Western Baseball League (2000)
Tombstone
Born: October 8, 1999 – The Reno BlackJacks relocate to Marysville, CA1Santoro, Joe. “‘Jacks jump to California”. The Gazette-Journal (Reno, NV). October 9, 1999
Folded: Postseason 2000
First Game:
Last Game:
Western League Championships: None
Stadium
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners: Gary Matranga & Scott Mendonsa
Major League Affiliation: Independent
Attendance
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Source: The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.), Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, 2007
Trophy Case
Western Baseball League Pitcher-of-the-Year:
- 2000: Jason Olsen
Background
The Feather River Mudcats were a luckless entry in the independent Western Baseball League that went bankrupt after one season in the small Northern California city of Marysville (pop. 12,000).
Co-owners Gary Matranga and Scott Mendonsa, both of Sacramento, sank over $1.5 million of their own money into upgrading Marysville’s tiny Bryant Field into a 3,000-seat pro ballpark. Unfortunately, part of that investment was a $450,000 loan from Marysville’s Community Development Agency to purchase new grandstand seating for the ballpark. When the Mudcats defaulted on loan repayments soon after their debut season ended, the city filed suit and ultimately seized ownership of the team’s franchise certificate.
Mudcats Trademark Dispute
Meanwhile, the team spent its entire brief existence embroiled in an intellectual property dispute with the owner of the Carolina Mudcats, a Class AA farm club of the Colorado Rockies in Zebulon, North Carolina. Throughout the 1990’s (and beyond) the Carolina Mudcats have consistently ranked among the most popular minor league baseball brands in terms of nationwide cap and merchandise sales. The original Mudcats did not take kindly to a rogue indy ball club moving in on their catfish empire.
After playing the entire 2000 season as the Mudcats, the Feather River admitted defeat on the trademark issue. The team announced a name change to the Feather River Fury for the 2001 season. But instead Matranga and Mendonsa lost control of the team following the debt default. The club went dark altogether for the 2001 season.
On The Field
Feather River finished 3rd place in the Western Baseball League’s Northern Division with a 41-49 record. Pitcher Jason Olsen (8-7, 2.96 ERA, league-leading 142 Ks) earned WBL Pitcher-of-the-Year honors. Catcher Arnie Chavera (.328, 18 HRs, 59 RBI) was Feather River’s top offensive threat.
No Mudcats players ever played in the Major Leagues, either before or after arriving in Marysville.
Epilogue
The Western Baseball League returned to Marysville and Bryant Field with the formation of the Yuba-Sutter Gold Sox in 2002. However, the Western League folded at the end of the 2002 bringing an end to the pro baseball era in Yuba County for now.
The Gold Sox soldiered on as collegiate wooden bat league team and continue to play at Bryant Field to this day.
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