Yakima Valley Pippins

The Yakima Valley Pippins are a collegiate wood bat baseball team based in Yakima, Washington. They are member of the West Coast League and began play in 2014 at the 2,800 seat Yakima County Stadium. They replaced the Yakima Bears of the Northwest League, who relocated to Hillsboro, Oregon, and were renamed the Hillsboro Hops. They were named for the pippin apple. On August 6, 2014, the Pippins were the first WCL expansion franchise to win a divisional pennant, beating the Cowlitz Black Bears 6-5 in the bottom of the 9th inning. After missing the playoffs in 2015, the Pippins returned to post season play, winning the 2nd Half South Division Title. The Pippins hold the West Coast League record for most wins in their first two seasons going 64-44 in 2014-2015.

The Pippins saw immediate success after entering the league. The team clinched finished with a winning season in their first four seasons including three playoff appearances and a division title in 2014. The team made their first WCL Championship appearance in 2021 and followed up with an additional playoff appearance the season after.

History

2013

The Pippins are the latest West Coast League (WCL) team. Pacific Baseball Ventures LLC owns both the Yakima Valley Pippins and the Walla Walla Sweets baseball team that also plays in the WCL. Because of the expansion team in Yakima, the WCL moved from a two-division format to a three-division format with an MLB playoff order. In May 2014, the Pippins reached an agreement to have 21 of their home games broadcast in Spanish. KDNA 91.9 FM will be the station broadcasting the 21 games out of Yakima.

2014

After Pacific Baseball Ventures was awarded the Yakima expansion team in the late part of the 2013 year, PBV began restoring the field. In the inaugural season for the Pippins. The Pippins were the second team to make the playoffs in the first season of play. With a 35-19 record and the WCL East Division pennant, the Pippins housed the WCL MVP for the 2014 year. Vince Fernandez had 10 home runs and 51 runs batted in, setting the record in both of those categories. In the first year of play at Yakima County Stadium, the Pippins had an attendance of 42,898 in 34 home games.

2024

On June 3rd, Carson Judd was announced as the league's pitcher of the week. Judd pitched six scoreless innings and threw eight strikeouts against the Drifters the previous Saturday night.

On July 9th, Preston Allen and Spencer Shipman were selected to represent the Pippins in the 2024 All Star Game in Bellingham.

The Pippins failed to qualify for the playoffs for the second straight season.

2025

The Pippins are currently tied with the Black Bears for seventh in the South Division with a 4-8 record and are 8.5 games behind the division leading Pickles. Pitcher Pearson Pollard (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) has thrown sixteen strikeouts and has a 0.90 ERA. 5,249 fans have attended Yakima Valley's six home games for an average of 875.https://baseball.pointstreak.com/attendance.html?leagueid=145&seasonid=34070

Results by Season

Notable players

* Eli Morgan (born 1996), MLB pitcher, Cleveland Guardians
* Jonny Deluca (born 1998), MLB Outfielder, Tampa Bay Rays

References

External links

Yakima Valley Pippins official website

{{Washington Sports

Amateur baseball teams in Washington (state)
Yakima, Washington
2013 establishments in Washington (state)
Baseball teams established in 2013