Most sports fans know there is no season like baseball season. The weather is warm, the drinks are cold and the games are consistent. As residents of the Pacific Northwest, it can be difficult finding that baseball feeling. Sure, we can travel a couple hours up to Seattle Mariners territory, but not as often as we would like.
In October 2012, the city of Hillsboro took up the offer to be the official city and host to the Hillsboro Hops. The Hops are a Class A short season team feeding into the Major League Baseball team the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Hops will play roughly 75 games, opposed to the usual 140 games for regular minor league play. The Hillsboro Hops will be the only professional baseball team in the Portland Metropolitan area.
It has been a bit of a process getting the Hops here to Hillsboro. Moving from Tucson, Arizona to Salem, contemplating Vancouver, and now settling comfortably into Hillsboro. With a new state of the art 4,500 seat stadium underway and Bridgeport Brewery becoming the official beer of the Hops, baseball fans of the Northwest should be gearing up for an exciting season with a fresh team and coaching staff.
Since the announcement of the team’s move in October 2012, developments within the team have been making progress daily. In Early January, the coaching staff was announced.
The Hops’ new manager will be Audo Vicente, who has been closely affiliated with the Diamondbacks for the past few years. Vicente was a minor league player for three years and proceeded to a managerial position for the DSL Diamondbacks.
Joining Vicente will be J.R. House as hitting coach and Doug Drabek as the pitching coach. Both coaches are MLB veterans.
The Hops will battle all Northwest Single-A teams in locations such as Spokane, Tri-Cities, Eugene, and Vancouver BC. Residing in an area where baseball is not too prominent, the Hops look to establish themselves one of the best in the Single-A league.
When I tell people baseball is my favorite sport, I often get questioned quite a bit. “What is engaging about it? Don’t you get bored? There isn’t a lot of action!” For me, baseball is so much more than sport. There are stats and numbers involved that can require some serious math skills, persistence to finish all nine innings, endless focus, and determination from every player to win the game as a team.
I love that tension filled stadium, when the silence of the crowd is broken by that perfect game winning hit. Single-A baseball is exciting just for this very reason. The will and determination of these young players is inspiring, while providing an exciting game in the summer sunshine.
The Hillsboro Hops’ first game of the 2013 season is June 14, with the first home opener on June 17th. Get out there and support your new local professional baseball team Oregon! More to come!
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