Salem-Keizer Volcanoes - Reborn As The Volcanoes

Reborn As The Volcanoes

In 1996, Bellingham Giants co-owners Jerry Walker and William Tucker announced that they were moving the NWL franchise to Keizer, Oregon, a city of 22,000 located immediately north of Salem. The Bellingham club, short-season Class A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, had the NWL's lowest attendance figures during each of its two seasons.

Keizer had striven to assert itself as an independent, thriving city for 12 years since the former Salem suburb had become an incorporated municipality. City officials, led by Mayor Dennis Koho, and civic leaders worked toward getting a new baseball stadium located and built in Keizer. The area had lacked a suitable facility for pro baseball since the early 1960s, when the Salem Dodgers vacated historic Waters Field (which burned down in 1966).

Volcanoes Stadium was built in less than a year, on a tract of land adjacent to Interstate 5 just northwest of the Keizer interchange. The 4,252-seat facility was ready for the debut of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in 1997. Two years later, the American Institute of Architects honored the Volcanoes with a design award for the stadium.

Volcanoes Stadium also hosts all four of Oregon's state high-school baseball championship games. In 1998, the University of Oregon football team played its spring Green-White game in the stadium.

Area fans chose the nickname "Volcanoes" in a contest. The new franchise was designated as a "Salem-Keizer" team, despite its location, in order to incorporate both the history and the prestige of the larger city and state capital.

As of 2009, the Volcanoes have won seven Western Division titles, including four straight between 2006 and 2009. The others came in the 1998, 2001 and 2003 seasons.

Salem-Keizer has won five NWL championships, in 1998, 2001, 2006, 2007, and 2009.

In 2001, the Volcanoes won the Freitas Award as the best short-season Class A baseball franchise in the U.S.

Notable former Salem-Keizer Volcanoes include Brian Horwitz, now with the Cleveland Indians organization; Joe Nathan, now with the Twins); Ryan Vogelsong, now with the San Francisco Giants, Kurt Ainsworth, Jesse Foppert, Travis Ishikawa, Noah Lowry, Tim Lincecum, Buster Posey and Lance Niekro. Since 1997, 23 former Volcanoes have played in the major leagues.

Two former Volcanoes also played in the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic: Joe Nathan (U.S.) and Jonathan Sanchez (Puerto Rico).