Salinas Indians

California League (1965)

Background

The Salinas Indians were a short-lived farm club of the American League’s Cleveland Indians that played a single season in the Class A California League in 1965.  The Indians replaced the Salinas Mets (1963-1964) after the National League’s New York Mets withdrew their support of the Salinas franchise in the fall of 1964.

Under the leadership of retired Chicago Cub Phil Cavaretta, the Indians placed 4th in the 6-member California League with an overall 67-72 record in 1965. After a last place finish in the season’s first half, the Indians made a better showing in the back half of the season with a 37-33 second place showing.

Eight Salinas Indians players eventually made it to the Majors. Outfielder Richie Scheinblum and second baseman Dave Nelson were the best of the bunch, each earning one All-Star Game nod in the American League in the early 1970’s. The 22-year old Scheinblum earned a September call-up from Cleveland in September 1965, making a rare leap from Class A all the way to the Majors. He appeared in four games with the Tribe that summer, but wouldn’t stick full-time in the Majors until 1969.

Pitcher Oscar Zamora was the last Salinas Indian to appear in the Majors when he played for the Houston Astros in 1978 and the last player standing in professional baseball when he made a minor league comeback effort with the Class A Miami Marlins at age 38 in 1982.

20-year old pitcher Ray Miller’s playing career peaked at Class AAA in the early 1970’s.  But Miller later went to manager the Minnesota Twins (1985 & 1986) and the Baltimore Orioles (1998 & 1999).

Demise & Later Teams in Salinas

Salinas suffered from ownership problems during and after the 1965 season. The team’s pitiful home attendance of 8,828 fans for a 70-game home calendar was the second lowest in all of Minor League Baseball, besting only Idaho’s Pocatello Chiefs, who played half as many games. Cleveland announced it did not plan to return to Salinas and the Indians franchise folded immediately after the season ended.

In the winter that followed, the IRS placed a $14,500 tax lien on the team and seized the team’s bus for unreported and unpaid employment taxes. Salinas owner Joe Anzini pleaded guilty to two tax evasion charges in Salinas Municipal Court in January 1966.¹NO BYLINE. “Anzini Changes Plea To Guilty”. The Californian (Salinas, CA). January 27, 1966

Salinas had no baseball at Municipal Stadium for the next seven summers after the Indians left town. But the California League returned once more in 1973 and Salinas became a mainstay of the league for the next two decades. The Cal League left town for the final time in 1992. An independent club, the Salinas Peppers, had a brief residence in the mid-1990’s. Municipal Stadium was demolished in 2000.

Salinas Indians Shop

In Memoriam

Outfielder Sam Parilla, who made it to the Majors for 11 games with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1970, was murdered by a 15-year old teenager during a dispute over an automobile accident in Brooklyn, New York on February 9th, 1994.  He was 50 years old.

Salinas Indians manager Phil Cavaretta passed away from complications of a stroke on December 18th, 2010 at age 94. Los Angeles Times obituary. Cavaretta, the 1945 National League MVP as a member of the Chicago Cubs, was believed to be the last person alive to have played against Babe Ruth.²Van Dyck, Dave. “Phil Cavaretta 1916-2010; Won NL MVP for ’45 Cubs”. The Tribune (Chicago, IL). December 19, 2010

Second baseman Dave Nelson died on April 22, 2018 following a battle with liver cancer. The 10-year Major League veteran was 73 years old.

Pitcher Ray Miller, a long-time Major League pitching coach and manager after his playing days, died on May 4th, 2021 at 76 years of age.

Outfielder Richie Scheinblum passed on May 10th, 2021 at the age of 78.

Links

California League Media Guides

California League Programs

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