Tri-City Dust Devils

The Tri-City Dust Devils are a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Pasco, Washington. The Dust Devils are members of the High Single-A Northwest League and are affiliated with the Los Angeles Angels. Tri-City plays their home games at Gesa Stadium, which opened in 1995 and has a seating capacity of 3,654.

Tri-City Dust Devils
Founded in 2001
Pasco, Washington
Team logoCap insignia
Minor league affiliations
ClassHigh Single-A (2021–present)
Previous classesClass A-Short Season (2001–2020)
LeagueNorthwest League
DivisionNorth Division
Major league affiliations
TeamLos Angeles Angels (2021–present)
Previous teams
Minor league titles
Division titles (5)
  • 2007
  • 2009
  • 2011
  • 2015
  • 2019
Team data
ColorsNavy blue, gold, white
     
MascotDusty [1]
BallparkGesa Stadium
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
George Brett / Northwest Baseball Ventures
General ManagerDerrel Ebert
ManagerVinny Lopez[2]

History

In 1999 a group called Portland Family Entertainment claimed the Portland territory for AAA franchise. The Portland Rockies had been playing in the Rose City since 1995. Portland Family Entertainment, who had purchased the Albuquerque Dukes franchise would be relocating to Portland for the 2000 season. On July 10th long time owner Jack Cain, who had owned the Rockies franchise dating back to the Bend Phillies, sold the franchise to Portland Family Entertainment. Forced to vacate Portland with arrival of the AAA club, the franchise moved up the Columbia River to the Tri-Cities area.[3]

Upon relocating to the Tri-Cities the team adopted a new unique nickname, Dust Devils. Vice President and general manager Derrel Ebert “We’re pretty big in the agricultural industries around here. With all the farms and all the dirt, we also have a high amount of wind that comes through. We literally get dirt devils, dust devils, those types of mini-tornado type things that come barreling through here at times.”[4]

In their inaugural season the Dust Devils compiled a record of 39-36 to finish second in the north division standings. Despite a losing record, Tri-City won their first division title in 2007. The Dust Devils faced Salem-Keizer in the championship series, but feel to the Volcanoes in four games.

In 2015 the Dust Devils ended their long standing affiliation with the Colorado Rockies. Tri-City signed a player development contract with the San Diego Padres.[5]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minor League Baseball season was cancelled. In the winter of 2020 as part the reorganization of minor league baseball, Tri-City received an invitation to play as High Single-A affiliate of Los Angeles Angels in the reclassified Northwest League.[6]

The Dust Devils' front office is headed up by president Brent Miles and vice president / general manager Derrel Ebert. Prior to Ebert taking over as VP/GM in September 2009, Monica Ortega held the position from 2008–2009 as the only female general manager in the Northwest League. The principal owner of the team is hall of famer George Brett, with Miles as a minority owner.[7]

Before the Dust Devils

The Tri-Cities in southeastern Washington, which include Kennewick and Richland along with Pasco, have fielded a number of teams in the Northwest League and its predecessor, the Western International League. The Tri-City Braves were a member of the WIL from 1950 to 1955, when the team became a charter member of the new Northwest League. The Tri-Cities were continually represented through 1974 under various names (Braves 1955–60, 1962; Angels 1961, 1963–64; Atoms 1965–68; A's 1969; Padres 1970–72; Triplets 1973; Ports 1974).

In 1974, the Ports were an independent team and went 27–57 (.321) and drew just 21,611 in home attendance for the season. The team was managed by owner Carl W. Thompson, Sr. before folding.

From 1950 through 1974, home games were held at Sanders-Jacobs Field in Kennewick,[8][9] located at the northeast corner of Clearwater Avenue and Neel Street (46.213°N 119.169°W / 46.213; -119.169).[10] The field was aligned to the northeast and named for Harry Sanders, a Connell farmer, and Tom Jacobs, a former manager and the general manager of the Atoms at the time of his death at age 64 in 1968.[9][10] The ballpark was demolished in the mid-1970s, shortly after the Ports folded.

The Tri-Cities were without baseball until 1983 when the Tri-Cities Triplets (an homage to the 1973 name) formed, though they only lasted until 1986. The Triplets had relocated from Walla Walla and were an affiliate of the Texas Rangers for the first two years, independent for the final two. They played their home games at Richland High School baseball field, adjacent to the Bomber Bowl football stadium.[11] The team was bought by the Brett brothers in February 1986,[12] then sold that autumn to Diamond Sports, a group headed by the general manager, Mal Fichman. The Triplets relocated to Southwestern Idaho for the 1987 season and became the Boise Hawks.

The Tri-Cities was also home to the Tri-City Posse of the independent Western Baseball League from 1995 to 2000. The Posse were founded in the WBL's first year in 1995,[13] won the league title in 1999, but folded after the 2000 season.[14]

Identity

The Dust Devils, who had continued their relationship with the Colorado Rockies, originally intended to keep purple as their team color. However, when the Dust Devils took the field they donned navy and khaki. The colors were derived from the local topography. "If you drive through the Tri-Cities there three main things you’ll notice, it’s in the desert, so the sky is huge, it’s big sky country, and that’s obviously blue; the Columbia River is the main geographic feature, and that’s a deep, dark blue; and the hills are kind of a brown, khaki color."[4]

Ballpark

The Dust Devils play their home games at Gesa Stadium, which opened in 1995 as Tri-City Stadium. Upon the arrival of the Dust Devils in 2001 the stadium was changed from is original name to Dust Devil Stadium. The stadium has a seating capacity of 3,654.

