-long road trip so as not to disrupt the remaining schedules of the other WBL clubs.

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Pacific Suns

January 22, 2021

The Pacific Suns were a rather cursed minor league baseball outfit that struggled through a single summer of play in Oxnard, California in 1998. The team played on the campus of Oxnard College and were the first pro baseball team to set up shop in Ventura County since the departure of the equally short-lived Ventura County Gulls in 1986.

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