Tacoma Rainiers

Tacoma's first team in the PCL was the Tacoma Tigers, who joined the league in 1904, having moved from Sacramento after the 1903 season. The 1904 Tigers won Tacoma's first PCL pennant, finishing first in both halves of the split season schedule, seven games (annualized) over the runner-up Los Angeles Angels. The 1905 Tigers won the first-half championship, then moved back to Sacramento, finishing out the season as the Sacramento Solons, and losing the postseason series to the Angels.

The PCL did not return to Tacoma for another 55 years; however, another Tacoma Tigers franchise operated in the Western International League from the 1930s through 1951. Owned by William Starr of San Diego, they were affiliated with the San Diego Padres of the PCL. The team was sold, relocated to north central Idaho, and became the Lewiston Broncs in 1952.[3][4]

The current PCL franchise was founded in 1960 when the Phoenix Giants, an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, moved to Tacoma and became the Tacoma Giants. The Giants were the first team to play at brand-new Cheney Stadium.

The Giants' first win at Cheney Stadium came on April 16, 1960—an 11–0 victory over Portland in game two of a doubleheader. Future National Baseball Hall Of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal worked the victory, giving Tacoma their first franchise shutout performance.

The 1961 iteration of the club posted a 97–57 record under manager Red Davis, who steered a team led by Gaylord Perry, Ron Herbel, Eddie Fisher, and Dick Phillips. Following a season in which he hit .264 with 16 home runs and 98 RBI, Phillips was named the 1961 PCL Most Valuable Player – he remains the only player in franchise history to earn the PCL MVP award.

Tacoma Baseball Hall of Fame at Cheney Stadium

In 1965, the Giants decided to move the team back to Phoenix, however, the Chicago Cubs decided to move their affiliate, the Salt Lake City Bees, to Tacoma exactly the same year and renamed the team the Tacoma Cubs.

The club played as a Cubs affiliate for six season, compiling a 410–466 (.468) record. The Tacoma Cubs were managed by Whitey Lockman for their first four seasons, including a 1969 PCL Championship after finishing the year 86–60. The 1969 Cubs pitching staff compiled a 3.01 team ERA, and bested Eugene for the league championship 3–2 in a best-of-five series.

Following the 1971 season, the Chicago Cubs left town. Local businessmen Stan Naccarato and Clay Huntington spearheaded a group of local investors who purchased the franchise and secured an affiliation with the Minnesota Twins, who renamed the team the Tacoma Twins.

Through six seasons as a Twins affiliate, Tacoma compiled a 422–441 (.489) record with no league championships.

During the Twins era, infielder Rick Renick (1973–76) slugged his way to 72 home runs, giving him the most career home runs in franchise history. In the midst of a 1977 season in which he hit .321 with 25 home runs and 117 RBI, first baseman Randy Bass notched four home runs on June 9, 1977 at Phoenix – he is one of only six players in PCL history to send out four or more home runs in a single contest.

Jerry Howarth, Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster, broadcast games for them during this time period.

For one season, the Tacoma franchise found themselves affiliated with the New York Yankees. While the Yankees compiled a 100-win 1978 season that culminated in an American League East title over the Boston Red Sox, the Tacoma Yankees compiled an 80–57 record and advanced to the league championship.

After the 1978 PCL Championship series with Albuquerque was cancelled due to rain, Tacoma and Albuquerque were named PCL Co-Champions.

Following an affiliation change to the Cleveland Indians, a local contest was held and long-time Tacoma resident, Gary W. Grip won with his entry, the Tacoma Tugs. Grip drew his inspiration for the name from the many tugboats in the Tacoma waters. The franchise was renamed the Tacoma Tugs, marking the first time the team's nickname did not align with its major league club. After one season as the Tugs, the team returned to the Tigers nickname in 1980.

The team finished with nearly identical records in both years as a Cleveland affiliate, going 74–73 in 1979, and 74–74 in 1980.

Following their brief stints with the Yankees and Indians, the team moved their affiliation to the Oakland A's, a partnership that would last 14 seasons.

While the affiliation with Oakland provided five playoffs appearances for Tacoma fans, it produced no league championships. Future American League Rookies of the Year Walt Weiss, Jose Canseco, and Mark McGwire all spent time in Tacoma during this period. Scott Brosius, Tacoma's current hitting coach, also played for Tacoma during the Oakland era.

The team became associated with the nearby Seattle Mariners in 1995, whose Triple-A team for the previous ten seasons had been the Calgary Cannons. Tacoma adopted the Rainiers name in part as a tribute to the Seattle Rainiers minor league teams that played in Seattle from 1938 to 1964 in the PCL, and again from 1972 to 1976. The Tacoma Rainiers play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which hosted the baseball portion of the 1990 Goodwill Games. The Mariners' T-Mobile Park is about 30 miles (48 km) to the north.

A packed Cheney Stadium on July 3, 2015.

Since their affiliation with the Mariners beginning in 1995, nearly all of the organization's home-grown prospects have passed through Tacoma, including Alex Rodriguez, Raul Ibanez, Felix Hernandez, J.J. Putz, Kyle Seager and more.

