Spokane Dodgers

The Spokane Dodgers are an adult men's baseball team located in beautiful Spokane, Washington. As members of a national organization called the Men's Senior Baseball League (MSBL) , we are fortunate to be able to continue playing the game we love, even though most of us are "over the hill." We play real baseball, not softball. We play on local high school and college baseball fields. Occasionally we get to play at Avista Stadium, home of the Spokane Indians professional baseball team. Feel free to browse our site, and if you would like to find out how you can join a team, send us an email. Note: We are not the Club Spokane Dodgers, an independent, select-level travel team for high school players. If you are looking for the Club Spokane Dodgers website, click here.

The Inland Northwest Men's Baseball League will have two divisions this summer - one for players 18 years and older, one for players 35 years and older. The 18+ division will run from May 31st through August 16th with 16 regular season games plus playoffs. The Spokane Dodgers will be participating in this division. You can download the 2009 player application here.

The 35+ division will run from July 11th through October 10th with 9 regular season games plus playoffs. More details will be posted as they become available.

The 2009 Tri-Cities Memorial Day Classic was played over Memorial Day weekend, May 23rd through 25th, at Roy Johnson Field and Dust Devil Stadium. The Spokane Dodgers participated for the third consecutive year in this highly competitive regional MABL (18+) tournament held in southeast Washington State. This year, the Dodgers won 1 out of their first 3 games and did not earn a spot in the playoffs.

The championship game was a repeat of the 2008 tournament with the Tri-Cities Pilots defeating the Puget Sound Scorpions for the second year in a row. The Pilots took an early lead in the first inning and never gave up the lead. The final score was 14-8 with Ozzie Gonzalez recording the win on the mound for the Pilots. John Lepell took the loss for the Scorpions. This is the eighth time in the last ten years the Pilots have played in the championship game and the fourth time they have won. The Scorpions also continued their successful play by making it to the championship game for the fourth consecutive year. The Scorpions won championships in 2006 and 2007.

The Spokane Dodgers captured their 3rd consecutive summer championship, defeating the Cardinals behind an outstanding offensive performance by the entire team and a solid pitching performance by Roger Coston. Facing the cagey veteran, Rick Villanpando, the Dodgers jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning by stringing together hits from Mike Lee, Stoney Gabaldon, Carl Miller and Coston. After a ground out, Tyler Trudeau followed with a double and Eric McMurtrey added an RBI single. Villanpando, one of the winningest pitchers in league history, settled down and held the Dodgers scoreless over the next 2 innings. The Dodgers added a run in the 4th inning on a triple to dead center by Lee which scored Kelly Fish. In the 6th, the Dodgers rallied with singles from Tom Black and McMurtrey. The Cardinals countered with Adam Rouse out of the bullpen. Rouse quickly induced 2 ground balls, resulting in two outs. Lee kept the inning alive by drawing a walk. Then, Gabaldon crushed an 0-1 pitch over the left field wall, capping a 4-run inning.

Coston pitched well, keeping the potent Cardinals offense off balance enough to prevent any big innings. He gave up only 3 runs over 7 innings to gain the victory. Charlie Zimmerman finished for the Dodgers, pitching the final two innings after his complete game victory the previous day.

The Cardinals, managed by Jon Wikum, made it to the championship game by defeating the Braves in the 2nd round. They started the summer slow, but gained momentum at the end of the regular season and came into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the division.

The Dodgers have now won 4 summer titles in the last 5 years, including 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008. The Dodgers streak was interrupted in 2005 by the Tigers who have also won 4 titles, including 3 consecutive from 2001 through 2003. The unlikely pairing of the Dodgers and the Tigers in round 1 of the playoffs prevented the possibility of a rematch in the championship game. Both teams had relatively low playoff seeding due to the tough competition in the MABL division this summer. Any one of the eight teams could have been in the championship game.

In the playoffs on Saturday, the Dodgers defeated two excellent teams, the Tigers and the Orioles. In fact, based upon the regular season results, injuries to key players and quality of the opponents, the odds were against the possibility of the Dodgers winning both games. But, the Dodgers refused to give up and battled through adversity to gain both victories in the final inning.

Zimmerman got the win over the Tigers in round 1 by pitching a complete game. He also got what was perhaps the key hit of the entire weekend for the Dodgers when he doubled to left with the bases loaded in the 2nd inning, driving in 3 runs. Lee and Fish followed with RBI singles, producing a 5-run inning and putting the Dodgers ahead 6-4. The Tigers would later tie the game at 6, leading to the exciting finish. In the bottom of the 7th, Zimmerman led off the inning with a single. Phil Nickle followed with a perfect sacrifice bunt. Fish then worked a walk from the Tigers ace, Jim Olson. At this point, the Tigers used the controversial strategy of intentionally walking Lee to load the bases. Based upon Lee's clutch hitting against the Tigers, the move was understandable. It backfired, however, when Gabaldon was issued a walk on a 3-2 count, forcing in the winning run.