Season-by-season record
Season PDC Division Finish Wins Losses Win% Post-season Manager Attendance
Tri-City Dust Devils
2001 COL North 2nd 39 36 .520 Stu Cole 55,613
2002 COL East 2nd 40 36 .526 Ron Gideon 69,824
2003 COL East 3rd 33 43 .434 Ron Gideon 58,976
2004 COL East 3rd 50 36 .526 Ron Gideon 54,087
2005 COL East 2nd 36 40 .474 Ron Gideon 63,173
2006 COL East 2nd 38 38 .500 Danny Cox 67,545
2007 COL East 1st 37 39 .487 Lost to Salem-Keizer in championship series 3-1 Fred Ocasio 75,308
2008 COL East 3rd 36 40 .474 Fred Ocasio 82,021
2009 COL East 1st 47 29 .618 Lost to Salem-Keizer in championship series 3-1 Fred Ocasio 84,198
2010 COL East 4th 30 46 .395 Fred Ocasio 84,921
2011 COL East 1st 44 32 .579 Defeated Boise in division finals 2-0
Lost to Vancouver in championship series 2-1		 Fred Ocasio 85,953
2012 COL East 3rd 32 44 .421 Fred Ocasio 86,095
2013 COL North 4th 34 42 .447 Fred Ocasio 83,987
2014 COL North 3rd 33 43 .434 Drew Saylor 85,679
2015 SDP North 2nd 42 34 .553 Defeated Everett in division finals 2-1
Lost to Hillsboro in championship series 2-1		 Robbie Wine 100,613
2016 SDP North 2nd 34 42 .447 Ben Fritz 86,886
2017 SDP North 2nd 40 36 .526 Ben Fritz 86,461
2018 SDP North 4th 35 41 .461 Mike McCoy 86,283
2019 SDP North 2nd 38 38 .500 Defeated Spokane in division finals 2-1
Lost to Hillsboro in championship series 3-2		 Mike McCoy 87,021
Division winner League champions

Roster
Tri-City Dust Devils roster
Players Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  •  3 Angel Acevedo
  • 25 Luarbert Arias
  • -- Cole Bellinger
  • 26 Jason Blanchard
  • 16 Martin Carrasco
  • 49 Tom Colletti
  • 27 Starlin Cordero
  • 32 Dan Dallas
  • 15 Dominic DiSabatino
  • 55 Ethan Elliott
  •  5 Ignacio Feliz
  • 18 Jeferson Garcia
  •  9 Sam Keating
  • 28 Connor Lehmann
  • 30 Chris Lincoln
  • 31 Seth Mayberry
  • 24 Deacon Medders
  • 13 Gabriel Morales
  • 33 Jason Reynolds
  • 46 Jake Sims
  • 50 Wen-Hua Sung
  • 22 Nick Thwaits

Catchers

  • 19 Logan Driscoll
  •  2 Jonny Homza
  • 34 Alison Quintero

Infielders

  • 23 Jordy Barley
  • 10 Luke Becker
  • 21 Nick Gatewood
  •  1 Sean Guilbe
  • 12 Reinaldo Ilarraza
  • -- Carlos Luis
  • 11 Kelvin Melean
  •  8 Jason Pineda

Outfielders

  •  6 Matthew Acosta
  •  4 Tre Carter
  •  7 Mason House
  • 51 Jack Stronach

Manager

  • -- Vinny Lopez

Coaches


7-day injured list
* On San Diego Padres 40-man roster
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporary inactive list
Roster updated February 16, 2020
 Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB • Northwest League
 → San Diego Padres minor league players

Notable alumni

Former players

Tri-City Dust Devils players   (2001–present)

References
  1. "Tri-City Dust Devils Mascot Appearance Request Form". Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2017-10-19.
  2. "Dust Devils Announce 2020 Coaching Staff". MiLB.com. 17 January 2020. Archived from the original on 2 January 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  3. "Colorado Rockies Baseball News: The Denver Post Online". extras.denverpost.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  4. Caputo, Paul. "Blown Away: The Story Behind the Tri-City Dust Devils". SportsLogos.Net News. Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  5. "Tri-City Dust Devils to Become Padres Affiliate in 2015". NBC Right Now. Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  6. Bollinger, Rhett (2020-12-09). "Angels extend affiliation invites for 2021". MLB.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  7. Millikin, Jack (April 19, 2007). "Miles acquires ownership". Tr-City Herald. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-04-19.
  8. "Tri-City stadium for sale". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. October 18, 1968. p. 24. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  9. "Tri-City's leader taken by death". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. July 27, 1968. p. 8. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  10. Morrow, Jeff (March 22, 2013). "Charlie Petersen, Tri-Cities' first professional baseball manager, still kicking at 100". Tri-City Herald. Pasco, Washington. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
  11. "Bomber Bowl – Richland, Washington". ballparkreviews.com. Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2011-10-19.
  12. "Bretts purchase Tri-Cities team". Spokane Chronicle. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. February 19, 1986. p. C2. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  13. "Trebelhorn to manage Tri-Cities team". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. Moscow, Idaho. November 24, 1994. p. 2D. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  14. Caputo, Paul. "Blown Away: The Story Behind the Tri-City Dust Devils". Archived from the original on 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
Preceded by
Portland Rockies		 Northwest League franchise
2001–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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