Northwest League

The Northwest League was a class A minor league. The league was the descendant of the Western International League which ran as a class B league from 1937-1951 (with time out for World War II) and class A from 1952-1954. The league changed its named and dropped back down to class B for the 1955 season.

The league operated as an eight-team circuit, with two divisions of four teams each, for its final season in 2019. After the 2020 season was cancelled, it was disbanded before 2021, with six of its teams joining the High-A West segment of the Professional Development League. In a reversal, the High-A West was re-rebranded as the Northwest League in 2022, reviving the league.

Current Teams and Affiliations

Team	Manager	Parent Team
Eugene Emeralds	Jeremiah Knackstedt	San Francisco Giants
Everett AquaSox	Ryan Scott	Seattle Mariners
Hillsboro Hops	Javier Colina	Arizona Diamondbacks
Spokane Indians	Robinson Cancel	Colorado Rockies
Tri-City Dust Devils	Willie Romero	Los Angeles Angels
Vancouver Canadians	Brent Lavallee	Toronto Blue Jays

League Champions and MVPs

Year	Champion	Most Valuable Player
1955	Eugene Emeralds
1956	Yakima Bears
1957	Wenatchee Chiefs
1958	Yakima Bears
1959	Yakima Bears
1960	Yakima Bears
1961	Lewiston Broncs
1962	Wenatchee Chiefs
1963	Yakima Bears
1964	Yakima Bears
1965	Tri-City Atoms
1966	Tri-City Atoms
1967	Medford Giants
1968	Tri-City Atoms
1969	Rogue Valley Dodgers
1970	Lewiston Broncs
1971	Tri-City Padres
1972	Lewiston Broncs
1973	Lewiston Broncs
1974	Eugene Emeralds
1975	Eugene Emeralds
1976	Walla Walla Padres
1977	Bellingham Mariners
1978	Gray's Harbor Loggers
1979	Central Oregon Phillies
1980	Bellingham Mariners/Eugene Emeralds
1981	Medford Athletics	Tony Gwynn, Walla Walla & Kevin Coughlon, Medford
1982	Salem Angels	Phil Strom, Medford
1983	Medford Athletics	Bert Martinez, Tri-City
1984	Tri-Cities Triplets	Sam Haley, Bellingham
1985	Everett Giants	Jerald Clark, Spokane
1986	Bellingham Mariners	Dave Nash, Everett
1987	Spokane Indians	Steve Hendricks, Spokane
1988	Spokane Indians	Stan Royer, Southern Oregon
1989	Spokane Indians	Dave Staton, Spokane
1990	Spokane Indians	Matt Mieske, Spokane
1991	Boise Hawks	Joe Randa, Eugene
1992	Bellingham Mariners	Larry Sutton, Eugene
1993	Boise Hawks	Todd Greene, Boise
1994	Boise Hawks	John Donati, Boise
1995	Boise Hawks	Danny Buxbaum, Boise
1996	Yakima Bears	Robert Zachmann, Everett
1997	Portland Rockies	Dermal Brown, Spokane
1998	Salem-Keizer Volcanoes	Jason Hart, Southern Oregon
1999	Spokane Indians	Robb Quinlan, Boise
2000	Yakima Bears	Garrett Atkins, Portland & Jamal Strong, Everett
2001	Salem-Keizer Volcanoes	J.J. Johnson, Boise
2002	Boise Hawks	Ismael Castro, Everett
2003	Spokane Indians	Conor Jackson, Yakima
2004	Boise Hawks	Javier Herrera, Vancouver
2005	Spokane Indians	Steven Murphy, Spokane
2006	Salem-Keizer Volcanoes	Cyle Hankerd, Yakima
2007	Salem-Keizer Volcanoes	Matt Downs, Salem-Keizer & Luis Durango, Eugene
2008	Spokane Indians	Dan Robertson, Eugene
2009	Salem-Keizer Volcanoes	Drew Biery, Salem-Keizer
2010	Everett Aqua Sox	Jared Hoying, Spokane
2011	Vancouver Canadians	Joe Panik, Salem-Keizer
2012	Vancouver Canadians	Patrick Kivlehan, Everett
2013	Vancouver Canadians	L.B. Dantzler, Vancouver
2014	Hillsboro Hops	Franklin Bareto, Vancouver
2015	Hillsboro Hops	Drew Jackson, Everett
2016	Eugene Emeralds	Eric Filia, Everett
2017	Vancouver Canadians	Ryan Kirby, Salem-Keizer
2018	Eugene Emeralds	Curtis Terry, Spokane
2019	Hillsboro Hops	Blaine Crim, Spokane

Hall of Fame Alumni

• Ken Griffey, Jr., 1987 Bellingham Mariners
• Tony Gwynn, 1981 Walla Walla Padres
• Rickey Henderson, 1976 Boise A's
• Reggie Jackson, 1966 Lewiston Broncs
• Edgar Martínez 1983, Bellingham Mariners
• Mike Piazza, 1989 Salem Dodgers
• Ozzie Smith, 1977 Walla Walla Padres

