The Visalia Rawhide are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Visalia, California, and have played their home games at Valley Strong Ballpark since their inception in 1946.
| Visalia Rawhide | |||||
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Class | Single-A (2021–present) | ||||
| Previous classes |
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| League | California League (1946–present) | ||||
| Division | South Division | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Team |
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| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles (3) |
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| Division titles (3) |
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| First-half titles (1) |
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| Second-half titles (1) |
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| Wild card berths (1) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Name |
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| Mascot | Tipper | ||||
| Ballpark | Valley Strong Ballpark | ||||
Owner(s)/ Operator(s) | First Pitch Entertainment, LLC | ||||
| General manager | Mike Candela & Julian Rifkind[1] | ||||
| Manager | Dee Garner | ||||
| Website | milb.com/visalia | ||||
The team has had nine names, most of which reflected its changing major-league affiliates, most recently the Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, Oakland A's, Tampa Bay Rays, and Diamondbacks. They took the name Rawhide in 2009.
In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Rawhide were organized into the Low-A West at the Low-A classification.[2] In 2022, the Low-A West became known as the California League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization, and was reclassified as a Single-A circuit.[3]
Casey Jones/Casey at the Bat
editOnce per season, the team wears old-fashioned uniforms recalling Mighty Casey, the main folklore hero of "Casey at the Bat" and the "Mudville Nine", based on the Stockton Ports in Stockton.[citation needed]
Visalia is one of the four oldest cities of the Cal League, along with San Jose (the San Jose Giants/Bees); and Modesto (the Modesto Nuts/A's).
Mascot
editThe Visalia Rawhide mascot is a Holstein Bull named Tipper, introduced on October 15, 2008. Tipper represents the tens of thousands of Holsteins in Tulare County, the top dairy-producing area in the country. Tipper's home is a ballpark barn – a 40' x 20' red barn which is part of the outfield fence – doubles carom off the side of the barn, and home runs land on the roof, leading to a new twist on the old baseball adage "couldn't hit the broad side of the barn" which now represents weak hitters instead of wild pitchers. The traditional red barn was built as a "community barn raising" to raise awareness for Habitat for Humanity and stands as an icon for the agricultural heritage of the valley.
Radio broadcast
editThe Rawhide are heard terrestrially on KJUG AM 1270 and over the internet through their website www.rawhidebaseball.com.
Notable Visalia alumni
editBaseball Hall of Fame alumni
- Randy Johnson (2007) Inducted, 2015
- Kirby Puckett (1983) Inducted, 2001
Notable alumni
- Jack Aker (1960)
- Allan Anderson (1984) 1988 AL ERA Leader
- Trevor Bauer (2011)
- Ken Berry (1962) MLB All-Star
- Jay Bell (1985) 2x MLB All-Star
- Geoff Blum (2011)
- Eric Byrnes (1998, 2008)
- Marty Cordova (1991–1992) 1995 AL Rookie of the Year
- John Castino (1977) 1979 AL Rookie of the Year
- Joe Charboneau (1978) 1980 AL Rookie of the Year
- Eric Chavez (1995)
- Craig Counsell (1993)
- Vic Davalillo (1958) MLB All-Star
- Sean Doolittle
- Zach Duke (2011)
- Adam Eaton (2011, 2013)
- Johnny Edwards (1959) 3x MLB All-Star
- Scott Erickson (1989) MLB All-Star
- Tim Foli (1969)
- Paul Goldschmidt (2010) 2013 NL Home Run & RBI Leader; 5x MLB All-Star
- Tom Gordon (2008) 3x MLB All-Star
- Kevin Gregg (1997)
- Eddie Guardado (1992) 2x MLB All-Star
- Mark Guthrie (1987)
- Ken Harrelson (1961) MLB All-Star
- Kent Hrbek (1981) MLB All-Star
- Aubrey Huff (2006)
- Ubaldo Jiménez (2004) MLB All-Star
- Jake Lamb (2013) MLB All-Star
- Chuck Knoblauch (1989) 4x MLB All-Star; 1991 AL Rookie of the Year
- Tom Kelly (1979–1980, MGR) 1991 AL Manager of the Year; Manager: 2 x World Series Champion – Minnesota Twins (1987, 1991)
- Evan Longoria (2006) 3x MLB All Star; 2008 AL Rookie of the Year
- Lee Mazzilli (1975) MLB All-Star
- John Milner (1969)
- Jerry Morales (1968) MLB All-Star
- Denny Neagle (1990, 2003) 2x MLB All-Star
- Fernando Perez
- Vada Pinson (1957) 4x MLB All-Star
- A.J. Pollock (2016) MLB All-Star
- Mark Portugal (1983)
- Max Scherzer (2007) 5x MLB All-Star; 2 x Cy Young Award (2013 AL, 2016 NL)
- José Santiago (1962) MLB All-Star
- Ken Singleton (1968) 3x MLB All-Star
- Nick Swisher (2002) MLB All-Star
- Juan Uribe (2003)
- Justin Upton (2007, 2009) 4x MLB All-Star
- Barry Zito (1999) 3x MLB All-Star; 2002 AL Cy Young Award
Pop culture
editAs a minor league affiliate of the Oakland A's at the time, the Visalia Oaks were prominently mentioned in the Michael Lewis Book 'Moneyball', and also featured a few times during the 2011 movie Moneyball (which took place in 2002). In one scene, Billy Beane is driving to see the Visalia Oaks during the A's winning streak, and another shows Billy watching video of Visalia Oaks catcher Jeremy Brown tripping and then diving back to first on a ball that turned out to be a home run.
In the 1988 film Bull Durham, Visalia was mentioned as a potential managing job for aging catcher Crash Davis, played by Kevin Costner.
In the 1994 film Little Big League, a Visalia Oaks pennant can be seen hanging on the wall in the main character’s bedroom.
Roster
edit| Players | Coaches/Other | |||
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Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
60-day injured list
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Alumni
editMinor league affiliations
edit| Level | Team | League | Location | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Triple-A | Reno Aces | Pacific Coast League | Reno, Nevada | Blake Lalli |
| Double-A | Amarillo Sod Poodles | Texas League | Amarillo, Texas | Shawn Roof |
| High-A | Hillsboro Hops | Northwest League | Hillsboro, Oregon | Vince Harrison |
| Single-A | Visalia Rawhide | California League | Visalia, California | Javier Colina |
| Rookie | ACL D-backs | Arizona Complex League | Scottsdale, Arizona | Rolando Arnedo |
| DSL D-backs 1 | Dominican Summer League | Boca Chica, Santo Domingo | Jaime Del Valle | |
| DSL D-backs 2 | Ronald Ramirez |
References
edit- ^ "Personnel News: Visalia, Charleston". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. February 14, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
- ^ Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
- ^ "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2024.