Chico Heat

This article is about the defunct professional baseball team that was active from 1997 to 2002. For the collegiate wood bat team, see Chico Heat (collegiate wood bat team).
Chico Heat
1997–2002
Chico, California
Team logoCap insignia
Class-level
Previous Independent
Minor league affiliations
League Western Baseball League (1997-2002)
Major league affiliations
Previous None
Minor league titles
League titles 1997, 2002
Division titles 1997, 1999, 2001, 2002
Team data
Previous parks
 Nettleton Stadium (1997-2002)

The Chico Heat was a professional independent baseball team operating in Chico, California in the Western Baseball League. They had no operating agreement with any Major League Baseball team. They were created by Chico Heat Professional Baseball LLC, with former supermarket entrepreneur Steve Nettleton and his wife Kathy serving as principal owners. General managers included Bob Linscheid (who would go to become president of the WBL) and Jeff Kragel (now at Chico State University) and their mascot was the beloved "Heater The Dragon" (not to be confused with the Bakersfield Blaze mascot of the same name).

History

The team began operations in 1997. The team immediately won the league championship in their inaugural season and, although they did not win a championship in the four subsequent years, they won the most regular season games in each of the following seasons. They appeared in the championship series in five out of their six seasons in the league. In 2002, Chico won its second league championship in the league's and the team's final season.

The team played at Nettleton Stadium, which is located on the campus of California State University, Chico. They were preceded by the Oroville/Chico Red Sox of the minor league's Class-C Far West League from 1948-1951 and were succeeded by the Chico Outlaws of the independent Golden Baseball League, taking their place in 2005. The Heat has been the most successful professional baseball franchise in the city's history.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Remember The Heat Night

On August 11, 2007, former Heat majority owner Steve Nettleton and former Heat players were honored as part of a celebration called "Remember The Heat Night" hosted by the Chico Outlaws as they faced the St. George RoadRunners. The original Heat mascot "Heater" even made an appearance. The Outlaws won the ball game in front of over 3,500 fans at Nettleton Stadium.

Return of the Heat

On November 25, 2014, the Chico Heat franchise announced its return to the field in the summer of 2016, but this time as a member of the summer collegiate wood bat league known as the Great West League. Steve Nettleton will return as owner along with former Major League Baseball executive and Chico native Pat Gillick.[7][8]

In November 2015 the Chico Heat opened their offices at 1722 Mangrove Ave Suite 24, Chico, CA 95926 for business. They now operate as a Collegiate Wood Bat League as a member of the Great West League. The Chico Heat's 2016 regular season will run from June 3rd to August 11th. They will play home games at Nettleton Stadium in Chico. General Manager Hunter Hampton and Field Manager Fred Ludwig were hired in 2015.

Alumni

Notable Heat alumni who would return to Chico to join the Outlaws organization as either a player, coach or executive include Greg Bicknell, Scott Navarro, Jon Macalutas and Lance Franks.

Year-by-year record

Year League Affiliation Record Finish Manager Playoffs
1997 Western Baseball League none 45-45 2nd South Division Bill Plummer defeated Reno 3-1 in championship
1998 Western Baseball League none 63-26 1st South Division Bill Plummer lost to Sonoma County 0-3 in semifinals
1999 Western Baseball League none 63-27 1st overall Bill Plummer lost to Tri-City 0-3 in championship
2000 Western Baseball League none 57-33 1st North Division Charlie Kerfeld lost to Zion in championship
2001 Western Baseball League none 56-34 1st North Division Charlie Kerfeld lost to Long Beach in championship
2002 Western Baseball League none 55-35 1st North Division Charlie Kerfeld defeated Long Beach in championship

References

  1. ↑ Chico Heat at Baseball-Reference.com
  2. ↑ Chico Heat baseball cards at Family History Sites
  3. ↑ Heat Proceeds Benefit Wildcat Baseball, Chico State University website, March 3, 2000
  4. ↑ Baseball: The Heat Is On,Chico News & Review, April 25, 2002
  5. ↑ The Heat is off, Chico News & Review, October 17, 2002
  6. ↑ Chico Heat calls it quits, Chico News & Review, November 7, 2002
  7. ↑ Baseball returning to Chico, News Staff, Action News Now website, November 25, 2014
  8. ↑ BASEBALL RETURNS TO CHICO WITH GWL FRANCHISE, Great West League website, November 25, 2014

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, March 19, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.