The Wenatchee AppleSox is a collegiate summer baseball team playing in the West Coast League 's North Division. The team is based in Wenatchee, Washington and was established in 2000 by owner Jim Corcoran. It has played its home games at Paul Thomas Sr. Field on the campus of Wenatchee Valley College . Asst. GM Ken Osborne became a stockholder in 2008. Corcoran and Osborne sold the team to retired Microsoft executive Jose Oglesby in 2018, with Osborne being appointed COO/GM. Osborne stepped down on Feb. 3, 2021, and assistant general manager Allie Schank was promoted to general manager.
23-820: The AppleSox began playing in 2000 and joined the Pacific International League. They marked the return of baseball to the Wenatchee Valley for the first time since the Wenatchee Chiefs suspended operations after the 1965 season. A member of the PIL until 2004, but then left the former to become a charter member of the West Coast League. The team won the PIL Championship in 2003 and has won five WCL Championships in
46-595: A World Series game in 1947 , known as The Cookie Game , in which Bevens and the New York Yankees lost by a score of 3–2 on a ninth inning, game-winning hit by Cookie Lavagetto . Frank Dasso was a one-time major league pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds who finished his lengthy minor league career in Wenatchee, and took on a management role after retiring from on-field play. As general manager of
69-622: A minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Wenatchee, Washington . Founded in 1937, the team was a part of the Class B Western International League through 1954, although the team did not operate after 1941 and the entire league was suspended during World War II, for the seasons from 1943 to 1945. The Chiefs were one of the seven founding members of the Northwest League in 1955, where they remained until
92-461: Is 4th in the league in runs batted in (15). Jadon Williamson (Lower Columbia) is tied for second in wins on the mound (2) and Cam Hoiland (Cal Poly San Luis Obispo) is third in ERA (0.60). 7,145 total fans have gone through the gates for an average of 794 per game. On June 19, infielder Easton Amundson was named one of the players of the week. Amundson had hit three home runs and batted ten runners in over
115-595: The New York Yankees , and the team won its first league pennant in 1939. Future major league pitcher Bill Bevens threw an 8-0 no-hitter in 1939 against the Tacoma Tigers , with the only opponent reaching base on an error. The win on September 21 gave the Chiefs its first playoff win in a series in which it had lost the first three games to Tacoma. Bevens would later throw 8⅔ innings of no-hit ball in
138-601: The 1965 season, the Northwest League lost two teams, Salem and Wenatchee, and changed to a short season format in 1966 with just four teams ( Eugene Emeralds , Yakima Braves , Tri-City Atoms , and Lewiston Broncs ). Wenatchee won the WIL titles in 1939 and 1946, then took its first NWL title in 1957, besting the Eugene Emeralds in seven games. The Chiefs' second and final Northwest League championship
161-624: The Chiefs, Dasso organized a promotion in July 1953 called "Bust Down the Fences Night" in a game against the Tri-City Braves , in which attendees at the game were told that you could "pay what you like; no regular admission." Gate receipts from the 3,200 in attendance at the game was $ 1,251, an average of 40 cents per fan, earning the team more in profit from that one game than any three games they had played in that season to-date. After
184-545: The bottom of the ninth inning, but the Pickles would rally to win the championship 6-5. AppleSox games feature a special seventh-inning stretch. Local kids are invited out to the field with the team's mascot, "Coyote", to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". The AppleSox hang embroidered socks from a clothesline on the press box, each time their pitcher strikes out an opposing batter. After five strikeouts by AppleSox pitching
207-572: The coaching reins put an end to the 14-year run for Knaggs as the head coach in Wenatchee. He also had previously coached 22 seasons at Wenatchee High School. The AppleSox went 43–65 over the next two WCL seasons, and were unable to reach the WCL postseason. They did feature two of the more prolific hitters in WCL history in each of the 2015 season and 2016 seasons. Keston Hiura , an outfielder from UC Irvine, set WCL records with 33 extra-base hits, 119 total bases, and 6 triples. Michael Toglia (2016) became
230-538: The final weekend in each of its first two seasons, before finally breaking through in 2019. The AppleSox won 17 of their final 25 games and earned their first playoff spot since 2013. Krustangel quit following the 2019 season to accept the same job with the Yakima Valley Pippins. Ian Sanderson of Lower Columbia College was subsequently hired as the fifth head coach in AppleSox history. The AppleSox made
253-757: The first and second half. The AppleSox met the HarbourCats in the North Divisional Series for the second straight year winning in three games. The AppleSox hosted the Bells in the North Division Championship Game winning in a 1-0 shutout. The AppleSox then travelled to Portland to face the Pickles in the WCL Championship Game for their first appearance since 2013. The AppleSox led the game 5-4 going into
