Bellingham Mariners

The Bellingham Mariners were a Minor League Baseball team in the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, based in Bellingham, Washington.

Bellingham Mariners
1973–1996
Bellingham, Washington
Minor league affiliations
Previous classesClass A-Short Season
LeagueNorthwest League
Major league affiliations
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles 3 (1977, 1980, 1986)
Team data
Previous names
  • Bellingham Giants (1995–1996)
  • Bellingham Mariners (1977–1994)
  • Bellingham Dodgers (1973–1976)
Previous parks
Joe Martin Field (1973–1996)
Bellingham
Location in the United States
Bellingham
Location in Washington

The franchise arrived in 1973 as the Bellingham Dodgers, affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers for four seasons. They changed to the expansion Seattle Mariners in 1977 (Bellingham Mariners, or the "Baby M's" as they were popularly known), which lasted for 18 seasons, through 1994. The final two seasons in 1995 and 1996 were as the Bellingham Giants, the affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.

After three seasons in Medford and one season in Spokane in 1972, the Dodgers moved their NWL affiliate to Bellingham for 1973. The team gained unwanted national notoriety in 1975 when it opened the season with 25 straight losses;[1][2][3] they finished at 17–61 (.218).

In 1987, 17-year-old Ken Griffey, Jr. hit his first professional home run while on the road at Everett Memorial Stadium on June 18.[4] A plaque was placed on the sidewalk outside the stadium where the ball landed.[5]

The Bellingham franchise played at Joe Martin Field, a venue with a seating capacity near 1,600. The park is currently the home of the Bellingham Bells of the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League.[6]

Following the 1994 season, the Mariners moved their affiliation to the Everett AquaSox. After the 1996 season, the Bellingham Giants moved south to Keizer, Oregon,[7] and became the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in 1997.

Yearly record
YearMLB ClubRecordFinishManagerPlayoffs
1973Dodgers
(4 yrs.)		42–373rdBill Berrier
197452–321stBill BerrierLeague Finals
197517–616thBill Berrier
197630–426thBill Berrier
1977Mariners
(18 yrs.)		42–262ndBobby FloydLeague Champs[8][9][10]
197841–303rdBob Didier
197941–313rd (t)Jeff Scott
198045–251stJeff ScottCo-Champs w/ Eugene
198139–312ndJeff ScottPlayoffs
198233–373rdJeff Scott
198340–282ndJeff ScottPlayoffs
198442–323rdGary Pellant
198539–353rd (t)Gary Pellant
198645–291st (t)Sal RendeLeague Champs
198730–467thRick Sweet
198825–518thP. J. Carey
198932–437thP. J. Carey
199032–446thP. J. Carey
199137–395th (t)Dave Myers
199243–331st (t)Dave MyersLeague Champs
199344–321stMike GoffPlayoffs
199442–343rdMike Goff
1995Giants
(2 yrs.)		43–332ndGlenn TuftsLeague Finals
199639–364thOzzie Virgil, Jr. /
Shane Turner

Source:[11][12][13]

Hall of Fame alumni
  • Ken Griffey, Jr. (1987) Inducted, 2016
  • Edgar Martinez (1983) Inducted, 2019

Notable players

(Dodgers, Mariners, and Giants)

Source:[6][14]

See also
  • Bellingham Dodgers players   (1973–1976)
  • Bellingham Mariners players   (1977–1994)
  • Bellingham Giants players   (1995–1996)

See also

References
  1. Hopper, Betty (July 13, 1975). "Bellingham Dodgers: maybe you can lose 'em all..." Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. D1.
  2. "Northwest League standings". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). July 13, 1975. p. D2.
  3. "Bellingham ends string, starts over". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. July 14, 1975. p. 10.
  4. "Northwest League: Wednesday's results". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). June 19, 1987. p. 36.
  5. Baker, Geoff (August 29, 2008). "Fun is No. 1 at Everett AquaSox games". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2008-09-02. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  6. "Joe Martin Field". Bellingham Bells. Archived from the original on September 1, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  7. "Bellingham might lose team to Keizer". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. September 11, 1996. p. 5C.
  8. "Bellingham wins first playoff game". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. August 29, 1977. p. 5D.
  9. "NWL crown up for grabs". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. August 31, 1977. p. 5C.
  10. "Bellingham wins title". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. September 1, 1977. p. 22.
  11. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/about/page.jsp?ymd=20061214&content_id=148662&vkey=about_l126&fext=.jsp&sid=l126
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-11-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-12-15. Retrieved 2008-11-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-11-23. Retrieved 2009-03-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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