The Medford Giants were a minor league baseball team based in

Medford, Oregon Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824 and a metropolitan area population of 223,259, making the Me ...

. The Giants were 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 ...

from 1967-1968 and were an affiliate of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

History

In early 1967 it was announced that Rouge Valley Baseball, Inc. had secured a Northwest League franchise. The club signed a player development contract with the

. Adopting their parent club's moniker the club began play in the summer of 1967 as the Medford Giants. In their innagural season the Giants finished with a record of 51-33. The Giants and

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays their ...

were in a dead heat down the stretch. Medford swept the

Tri-City Atoms The Tri-City Atoms were a minor league baseball team located in Kennewick, Washington. The Atoms, unique in name, were one of many team names to represent Tri-City. The Tri-Cities in southeastern Washington, which include Kennewick, Richland, a ...

in a season finale double-header to finish one game ahead of Eugene in the standings to claim the Northwest League pennant. There was uncertainty as to whether the franchise would remain in Medford due to a dispute over ballpark rent. Jackson County Commissioners sought to raise rent, an increase that owner Joseph Graham strongly opposed. The county agreed to maintain the same rental rate, which secured the Giants return for the 1968 season. After the completion of the season, citing a lack of available players, San Francisco ended their affiliation with Medford. Medford signed on with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

and became the Rogue Valley Dodgers.

Season-by-season record

Notable alumni

* George Foster (1968) 5 x MLB All-Star; 1977 NL Most Valuable Player *

Gary Lavelle Gary Robert Lavelle (born January 3, 1949) is a retired professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1987. Career Lavelle grew up in Pennsylvania, where he attended Liberty High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania ...

(1968) 2 x MLB All-Star

References

External links

Stats Crew
Medford Giants {{s-end Defunct Northwest League teams San Francisco Giants minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Oregon Sports in Medford, Oregon 1967 establishments in Oregon 1968 disestablishments in Oregon Baseball teams established in 1967 Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1968 Baseball teams disestablished in 1968