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The Portland Pickles are a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat 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, British Columbia and Alberta. The Pickles play their home games at Walker Stadium in Portland's Lents Park.
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. In August, J.J. Altobelli was named as the team's first manager. The team introduced its mascot, Dillon the pickle, in October.
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, leading the Pickles to their first playoff berth. They were eliminated from the Great West League playoffs by the Medford Rogues in the semifinals.
The Pickles won the South Division in the first half of the season with a 17β9 record, securing them a playoff spot in their first year. Portland went on to claim the best record in the WCL by going 37β17 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 Bryan Donohue.
In February 2019, Miller and Ryan took over full ownership of the team. On May 15, the Pickles announced a two-year partnership with Cannabidiol company Lazarus Naturals, the first of its kind in baseball history. Lazarus Naturals sponsored a concert series at the stadium and provided luxury box seating for selected veterans.
In December, it was announced that Rose City Baseball would operate a farm team called the Portland Gherkins for the 2020 season. The Gherkins would play games against the Pickles, WCL opponents, and other independent teams.
Though fans were not allowed to attend, games were broadcast on Facebook and YouTube. Games ran from July to August. The West Linn Knights beat the Pickles in the championship series.
On June 8, 2021, the Pickles promoted manager Justin Barchus to Director of Player Personnel/Operations and made Mark Magdalena the new manager. In November 2021, the Pickles opened The Pickle Jar, a retail store and community space in Downtown Portland.
On July 18, 2022, intern Emily Paulson became the first woman to play for the Pickles. That year, the Pickles were crowned the Southern Division champions, ending a four-year playoff drought. The team was ultimately swept in the first round by the Ridgefield Raptors.
In 2023, the Pickles swept the Ridgefield Raptors in the first round of the playoffs to face the Corvallis Knights in the Divisional Championship game. The Pickles lost the game 4β1 and were eliminated from the playoffs.
On July 9, Tanner Griffith, Patrick Keighran, Freddie Rodriguez, and Shay Timmer were selected to represent the Pickles in the 2024 all star game in Bellingham.
The Pickles qualified for the playoffs for the third straight season and clinched the South Division Second Half Championship. The Pickles swept the Elks 2β0 in the Divisional Series and upset the seven time defending WCL Champion Knights in Corvallis to win their first South Division Championship in franchise history. The Pickles hosted the AppleSox in the WCL Championship Game.
Going into the bottom of the ninth inning of a close game, the Pickles found themselves down 4β5. After loading the bases, Diego Castellanos would be walked to bring in the tying run. On the very next pitch, Conner Stewart would hit a difficult to field ground ball that brought Tanner Griffith home to give the Pickles the walk off win and their first WCL Championship in franchise history. Commissioner Rob Neyer was unable to award the Pickles the trophy for a long period of time due to fans storming the field.
The Pickles released a feature length documentary titled Pickles, Pickles, Pickles on MLB Network, February 15, 2025. Documenting their story and run to their Championship, the 47 min feature is available on MLB.TV
The Pickles clinched the South Division First Half Title and their fourth straight playoff berth on June 25.
On July 8, it was announced that Edwards, Schleichardt, Kyle McDaniel and Petey Soho, Jr. (Utah Tech), Aiden Taurek (Saint Mary's), Zachary Fechtel (Texas Tech) and Dylan Smith (Northern Colorado) were selected to represent the Pickles at the All Star Game in Bellingham. The Pickles have the most all stars of all seventeen teams with six total.
The Pickles improved on their 40β14 record from the previous season. The Pickles set the record for most wins in a season with a 43β11 record and finished first in the South Division. Schleichardt lead the league with eighteen home runs and sixty-four runs batted in. Joey Wright (California Davis) and Tony Otis (William Jessup) finished with batting averages of .364 and .333 respectively with Wright finishing second in the league in batting averages. Bryson Glassco (Oregon State) was second in the league with fifty home runs. Ari Kligman (Sacramento State) and Edwards finished tied for second with five pitching wins. The Pickles finished second in attendance. 99,787 total fans attended the team's twenty-eight home games for an average of 3,564 fans per game.
The Pickles swept the Marion Berries in the South Divisional Series and defeated the Knights in the South Division Championship Game 6β5 to advance to their second consecutive WCL Championship Game. The Pickles will host the Bellingham Bells.
In September 2021, the Pickles returned to Mexico for another series against Venados de Mazatlan. USA Baseball's Kelsie Whitmore joined the Pickles and threw five scoreless innings in game two.
In February 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 address in Portland and subsequently stolen off the front porch. It was eventually dropped off at Voodoo Doughnut by a person wishing to remain anonymous. The incident attracted the attention of some national media, who covered the saga in an amused fashion.
| 2016 | GWL | 3rd | 32 | 25 | .561 | 8 | Did Not Qualify | J.J. Altobelli | |
| 2017 | GWL | 4th | 31 | 29 | .517 | 9 | Lost Semifinal (Rogues) | Jeff Lahti | |
| 2018 | WCL | South | 1st | 37 | 17 | .685 | |||
| Lost Division Series 0β2 (Knights) | Justin Barchus | ||||||||
| 2019 | WCL | South | 4th | 24 | 29 | .453 | 17.5 | Did Not Qualify | Justin Barchus |
| 2020 | WWWL | 2nd | 8 | 8 | .500 | Won Semifinal (GreyWolves) Lost Championship (Knights) | Justin Barchus | ||
| 2021 | WCL | South | 3rd | 26 | 22 | .542 | 11 | Did Not Qualify | Justin Barchus (Until June 8), Mark Magdaleno |
| 2022 | WCL | South | 2nd | 36 | 16 | .692 | 2 | Lost South Divisional Series 0β2 (Raptors) | Mark Magdaleno |
| 2023 | WCL | South | 4th | 28 | 26 | .519 | 11 | Won South Divisional Series 2β0 (Raptors) Lost South Division Championship Game 1β4 (at Knights) | Mark Magdaleno |
| 2024 | WCL | South | 2nd | 44 | 14 | .759 | 1 | Won South Divisional Series 2β0 (Bend Elks) Won South Division Championship Game 4β1 (at Knights) Won WCL Championship Game 6β5 (AppleSox) | Mark Magdaleno |
| WCL | 1st | 11 | β | Marion Berries) Won South Division Championship Game 6β5 (Knights) Lost WCL Championship Game 1β2 (Bellingham Bells) | |||||
| League Champions | Division Champions | Playoff Team |
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