Portland Pickles
The Portland Pickles are a collegiate woodbat baseball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the South Division of the West Coast League, a premier collegiate summer baseball league based in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia. The Pickles play their home games at Walker Stadium in Portland's Lents Park. History. Team Naming (2015). On April 21, 2015, team officials announced the team's name at Woodstock Elementary School in Southeast Portland. The name was selected by online voting from six candidates. In order of vote, Pickles was followed by Mud Hounds, Red Dogs, Posse, Pliers , and Pixels. Great West League (2015–2017). The Pickles were charter members of the Great West League, having been founded in 2015 by GWL commissioner Ken Wilson. The Pickles (claimed to have) played before 16 sell-outs and to 99% of capacity in their inaugural 2016 season (announced figures). A month before their second season on April 5, 2017, it was announced that Seattle Seahawks punter Jon Ryan and marketing entrepreneur Alan Miller would become part of the Pickles ownership group, along with members from Rose City Baseball LLC. Former Major League Baseball pitcher and Oregon-native Jeff Lahti took over  the managerial role for the 2017 season, and the Pickles were eliminated from the Great West League playoffs by the Medford Rogues (Great West League). West Coast League (2018–present). On October 24, 2017, the Pickles announced that they were leaving the GWL and joining the West Coast League. Prior to the 2018 season, Gresham GreyWolves head coach Justin Barchus replaced Lahti as manager. His team won the South Division in the first half of the season with a 17–9 record, securing them a playoff spot in their first year. The Pickles went on to claim the best record in  the WCL by going 37–17 overall, but could not get past the Corvallis Knights in the first round of playoffs. Justin Barchus went on to win WCL Coach of the Year along with Kelowna Falcons manager Brain Donohue. CBD sponsorship. On May 15, 2019, the Portland Pickles announced a two-year-long sponsorship with Lazarus Nationals. The deal with the Portland-based CBD (Cannabidiol) company acted as the very first deal of its kind in Baseball history. Along with this, Lazarus Nationals sponsored a concert series at the Pickles ballpark, Walker Stadium. The sponsorship also took shape in the form  of the Lazarus Nationals Veterans at The Park Program which allows for local veterans to be submitted for special tickets in the Lazarus Nationals Patriot Box at Walker Stadium. Relationship with the Venados. On October 9, 2019, the Portland Pickles faced off against the Mazatlan Venados in a friendly exhibition game in front of 16,000 people. In the lead up to the game, the Pickles held tryouts amongst fans in Portland for the chance to travel with the team to Mexico and play in the game. There is currently a documentary on the game in the works that is slated  to be released soon. Wild Wild West League (2020). On June 5, 2020, the West Coast League board of directors voted to cancel the 2020 season due to COVID-19 pandemic. The Pickles organization founded the Wild Wild West League in response, playing in Bob Brack Stadium in Aurora, Oregon. The league consisted of four teams: the Portland Pickles, Portland Gherkins, Gresham Greywolves, and West Linn Knights. Games ran from July 11 to August 7 with playoffs on August 8 and a final championship game on August 9. The West Linn Knights took on the Portland Pickles in the championship and  took the title in a close match up, winning 8–7. The Portland Gherkins. The Portland Gherkins are a team in the Wild Wild West League and farm team to Portland Pickles. The team plays fellow teams in the WCL including the Pickles with Gherkin players given the opportunity to move up to the Pickles roster based on ability. Largely made up of local players, the Gherkins have partnered with the Milwaukie, Oregon-based company Dave's Killer Bread for the latter to act as the official broadcast partner. Mascot Theft Incident. In 2022 the mascot costume for Dillon T. Pickle  was stolen after delivery in a case of package theft. The team had been playing in the Dominican Republic and the luggage containing the mascot costume was separated from the team. After being found by the airline it was shipped to the wrong house in Portland and subsequently stolen off the front porch in an act of package theft by an unknown party. It was eventually dropped off at Voodoo Doughnuts by a person wishing to remain anonymous. The incident attracted the attention of some national media, who covered the saga in a bemused fashion. Broadcast. Pickles games are broadcast  on Facebook Live and YouTube with play-by-play announcers changing year to year. In 2020, Judah Newby of radio show 750 THE GAME did play by play. In the most recent 2021 season, Ben Creighton, the voice of Pac-12 baseball took over play-by-play duties. Joined in the press box by broadcast director, John Sandilands, productions manager, Ian Mathes, director of baseball operations and analytics, Colin Hardy, and official scorekeeper, Gary Walker, the Pickles have been lauded for the quality of broadcasts and overall operations. Introduced during the 2021 season, "Pickles after Dark", which is enacted infrequently, perfectly  encapsulates the fun-loving, non-traditional environment in which Portland baseball fans embrace. The Wild Wild West League announcer was Carlo Jimenez for the 2020 season, and Mike Chexx for the 2021 season.