Other Notable League Alumni

• José Canseco 1983, Medford A's 1988 AL Most Valuable Player
• George Foster 1968, Medford Giants 1977 NL Most Valuable Player
• Jason Giambi 1992, Southern Oregon A's 2000 AL Most Valuable Player
• Buster Posey 2012 NL Most Valuable Player
• Miguel Tejada 1995, Southern Oregon A's 2002 AL Most Valuable Player
• Sandy Alomar, Jr. 1990 AL Rookie of the Year
• Carlos Beltrán, 1996 Spokane Indians 1999 AL Rookie of the Year
• Tim Salmon, 1993 Bend Bucks 1993 AL Rookie of the Year
• Félix Hernández, 2003 Everett AquaSox 2010 AL Cy Young Award
• Tim Lincecum 2006, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 2× NL Cy Young Award (2008–2009)
• Dante Bichette 1984, Salem Angels 4 x MLB All-Star
• Pedro Guerrero 1974, Bellingham Dodgers 5 x MLB All-Star
• Paul Konerko 1994, Yakima Bears 6 x MLB All-Star
• Bill Murray 1978, Grays Harbor Loggers Award winning Actor
• Joe Nathan, 1995 Bellingham Giants 6 x MLB All-Star
• Troy Percival, 1991 Boise Hawks 4 x MLB All-Star
• Russell Wilson, 2010 Tri-City Dust Devils 2012 NFL Rookie of the Year

Cities Represented

former logo through 2016

• Aberdeen, WA:
  • Grays Harbor Ports 1976
  • Grays Harbor Loggers 1977-1978, 1980
  • Grays Harbor Mets 1979
• Bellingham, WA:
  • Bellingham Dodgers 1973-1976
  • Bellingham Mariners 1977-1994
  • Bellingham Giants 1995-1996
• Bend, OR:
  • Bend Rainbows 1970-1971
  • Bend Timber Hawks 1978
  • Central Oregon Phillies 1979-1980
  • Bend Phillies 1981-1986
  • Bend Bucks 1987-1991
  • Bend Rockies 1992-1994
• Boise, ID:
  • Boise A's 1975-1976
  • Boise Buckskins 1978
  • Boise Hawks 1987-2019
• Coos Bay, OR & North Bend, OR: North Bend-Coos Bay Athletics 1970-1972
• Eugene, OR: Eugene Emeralds 1955-1968, 1974-present (Pacific Coast League 1969-1973)
• Everett, WA:
  • Everett Giants 1984-1994
  • Everett AquaSox 1995-2019
• Hillsboro, OR:
  • Hillsboro Hops 2013-2019
• Kennewick, WA, Pasco, WA, & Richland, WA:
  • Tri-City Braves 1955-1960, 1962; moved from Western International League 1950-1954
  • Tri-City Atoms 1961, 1965-1968
  • Tri-City Angels 1963-1964
  • Tri-City A's 1969
  • Tri-City Padres 1970-1972
  • Tri-City Triplets 1973
  • Tri-City Ports 1974
  • Tri-Cities Triplets 1983-1986
  • Tri-City Dust Devils 2001-2019
• Lewiston, ID: Lewiston Broncs 1955-1974, moved from Western International League 1952-1954
• Medford, OR:
  • Medford Giants 1967-1968
  • Rogue Valley Dodgers 1969
  • Medford Dodgers 1970-1971
  • Medford Athletics 1979-1987
  • Southern Oregon Athletics 1988-1995
  • Southern Oregon Timberjacks 1996-1999
• New Westminster, BC: New Westminster Frasers 1974
• Portland, OR:
  • Portland Mavericks 1973-1977
  • Portland Rockies 1995-2000
• Salem, OR:
  • Salem Senators 1955-1960, 1977-1981; moved from Western International League 1940-1954
  • Salem Dodgers 1961-1965, 1988-1989
  • Salem Angels 1982-1987
  • Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 1997-2019
• Seattle, WA: Seattle Rainiers 1972-1976
• Spokane, WA: Spokane Indians 1955-1956, 1972, 1983-present moved from Western International League 1939-1954
• Vancouver, BC: Vancouver Canadians 2000-2019
• Victoria, BC: Victoria Mussels 1978-1980
• Walla Walla, WA:
  • Walla Walla Bears 1969, 1983
  • Walla Walla Phillies 1970-1971
  • Walla Walla Rainbows 1972
  • Walla Walla Padres 1973-1982
• Wenatchee, WA: Wenatchee Chiefs 1955-1965, moved from Western International League 1937-1954
• Yakima, WA:
  • Yakima Bears 1955-1964, 1990-2012; moved from Western International League 1949-1954
  • Yakima Valley Braves 1965-1966

Related Sites

Northwest League Official Site