In round 2 the Dodgers faced the number 1 seeded Orioles. Carl Miller went the distance for the Dodgers, allowing only 4 runs in 7 innings. Miller has been a clutch performer for the Dodgers for several years. In the playoffs, he has been superb. Miller has now won championship games twice (2004 and 2006) and playoff games twice (2007 and 2008). The playoff game victories allowed the Dodgers to get to the championship games in each year.

The Orioles started strong, scoring 2 runs in the 1st inning, but were held in check for the rest of the game by Miller. They scored single runs in the 4th and 6th innings. The Dodgers, on the other hand, scored their runs in bunches. They began their comeback by scoring a single run in the 2nd inning on a single by Miller and a double by Coston. In the 3rd, Gabaldon crushed a 3-run home run to left field that cleared the left field scoreboard by a good distance. The inning was started by Nickle with a single. Fish sacrificed him to second and Lee drew a walk. Gabaldon then followed with his blast, giving the Dodgers a 4-2 lead. But, the Orioles came back to tie the game at 4, necessitating last inning heroics by the Dodgers. In the top half of the 7th, Black led off the inning with a single. McMurtrey got on base on an error and Nickle was hit by the pitch, loading the bases. Fish followed with an RBI single and Lee followed with a 2-run single, giving the Dodgers a 3-run lead. Miller then held the Orioles scoreless in the bottom half of the inning to gain the victory.

The Dodgers scored 26 runs in the 3 games with 2 home runs, one triple, 5 doubles and 24 singles. But, the factor that played into much of their success on Saturday was their willingness to play "small ball" to get runners into scoring position. It worked well and put added pressure on the opposition's defense.

A key to the Dodgers success has been their pitching. It was true again this year. Zimmerman, Miller and Coston pitched well, holding their opponents to only 14 runs over the 3 games. Good catching and defense have also contributed. This year, the catching was provided by Nickle and McMurtrey, who worked great games behind the plate. Overall, the defense was solid, anchored by Tom Hoiland at shortstop.

The Summer 2008 playoffs were held Saturday, August 23rd. Eight teams competed in a single elimination tournament with two brackets. The winners of each bracket moved forward to the championship game on Sunday, August 24th at Avista Stadium.

Notes: Rounds 1 and 2 were 7 inning games. The championship was 9 innings. The home team in each game was the highest seed. Metal bats were allowed with a maximum -3 differential.

In the 1970s, Boston Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee aka, "Spaceman," became a folk hero to the bleacher bums in Fenway Park. One of the most freewheeling eccentrics ever to play the game, Bill lived in a world like no other; where competitive fire, Tibetan Buddhism, slapstick comedy, social activism, and counter-cultural medication co-existed in relative harmony. He joined the Boston Red Sox out of USC, where he was a starting pitcher on the National Championship team in 1968. An outstanding athlete, Bill instantly became a favorite in the interview room when he asked "Do they keep it (the Green Monster) there during games?" He baffled opposing hitters with a variety of pitches and equally baffled management and owners with his verbal acrobatics. As a pioneer in the baseball labor movement, he beanballed corporate duplicity and worked to end the era of indentured servitude in baseball. Instead of free agency, Bill embraced a more radical vision – a socialist utopia where players owned the teams and ballparks. Was he blackballed from the game as a result?

High & Outside is an endearing and sometimes hilarious account of the man the Portland Press Herald called "the iconoclast of our times." It chronicles The Spaceman’s fall to earth and his subsequent rise from the ashes. The film includes archival footage, interviews, and extensive travels with the incomparable Spaceman himself. Making appearances in the film are Red Sox legends Bernie Carbo, Dwight Evans, Carl Yastrzemsky, former director of the Major League Player’s Association Marvin Miller, Hall of Fame writer Peter Gammons, sports writer Chaz Scoggins, author Tom Adelman, Hall of Fame player Brooks Robinson, and many more. Visit the website here.

The GFI baseball tournament is a very prestigious wood bat tournament which has attracted many of the top semi-pro teams from North America, including the Seattle Studs, Houston Astros, Chicago Prairie Gravel, San Diego Stars, New York Storm and Trail Orioles. Each year Canada sends several college-based teams including the UBC T-Birds (Team Canada).

In 2006, the San Diego Stars won their second GFI championship. The Spokane RiverHawks were represented by several current and former local college players. In addition, we were very fortunate to have Bill, Andy and Mike Lee join us for the tournament. Bill, a 119 game winner in his 14-year major league career with the Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos, threw out the first pitch at the opening ceremony, making this a very special year for us. Bill also pitched 4 masterful innings in game 3 against Burnaby, giving up only 1 run. For more about the tournament, visit the GFI website.