The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

. The franchise had eight different major league affiliations over its 29 seasons.

History

The franchise was founded in 1988 and was first based in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

, and was known as the Red Wave, beginning in 1988. In 1991, the ballclub relocated north, near Hwy 395, to the city of

Adelanto Adelanto (Spanish for "Advance") is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is approximately northwest of Victorville in the Victor Valley area of the Mojave Desert, in the northern region of the Inland Empire.Lint ...

, part of the

Victor Valley The Victor Valley is a valley in the Mojave Desert and subregion of the Inland Empire, in San Bernardino County in Southern California. It is located east of the Mojave's Antelope Valley, north of the Cajon Pass and the San Bernardino Valley, ...

metro area in California's High Desert region. The Mavericks played their home baseball games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium (known as Stater Bros. Stadium from 2007 to 2014 and Mavericks Stadium until 2007) which opened in 1991 and seats 3,808 fans. The ballpark, next to Hwy 395, is known to be an extreme hitter-friendly venue which tended to inflate

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

totals drastically. As a result, offensive statistics for High Desert players were discounted for comparative purposes, while the reverse was the case for statistics accumulated by High Desert pitchers. On November 29, 2010, High Desert Mavericks were sold to Main Street Baseball after more than a year on the open market. Rumors had the team possibly relocating to

Chico, California Chico ( ; Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 census, reflecting an increase from 86,18 ...

, if a new proposed ballpark had been built there. Although it was later reported on August 12, 2012, the Mavericks would be staying in the High Desert through the 2015 season and possibly through 2018. In January 2016, the Adelanto City Council voided the team's lease at Heritage Field. The Mavericks were able to continue for the 2016 season at Heritage Field. However, on August 22, 2016, the California League announced the Mavericks would not return for the 2017 season and would cease operations. Before the California League announced the Mavericks would not return, rumors had the Mavericks relocating and joining the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

Kinston, North Carolina Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 21,677 as of the 2010 census. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the coastal plains region of e ...

, while keeping the Rangers affiliation. However, Minor League Baseball also announced on August 22 that two

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

s would join the Carolina League in 2017 with the new Kinston team taking over the Rangers affiliation at the A-Advanced level from the Mavericks. In their final game, the High Desert Mavericks defeated the

Visalia Rawhide The Visalia Rawhide are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Visalia, California, and have played their home games at Valley Strong Ballpark since thei ...

7–4 on September 17, 2016, to capture the California League championship. The final championship completed a bookend for the Mavericks who won the title in 1991, their first year of existence, and in 2016, their final year of existence. The Mavericks' Luke Tendler hit the final California League home run in Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium and the Mavericks history with a solo home run shot in the bottom of the 8th inning. In March 2019, the city and the Mavericks' owners settled a lawsuit brought by the owners over the city's 2016 attempt to void the stadium lease, with the city paying $3.8 million to the team owners.

Achievements

* The Mavericks are the only team in California League history to win championships in the years that their major league parent clubs also came into existence. * The Mavericks were the first team in California League history to have cheerleaders. The Maverick Girls would perform dance numbers on top of the dugouts in between innings. * On June 28, 2009, the Mavericks performed two historic feats on one day. They combined with the

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The Storm plays their home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond (Pete Lehr Field), which opened in 1994; the park se ...

to set a

record for combined runs scored (51) in a 33–18 loss, and outfielder

James McOwen James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

broke the California League record for longest hitting streak, hitting safely for the 36th straight game.

Notable High Desert Mavericks alumni

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* Bruce Bochy (inaugural manager) *

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* Billy Butler * Howie Clark *

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* Greg Halman *

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* J. J. Hardy * Corey Hart * J. P. Howell *

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* Javier López * Matt Mangini *

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* Erick Monzón *

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* Brad Nelson *

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* Stephen C. Reich *

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(

MLB Network The MLB Network is an American television sports channel dedicated to baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball, with Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit, Comcast's NBC Sports Group, Charter Communications, and Cox C ...

Announcer, was the Mavericks first radio announcer 1991) *

Don Wakamatsu Wilbur Donald Wakamatsu (born February 22, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player, scout, coach, and manager. Wakamatsu was drafted in the 11th round of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He played as ...

(managed Mavs in 1998, was California League Manager of the Year that year; first Asian-American MLB manager) * Howard Johnson (as manager) *

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References

External links

High Desert Mavericks Official Site
* *{{cite news , url=http://www.dailybulletin.com/sports/20160917/high-desert-mavericks-finish-history-in-style-with-california-league-championship , title=High Desert Mavericks finish history in style, with California League championship , work=

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin The ''Inland Valley Daily Bulletin'' is a daily newspaper based in Rancho Cucamonga, California, serving the Pomona Valley and southwest San Bernardino County. The ''Daily Bulletin'' is a member of the Southern California News Group (formerly th ...

, date=September 17, 2016 , access-date=September 25, 2016 , location=

Rancho Cucamonga, California Rancho Cucamonga ( ) is a city located just south of the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest in San Bernardino County, California, United States. About east of Downtown Los Angeles, Rancho Cucamonga is the 28th ...