SECTION 10
#1732791372400276-434: The game. Wenatchee native Jacob Prater was presented with the inaugural award in 2018. The fans at Paul Thomas Sr. Field take a special liking each year to the AppleSox first base-coach, giving him a loud ovation each time he jogs to the coaches box. The tradition began with the fans in section A along the first baseline in 2006 and has spread across the entire stadium. Wenatchee Chiefs The Wenatchee Chiefs were
299-499: The league's history, including back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. The 2014 season marked the first year AppleSox did not make the WCL Playoffs. The team got 30–24 in regular-season play. As the season concluded, Sox head coach, Ed Knaggs stepped down and AJ Proszek was selected to replace him, making Proszek the 3rd head coach all-time for the AppleSox. Proszek was a pitching coach for Wenatchee in 2013 and 2014. The changing of
322-470: The left field foul pole to the right field foul pole. AppleSox pitcher Tommy Watanabe died late in the 2017 season to the shock of the team and his family and friends. He left an indelible mark on all whom he interacted with and the AppleSox began honoring him the following the season with an award in his name. The Tommy Watanabe Award is annually presented to the AppleSox player who best shows passion and respect for baseball as well as those who play or work in
345-698: The postseason for the first time under a first-year head coach in 2022 after winning the WCL North Division's second-half title. Mitch Darlington guided the team to a 27-27 record and a first-round sweep of the Kamloops NorthPaws before falling to the Bellingham Bells in the North Division Championship Game. Second baseman Joichiro Oyama won WCL co-MVP by breaking AppleSox single-season records for plate appearances (276), runs (54), stolen bases (42) and walks (42) while also tying for
368-401: The single-season record for triples (6) and games played (54). He also broke the WCL single-season record for runs and stolen bases with his historic 2022 campaign. The Applesox are currently 3rd in the north division with a 12-4 record and are tied for first place with the division leading Bells. Easton Amundson (Liberty) leads the league in home runs (6) while Brandham Ponce (Washington State)
391-421: The team drew as many as 3,000 per game, with ticket prices of 5 cents for the bleachers and 40 cents for grandstand seating for adults. With baseballs costing as much as $ 1.50 each, the team paid children 50 cents per game to retrieve balls that went into the stands as foul balls or home runs so that they could be reused. The team was taken over by Charles C. Garland in 1938, who began an affiliation agreement with
414-570: The team suspended operations after the 1965 season, the last before the NWL went to the short-season format. The Chiefs were founded in 1937 by Canadians Gerald McClay and Art Nevison, and played in the Class B Western International League (WIL). The team played a 144-game season, with its home field at Wenatchee's Recreation Park ( 47°24′50″N 120°19′16″W / 47.414°N 120.321°W / 47.414; -120.321 ). In its early years,
437-457: The team's guest services workers toss socks to fans in the seating area. Long-time AppleSox mascot Coyote rounds the bases each night in a race against an AppleSox youngster. He still hasn't beaten any kids in the daily race, but has accumulated a few wins on various "Mascot" nights over the years, when he races other local mascots instead of children. During the fifth inning of each home game everyone's two favorite condiments race each other from
460-412: The third AppleSox player to win league MVP, joining Mitchell Gunsolus (2012) and Steve Marquardt (2005). He hit .306 and led the WCL with 7 home runs. At the end of the 2016 season, A J Proszek announced that he would not return for a third season as the team's head coach. The team hired Kyle Krustangel just over a month later, on September 14, 2016. Krustangel kept the AppleSox in playoff contention until
483-527: The week. On June 17th, Evan Canfield was named pitcher of the week. Canfield threw eight strikeouts in the AppleSox's 2-1 win over the NorthPaws. On July 9th, Evan Canfield, Jonathan Fitz, Max Hartman, Quincy Vassar, and Garrett Ahern were selected to represent the AppleSox in the 2024 all star game in Bellingham. The AppleSox qualified for the playoffs for the third straight season after winning both
SECTION 20
#1732791372400506-623: Was called up to the Chicago Cubs in September; he became a starter for the big club in 1966 . Holtzman was a starter with the Oakland A's during their three consecutive World Series titles ( 1972 , 1973 , 1974 ). 47°24′50″N 120°19′16″W / 47.414°N 120.321°W / 47.414; -120.321 Paul Thomas Sr. Field Paul Thomas Field is a 1,200-seat baseball stadium in Wenatchee, Washington . It
529-841: Was in 1962, over Tri-City . The team was a minor league affiliate of the New York Yankees from 1938 to 1940, the Cincinnati Redlegs during the 1957 and 1958 seasons, and the Chicago Cubs from 1961 until 1965. The team was affiliated with the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League in 1954 and the Seattle Rainiers in 1955 and 1956. The Chiefs most notable players were starting pitchers Claude Osteen (1958) and Ken Holtzman (1965). Holtzman started only eight games for Wenatchee and
#399600