Volcanoes are just a part of baseball history in Salem-Keizer
KEIZER – One of the many beauties of any community that has Minor League baseball is the ability to be personally tied with a player’s journey to The Show.
“Grandpa, do you remember when you took me to see Tim Lincecum?”
“I saw Pablo Sandoval and Buster Posey each hit home runs at Volcanoes Stadium!”
“Joe Panik spoke to my Scout troop when I was in third grade.”
That, in itself, is as magical as pennants, and there is never a guarantee of a Minor League pennant. Many franchises in existence today haven't won a title in decades – if ever. The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes have five Northwest League pennants and are already guaranteed to be one of only four teams this September vying for the league title.
There certainly is no guarantee that any Minor League franchise will produce a future Major League all-star. Just query one of the multiple websites that have year-over-year complete professional stats and one appreciates the difficulty.
A World Champion? How many current Minor League franchises have sent alumni to their respective Big Club affiliates to win a World Series ring(s)? It’s many times harder than seeing even seeing a former local professional player become an MLB all-star. In this decade, there have only been six different teams that have won the World Series. Your Salem-Keizer Volcanoes directly staffed, via alumni, players directly contributing to the 2010, 2012, and 2014 Giants Fall Classic winners.
We’re talking a fraction from the pool of Minor League baseball players, who represent less than 1 percent of the entire active baseball playing world. World Champions from any particular Minor League club? We’re now in the territory of a fraction of 1 percent. Multiple decimal places to the right.
Let’s move that decimal place even further. What are the odds of a Minor Leaguer today someday being enshrined in Cooperstown? Most Minor League franchises today have officially zero alumni who are in Cooperstown. The old Salem, Oregon team from 1989; the very one which played home games at Chemeketa Community College Field, had a young catcher named Mike Piazza. The same Mike Piazza who was elected in 2016 to the National Baseball Hall of Fame with 83% of votes. That Mike Piazza. Salem’s Mike Piazza had his first professional hit and played his first professional season right here in Salem.
When Jerry and Lisa Walker brought the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes to town in 1997, it began the golden age of baseball championships in this region. What local baseball fans can both embrace and be proud of is that the Volcanoes championships and players who went on to directly staff three Giants world championships, also tie together a longer history of amazing local area professional teams, coaches and players dating back many generations.
Related:Want to buy some Volcanoes baseball cards? Get ready to spend some Benjamins
Salem and Keizer Professional Championship & MLB-Affiliate Championship Series Teams:
- 2014 World Champions: San Francisco Giants (parent club of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes)
- 2012 World Champions: San Francisco Giants (parent club of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes)
- 2010 World Champions: San Francisco Giants (parent club of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes)
- 2009 Northwest League Champions: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- 2007 Northwest League Champions: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- 2006 Northwest League Champions: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- 2001 Northwest League Champions: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- 1998 Northwest League Champions: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- 1982 Northwest League Champions: Salem Angels
Honorable Mentioned:
- 2016 National League Wild Card Winners: San Francisco Giants (parent club of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes)
- 2008 Northwest League Finalists: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- 2003 Northwest League Finalists: Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
- 2002 National League Champions: San Francisco Giants (parent club of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes)
- 1959 Northwest League Finalists: Salem Senators
- 1955 Northwest League Finalists: Salem-Senators
Salem-Keizer Volcanoes alumni who have World Series rings playing for the San Francisco Giants Champions of 2010, 2012, 2014:
- Brandon Crawford
- Matt Duffy
- Tim Lincecum
- Joe Panik
- Buster Posey
- Sergio Romo
- Jonathan Sanchez
- Pablo Sandoval
- Nate Schierholtz
- Travis Ishikawa
- Ryan Vogelsong
Notable baseball professionals with direct Salem Minor League playing ties (years played in Salem in parenthesis):
- Mike Piazza (1989) Inductee, Class of 2016, National Baseball Hall of Fame
- Bill Bevens (1951): pitched in the 1947 World Series for the champion Yankees
- Dante Bichette (1984): 274 career MLB home runs, 1,900+ MLB hits
- Bobby Cox (1961, 1962): would go on to manage 2,988 career wins and a World Series Championship
- Gene Brabender (1963): Most wins in Seattle Pilots history (13)
- Chuck Finley (1985): 200 career MLB wins
- Josh Reilly (1893): earliest known Salem professional player to reach the Major League (1896 Chicago Colts)
- Floyd Robinson (1955): went on to play 1,011 MLB games with 929 career hits
- Clarence Jones (1964): 33 home runs for Salem that season
- Mark McLemore (1982): 2001 Seattle Mariners, 920 career hits
That by no means is the exhaustive list. That is exactly the beauty of supporting Minor League teams like the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. Fans have their own specific memories and players they personally root for.
With all that context above, the next time an aunt in Burlington, Vermont or a cousin in Staten Island, New York or a sibling in Hillsboro calls up to brag up their local Minor League team, you can say, with strong evidence, that Salem and Keizer are on the Mount Rushmore of Minor League Baseball.
Justin Lacche is President (Emeritus) of the Volcanoes. A professional cricket player, Lacche has 3,000+ career runs in 15 seasons.