Yakima Valley Braves

Yakima Valley Braves
Yakima Valley Braves
(1937-1941, 1946-1966); Yakima, Washington ;
Minor league affiliations
Previous classes	Class A (1952-1964); Class B (1937-1951);
League	Northwest League (1955-1966)
Previous leagues	Western International League (1937-1941, 1946-1954)
Major league affiliations
Previous teams	Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves (1958-1966); Pittsburgh Pirates (1946);
Minor league titles
League titles (7)	1950; 1956; 1958; 1959; 1960; 1963; 1964;
Team data
Previous names	Yakima Bears (1949-1964); Yakima Packers (1948); Yakima Stars (1946-1947); Yakima Pippins (1937-1941);
Previous parks	Parker Field

The Yakima Valley Braves, was the final name of a minor league baseball club, located in Yakima, Washington, between 1937 and 1966. The club, also referred to as the Yakima Braves, played as a member of the Western International League until 1954 and the Northwest League from 1955-1966. The team was originally established in 1937 as the Yakima Pippins. After World War II, the team was re-established as an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and renamed the Yakima Stars between 1946 and 1947. In the 1948, the team was unaffiliated and was renamed the Yakima Packers. The team took on the Yakima Bears moniker in 1949 and later became an affiliate of the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves beginning in 1958. The club later folded in 1966 under the Braves name.

From 1990-2012, a revived Yakima Bears team was fielded in the Northwest League as an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks.

Season-by-season

(from Pippins' Baseball Reference Bullpen) (from Stars' Baseball Reference Bullpen) (from Packers' Baseball Reference Bullpen) (from Bears' Baseball Reference Bullpen) (from Braves' Baseball Reference Bullpen)

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1937	80-61	2nd	Ray Jacobs
1938	77-55	1st	Ray Jacobs	Lost League Finals (vs. Bellingham Chinooks 4 games to 3) Won in first round (vs. Wenatchee Chiefs 3 games to 1)
1939	72-73	5th	Ray Jacobs
1940	79-67	2nd	Goldie Holt	Lost in 1st round (vs. Tacoma Tigers 2 games to 1)
1941	70-64	3rd	Goldie Holt

1946	71-69	5th	Spencer Harris (21-31) / Harlond Clift (50-38)	No Playoffs
1947	59-95	8th	Harlond Clift	No playoffs
1948	52-109	8th	Vernon Johnson (26-56) / Hub Kittle (26-53)	No playoffs
1949	99-51	1st	Joe Orengo	Lost finals (vs. Vancouver Capilanos 3 gms to 0) Won in first round (vs. Spokane Indians 3 games to 1)
1950	92-58	1st	Joe Orengo	League Champs No playoffs
1951	63-80	5th	Bill Brenner	No playoffs
1952	73-79	5th	Dario Lodigiani	No playoffs
1953	70-74	6th	Dario Lodigiani (19-26) / Walt Novick (51-48)
1954	80-57	2nd	Lou Stringer
1955	59-69	5th	Hub Kittle
1956	86-45	1st	Hub Kittle	League Champs No playoffs
1957	69-66	3rd	Hub Kittle
1958	76-60	3rd	Hub Kittle	League Champs
1959	70-69	4th	Hub Kittle	League Champs

Season-by-season record

Season	PDC	Finish	Wins	Losses	Win%	Post-season	Manager	Attendance
Yakima Bears
1960	MLN	1st	85	57	.599	League champion by virtue of record	Buddy Hicks	60,166
1961	MLN	2nd	79	60	.568	Lost to Lewiston in championship series 4-1	Buddy Hicks	42,806
1962	MLN	4th	69	71	.493		Buddy Hicks	35,059
1963	MLN	1st	84	56	.600	Defeated Lewiston in championship series 3-1	Buddy Hicks	40,628
1964	MLN	3rd	72	68	.514	Defeated Eugene in championship series 3-0	Hub Kittle	39,300
Yakima Valley Braves
1965	MLN	5th	62	77	.446		Hub Kittle	36,050
1966	MLN	3rd	39	44	.470		Eddie Haas	13,262

Division winner	League champions

Notable alumni

Rico Carty (1962) MLB All-Star; 1970 NL Batting Title

Mike Lum (1965)

Lee Maye (1955)

Dennis Menke (1961) 2 x MLB All-Star

Felix Millan (1965) 3 x MLB All-Star

Carl Morton (1965) 1970 NL Rookie of the Year

Bill Robinson