The Wild Wild West League is a collegiate summer league based out of Portland, Oregon. It serves as a developmental minor league and is owned and operated by the Portland Pickles collegiate baseball club of the West Coast League. The league features four teams and all games are played at Charles B. Walker Stadium at Lents Park in southeast Portland, home of the Pickles.
History
2020: Inaugural season The league was formed by the Portland Pickles in 2020 following the cancellation of the West Coast League's regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Months prior, the Pickles also founded a developmental farm club of their own known as the Portland Gherkins.Baseball in 2020: Portland Pickles announce formation of Wild Wild West League, JD Humburg, The Oregonian/OregonLive.com, June 13, 2020‘We couldn’t quit on it.’ The Wild Wild West League will bring live sports back to Portland, Matt Cohen, The Oregonian/OregonLive.com, June 14, 2020About Us, WWWL official websitePortland Pickles: Introducing the Wild Wild West League, 750 The Game website, June 11, 2020Area Baseball Players Find Opportunity In Wild Wild West League, Jesse Sowa, Corvallis Gazette-Times, July 9, 2020 The Pickles and Gherkins were joined by the previously independent Gresham GreyWolves and West Linn Knights and played the inaugural two-week season at Bob Brack Stadium in Aurora, Oregon, with all players, coaches and staffs having to follow the COVID-19 guidelines at the local, state and federal levels and limited fans in attendance. The league even grabbed the attention nationally of Forbes magazine.Wild Wild West League Offers Rare Chance To Attend Baseball Games During Pandemic, Maury Brown, Forbes, August 4, 2020 Play officially began on July 11, 2020, with the Pickles playing the Gherkins.
On July 15, 2020, the league suspended play for at least seven days following positive COVID-19 tests from two players, just four days after the inaugural season started. The league would resume play eight days later.
The Knights won the inaugural league championship, defeating the Pickles 8–7 in the championship game.
2021 The league was so successful that it announced a second season and that all of its games would be moved to Walker Stadium at Lents Park in southeast Portland, home of the Pickles, who returned to the WCL. The Knights were folded and both were replaced by the revived Portland Rosebuds (named for the former Negro league team from the 1940's) and Willamette Wild Bills.
The Rosebuds won the 2nd WWWL Championship defeating the Wild Bills 6–4 in the finals.
2022 The league announced expansion into Cleburne, Texas, with a newly-formed four-team Texas Division with all games being played at The Depot at Cleburne Station, also the home of the Cleburne Railroaders of the professional American Association. The four teams founded by the league included the Cleburne Eagles (named for the former Negro league team from the 1930's to 1960's), Joshua Trees, Burleson Boxers and Fort Worth Rodeo Cats.
However, the teams never played due to lack of interest. Therefore, the Texas Division teams and plans were scrapped by the league.
The Oregon teams all returned for a third season and became known as the Portland Division with all games once again being played at Walker Stadium. The Portland Gherkins won the 2022 WWWL Championship defeating the Gresham GreyWolves 9–7 in the championship game.
2023 On April 13, 2023, the league announced that they would play a fourth season. On August 26, the Willamette Wild Bills won their first WWWL Championship by beating the defending champion Gherkins 9-8 to capture the title.THE WILD BILLS WIN THE 2023 WILD WILD WEST LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP, WWWL Facebook, August 26, 2023 In 2024, the WWWL went dormant.
2025 After taking a season off, the WWWL returned to action with all of its teams playing the Pickles in pre-season non-league action.
Special rules PickleBot 3000 One of the main attractions to the league is an automated strike zone, dubbed Picklebot 3000. Because of the Picklebot, only one field umpire is used for each game. It was introduced in 2021 and has been used ever since.
The Wheel of Brine
In certain games, the Wheel of Brine is spun to change the conditions of the game. An inning could have four outs, two outfielders, or every count could start 2-1.
Current teams TeamCityFirst season Gresham GreyWolves Gresham, OR 2020 Portland Gherkins Portland, OR 2020 Portland Rosebuds Portland, OR 2021 Willamette Wild Bills Portland, OR 2021
Former teams TeamCityFirst seasonLast seasonResult Burleson Boxers Burleson, TX 2022 2022 Never Played Cleburne Eagles Cleburne, TX 2022 2022 Never Played Fort Worth Rodeo Cats Fort Worth, TX 2022 2022 Never Played Joshua Trees Joshua, TX 2022 2022 Never Played Portland Pickles Portland, OR 2020 2020 Returned to WCL full-time West Linn Knights Portland, OR 2020 2020 Folded
Champions 2020: West Linn Knights 2021: Portland Rosebuds 2022: Portland Gherkins 2023: Willamette Wild Bills
Broadcasting The league broadcasts all games on Facebook Live and YouTube channels using the Portland Pickles' Broadcast Crew. Carlo Jimenez was the initial play-by-play voice in 2020, followed by Mike Chexx in 2021.
References
External links Wild West West League official website