The Grays Harbor Ports was the first name of the minor league baseball team that represented the communities of Grays Harbor, Washington,

Hoquiam, Washington Hoquiam ( ) is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. It borders the city of Aberdeen at Myrtle Street, with Hoquiam to the west. The two cities share a common economic history in lumbering and exporting, but Hoquiam has mainta ...

and

Aberdeen, Washington Aberdeen () is a city in Grays Harbor County, Washington, United States. The population was 17,013 at the 2020 census. The city is the economic center of Grays Harbor County, bordering the cities of Hoquiam and Cosmopolis. Aberdeen is occasi ...

. Grays Harbor played as members of the

Class A Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

in 1976.

History

Owned and managed by the

Stockton Ports The Stockton Ports are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Stockton, California, and are named for the city's seaport. The team plays its home games at Ba ...

' former owner and manager Carl W. Thompson, Sr., the team had a record of 26-46, at that time the worst in the league. Season attendance at Hoquiam's

Olympic Stadium ''Olympic Stadium'' is the name usually given to the main stadium of an Olympic Games. An Olympic stadium is the site of the opening and closing ceremonies. Many, though not all, of these venues actually contain the words ''Olympic Stadium'' as ...

was fourth in the seven-team Northwest League at 28,842. The Ports' All-Star pitcher Barry Biggerstaff (9-7, 3.44) led the league in almost every counting category with 17 starts, 15 complete games, 3 shutouts (having tied for the lead), 144 innings, 138 hits, 77 runs, 55 earned runs and 123 strikeouts. While playing for the Ports, Biggerstaff was only one behind the lead in wins and two behind the league leader in losses. After Thompson sold the team in 1977, the Ports became the

Grays Harbor Loggers The Grays Harbor Loggers was the primary name of the minor league baseball team that represented the communities of Grays Harbor, Washington, Hoquiam, Washington and Aberdeen, Washington. Grays Harbor played as members of the Class A Short Seas ...

'. In 1978 the team took on famed actor

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...

for a successful marketing stunt. During the summer of 1978 Murray joined the Loggers for one day. The cast of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' was asked to find something they've always wanted to do and for Murray it was to play professional baseball. Murray joined the independent team in Hoquiam, WA where he knocked in a couple of runs (going 1 for 2, with a single) during his one day stint. Two years later, the team changed their name to the

Grays Harbor Mets Grays or Greys may refer to: Places * Grays Bay, Nunavut, Canada * Grays, Essex, a town in Essex, England ** Grays railway station ** Grays School * Grays, Kent, a hamlet in Kent, England * Rotherfield Greys or Greys, a village in Oxfordshire, Eng ...

, playing as an affiliate of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. In 1980, the franchise was once again the Grays Harbor Loggers for the team's season.

Ballpark

The Loggers and the Ports played at

, located at 101 28th Street,

. The facility is still in use today.

Notable alumni

Actor

played for the Grays Harbor for one day in the 1978 season. Bill Murray Deauville 2011

(1978) *

Jose Oquendo Jose is the English transliteration of the Hebrew and Aramaic name ''Yose'', which is etymologically linked to ''Yosef'' or Joseph. The name was popular during the Mishnaic and Talmudic periods. * Jose ben Abin * Jose ben Akabya *Jose the Galile ...

(1979) * Tommy Jones (1976) *

Mark Parent Mark Parent (born August 25, 1954) is a Canadians, Canadian clergyman, author, academic, and former politician in Nova Scotia. Parent is the son of Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches, Baptist Missionary, missionaries Hazen Coles Parent ...

(1980) * Luis Quiñones (1980)

References

Defunct Northwest League teams Grays Harbor Loggers players Grays Harbor Ports players Defunct minor league baseball teams Professional baseball teams in Washington (state) Defunct baseball teams in Washington (state) Baseball teams disestablished in 1976 Baseball teams established in 1976 {{Washington-baseball-team-stub