Tacoma was managed by Dan Rohn from 2001–2005, a three-time PCL Manager of the Year recipient. Under Rohn's direction, the Rainiers compiled a record of 375–340 (.524).

Tacoma shared a PCL Championship in 2001 with New Orleans after the September 11 attacks forced the cancellation of the championship series. The Rainiers advanced to the championship series in 2005, but was swept by Nashville, before winning their most recent league championship in 2010.

The Rainiers are broadcast on KHHO 850 AM by play-by-play announcer Mike Curto, who has been with the club since 1999.

The 1961 Tacoma Giants finished the season with a record of 97–58 (.630), which still stands as the best season in the club's PCL history. No playoffs were held in 1961– instead, the Giants clinched the league championship by earning the top spot in the league's sole, eight-team division. The club finished the season going 57–10 over their final 67 games, including a 16-game winning streak, believed to be a franchise-record streak.

The 1969 Tacoma Cubs finished the season with an 86–60 (.589) record, and earned the franchise's second league championship. The Cubs won the four-team Northern Division by 14 games to advance to the league championship. After going down 0–2 in the championship series to Eugene, then a Philadelphia Phillies affiliate, the Cubs rallied to win three straight games, clinching the five-game series. Cubs pitcher Archie Reynolds fired a complete game, two-hit shutout in game four to force a deciding fifth game. The 1969 Cubs were the first Tacoma team to win a championship playoff series.

The Tacoma Cubs compiled a record of 78–65 (.545) and returned to the PCL Championship Series just two short years after winning the league title. This time, the Cubs would fall to the Salt Lake Angels, three games to one. After falling behind 0–1 in the series, Cubs starting pitcher Jim Colborn fired a 10-inning, complete-game winning effort in game two, surrendering only one run and evening the series. Tacoma played the series without Adrian Garrett, who had hit a franchise record 43 home runs during the regular season before being sold to Oakland on August 31.

Tacoma finished with a record of 80–57 (.584) during their only season as a Yankees affiliate and was declared PCL Co-Champions, along with Albuquerque, after inclement weather in the Pacific Northwest forced the league office to cancel the playoffs.

For the first time since the PCL switched to a split-season format, Tacoma made the playoffs after finishing 43–27 in the second half to win the Northern Division. The Tigers defeated Hawaii, winners of the first half, two games to one to advance to the PCL Championship Series against Albuquerque. The Dukes would go on to sweep the Tigers 3–0 on a combined score of 22–7 to win the PCL Championship.

While the Seattle Mariners compiled a Major League record 116 wins, the Rainiers put together an 85–59 (.590) record to win the Northern Division by 12.5 games. The 2001 Rainiers led the Pacific Coast League with a 3.74 team ERA, while the offense finished fifth in the league in runs scored. Tacoma defeated Sacramento 3–2, after falling behind in the series 2–1, to move on to the Championship Series. Tacoma and New Orleans were scheduled to begin the Championship Series on September 11, before the series was cancelled in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington D.C. The PCL league office announced that Tacoma and New Orleans would be declared "Co-Champions" of the 2001 season.

The 2005 Rainiers finished 80–64 (.556) under the guidance of manager Dan Rohn. The Rainiers clinched the Northern Division crown on the second-to-last day of the season, eliminating a Salt Lake team that had won their final nine games of the season. Tacoma dropped the first two games of the five-game division series at home against Sacramento, before taking the final three games at Raley Field to advance to the championship. After falling behind 0–1 in the series to Nashville, a season-high five errors in game two sunk the Rainiers and gave the Sounds a 2–0 series advantage. In the 13th inning of game three, eventual series MVP and current Seattle Mariners Nelson Cruz launched a three-run home run to give Nashville a 5–2 victory and the PCL Championship.

The 2009 Rainiers, guided by manager Daren Brown, worked a record of 74–70 to sneak into the postseason. Tacoma was quickly eliminated from championship contention after dropping the division series to Sacramento 3–1.

The Rainiers went into playoffs with its home ballpark, Cheney Stadium, under construction. Displaced from its home field, Rainiers were forced to look for other venues to play its playoff home games. The first round of playoff game against Sacramento Rivercats saw the Rainiers winning two straight on the road, then coming "home" to the ballpark of its parent club, the Seattle Mariners, at Safeco Field. The Rainiers then dropped two straight games at Safeco Field, before winning Game 5 to advance to the PCL Championship Series against the Memphis Redbirds.

Due to Safeco Field not being available for the Championship Series and no other ball park in the Pacific Northwest meeting PCL requirements, the Rainiers were forced to play all games in the PCL Championship Series on the road. For Games 1 and 2 (the Rainiers' "home" games) the team batted second against the "visiting" Memphis Redbirds, with AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tennessee (the Redbirds' home park) hosting all the games. Having a hostile crowd even in its "home" games, the Rainiers nonetheless swept the Redbirds in three games to win the 2010 PCL Championship.

The Columbus Clippers defeated the Rainiers 12–6 on September 21, 2010, to win the Triple-A Baseball National Championship Game in Oklahoma City.