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The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960. Tacoma has competed in the PCL since 1960, including the 2021 season when it was known as the Triple-A West. The team operated under several monikers before becoming the Rainiers in 1995.
Tacoma has won the PCL championship six times (1961, 1969, 1978, 2001, 2010, and 2021).
The PCL did not return to Tacoma for 55 years; however, another Tacoma Tigers franchise operated in the Western International League from the 1930s through 1951. Owned by William Starr of San Diego, they were affiliated with the San Diego Padres of the PCL. The team was sold, relocated to north central Idaho, and became the Lewiston Broncs in 1952.
The Giants' first win at Cheney Stadium came on April 16, 1960—an 11-0 victory over Portland in game two of a doubleheader. Future Hall Of Fame pitcher Juan Marichal worked the victory, giving Tacoma their first franchise shutout performance.
The 1961 iteration of the club posted a 97–57 record under manager Red Davis, who steered a team led by Gaylord Perry, Ron Herbel, Eddie Fisher, and Dick Phillips. Following a season in which he hit .264 with 16 home runs and 98 RBI, Phillips was named the 1961 PCL Most Valuable Player (MVP). The franchise did not have another MVP winner until José Marmolejos in 2021.
Tacoma played as a Cubs affiliate for six seasons, compiling a record. The Tacoma Cubs were managed by Whitey Lockman for their first four seasons, including a 1969 PCL Championship after finishing the year 86–60. The 1969 Cubs pitching staff compiled a 3.01 team ERA, and bested Eugene for the league championship 3–2 in a best-of-five series.
Through six seasons as a Twins affiliate, Tacoma compiled a record with no league championships.
During the Twins era, infielder Rick Renick (1973–76) slugged his way to 72 home runs, giving him the most career home runs in franchise history. In the midst of a 1977 season in which he hit .321 with 25 home runs and 117 RBI, first baseman Randy Bass notched four home runs on June 9, 1977 at Phoenix. Bass is one of only six players in PCL history to hit four or more home runs in one game.
Future Toronto Blue Jays broadcaster Jerry Howarth broadcast games for Tacoma during this period.
The team finished with nearly identical records in both years as a Cleveland affiliate, going 74–73 in 1979, and 74–74 in 1980.
While the affiliation with Oakland provided five playoffs appearances for Tacoma fans, it produced no league champions. Future American League Rookies of the Year Walt Weiss, Jose Canseco, and Mark McGwire all played in Tacoma during this period. Scott Brosius, Tacoma's future hitting coach, also played for Tacoma during the Oakland era.
Since their affiliation began with the Mariners in 1995, nearly all of the organization's homegrown prospects have passed through Tacoma, including Alex Rodriguez, Raúl Ibañez, Félix Hernández, J. J. Putz, Kyle Seager, Ken Griffey Jr. (on rehab assignments), and more.
Tacoma was managed by Dan Rohn from 2001 to 2005, a three-time PCL Manager of the Year Award recipient. Under Rohn's direction, the Rainiers compiled a record.
The Tacoma Rainiers shared the 2001 PCL championship with New Orleans after the September 11 attacks forced the cancellation of the championship series. The Rainiers advanced to the championship series in 2005 but were swept by the Nashville Sounds. The Tacoma Rainiers won its second PCL championship in 2010.
The Rainiers are broadcast on KIXI 880 AM with radio play-by-play also streamed online. Rylee Pay became the team's play-by-play announcer in 2025, making her the first female lead broadcaster in Triple-A baseball, and replacing Mike Curto, who had been with the team since 1999 and retired in 2024. The team had an internet-only radio broadcast from 2021 to 2023 and previously was broadcast on KHHO 850 AM.
In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Rainiers were organized into the Triple-A West. Tacoma ended the season as champions of the Western Division by finishing in first place with a 73–47 record. No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead the Rainiers also won the Triple-A West championship by having the best regular-season record among all 10 teams. However, 10 games that had been postponed from the start of the season were reinserted into the schedule as a postseason tournament called the Triple-A Final Stretch, in which all 30 Triple-A clubs competed for the highest winning percentage. Tacoma finished the tournament tied for 13th place with a 5–5 record. José Marmolejos won the Triple-A West MVP award that season.
In 2022, Triple-A West was renamed as the Pacific Coast League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to 2021.
The Rainiers set a new PCL record in 2024 with 286 stolen bases, surpassing the 1981 Albuquerque Dukes' 281 steals.
Due to Safeco Field not being available for the championship series and no other ballpark in the Pacific Northwest meeting PCL requirements, the Rainiers were forced to play all games in the PCL finals on the road. For Games 1 and 2, the Rainiers played as the home team, batting second against the Memphis Redbirds, with AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tennessee, (the Redbirds' home park) hosting all the games. Despite playing all its games in its opponents home park, the Rainiers swept the Redbirds in three games to win the 2010 PCL championship.
The Columbus Clippers defeated the Rainiers, 12–6, on September 21, 2010, to win the Triple-A Baseball National Championship Game in Oklahoma City.
In addition to the logo marks, a new look was given to the club's home alternate, away, and batting practice uniforms. A red alternate jersey, worn with a new red hat, was added to the rotation of uniform sets. The club's new road uniform was modeled after the Tacoma Giants uniforms of the 1960s with a gray color scheme and block letters on the front. The final addition to the uniform set was a new batting practice cap, adorned with a mountain outline and a climbing axe with a baseball bat handle.
Season-by-season records
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!scope="row" style="text-align:center" League The team's final position in the league standings +Season-by-season records
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! colspan="5" scope="col" style="background:#fff; border-top:#eb1750 5px solid; color:#002d5a;" Regular-season
! colspan="3" scope="col" style="background:#fff; border-top:#eb1750 5px solid; color:#002d5a;" Postseason
! rowspan="2" scope="col" style="background:#fff; border-top:#eb1750 5px solid; border-bottom:#eb1750 5px solid; color:#002d5a;" MLB affiliate
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Postseason history
1961 Tacoma Giants
The 1961 Tacoma Giants finished the season with a record of 97–57 (.630), which still stands as the best season in the club's PCL history. No playoffs were held in 1961; instead, the Giants clinched the league championship by earning the top spot in the league's sole, eight-team division. The club finished the season going 57–10 over their final 67 games, including a 16-game winning streak.
1969 Tacoma Cubs
The 1969 Tacoma Cubs finished the season with an 86–60 (.589) record, and earned the franchise's second league championship. The Cubs won the four-team Northern Division by 14 games to advance to the league championship. After going down 0–2 in the championship series to Eugene, then a Philadelphia Phillies affiliate, the Cubs rallied to win three straight games, clinching the five-game series. Cubs pitcher Archie Reynolds fired a complete game, two-hit shutout in game four to force a deciding fifth game. The 1969 Cubs were the first Tacoma team to win a championship playoff series.
1971 Tacoma Cubs
The Tacoma Cubs compiled a record of 78–65 (.545) and returned to the PCL championship series just two short years after winning the league title. This time, the Cubs would fall to the Salt Lake Angels, three games to one. After falling behind 0–1 in the series, Cubs starting pitcher Jim Colborn fired a 10-inning, complete-game winning effort in game two, surrendering only one run and evening the series. Tacoma played the series without Adrian Garrett, who had hit a franchise record 43 home runs during the regular season before being sold to Oakland on August 31.
1978 Tacoma Yankees
Tacoma finished with a record of 80–57 (.584) during their only season as a Yankees affiliate and was declared PCL co-champions, along with Albuquerque, after inclement weather in the Pacific Northwest forced the league office to cancel the playoffs.
1981 Tacoma Tigers
For the first time since the PCL switched to a split-season format, Tacoma made the playoffs after finishing 43–27 in the second half to win the Northern Division. The Tigers defeated Hawaii, winners of the first half, two games to one to advance to the PCL championship series against Albuquerque. The Dukes would go on to sweep the Tigers 3–0 by a combined score of 22–7 to win the PCL championship.
2001 Tacoma Rainiers
While the Seattle Mariners compiled a major league record 116 wins, the Rainiers put together an 85–59 (.590) record to win the Northern Division by games. The 2001 Rainiers led the Pacific Coast League with a 3.74 team ERA, while the offense finished fifth in the league in runs scored. Tacoma defeated Sacramento 3–2, after falling behind in the Pacific Conference series 2–1, to move on to the championship series. Tacoma and New Orleans were scheduled to begin the series on September 11, before it was cancelled in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The league office announced that Tacoma and New Orleans would be declared co-champions of the 2001 season.
2005 Tacoma Rainiers
The 2005 Rainiers finished 80–64 (.556) under the guidance of manager Dan Rohn. The Rainiers clinched the Pacific Conference Northern Division crown on the second-to-last day of the season, eliminating a Salt Lake team that had won their final nine games of the season. Tacoma dropped the first two games of the five-game Pacific Conference series at home against Sacramento, before taking the final three games at Raley Field to advance to the championship. After falling behind 0–1 in the series to Nashville, a season-high five errors in game two sunk the Rainiers and gave the Sounds a 2–0 series advantage. In the 13th inning of game three, eventual series MVP Nelson Cruz launched a three-run home run to give Nashville a 5–2 victory and the PCL championship.
2009 Tacoma Rainiers
The 2009 Rainiers, guided by manager Daren Brown, worked a record of 74–70 to sneak into the postseason. Tacoma was quickly eliminated from championship contention after dropping the conference series to Sacramento, 3–1.
2010 Tacoma Rainiers
The Rainiers went into playoffs with its home ballpark, Cheney Stadium, under construction. Displaced from its home field, the Rainiers had to play its playoff home games at other venues. The first round of playoff games against the Sacramento Rivercats saw the Rainiers winning two straight on the road, then coming "home" to T-Mobile Park, the Mariners' home ballpark. The Rainiers then dropped two straight games at Safeco, before winning Game 5 to advance to the PCL championship series against the Memphis Redbirds.
Uniforms
In March 2015, the Tacoma Rainiers announced a set of new logo marks and additions to the club's uniform set. An updated version of the team's script logo, introduced in 1995, became the club's primary logo mark. A long-standing fan-favorite, the standalone "R" logo, became the team's secondary mark.
Roster
Notes
External links
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