Bellingham Mariners

The Bellingham Mariners were a minor league baseball team in the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, based in Bellingham, Washington. The franchise arrived in 1973 as the Bellingham Dodgers, affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers for four seasons. They changed to the expansion Seattle Mariners in 1977 (Bellingham Mariners, or the "Baby M's" as they were popularly known), which lasted for 18 seasons, through 1994. The final two seasons in 1995 and 1996 were as the Bellingham Giants, the affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. After three seasons in Medford and one season in Spokane in 1972, the Dodgers moved their NWL affiliate to Bellingham for 1973. The 1975 team gained unwanted national notoriety when it went winless for the first 25 games.[1][2][3] They ended the season at 17–61. In 1987, 17-year-old Ken Griffey, Jr. hit his first professional home run while on the road at Everett Memorial Stadium. A plaque was placed on the sidewalk outside the stadium where the ball landed.[4]

The Bellingham franchise played at Joe Martin Field, a venue with a seating capacity near 1,600. The park is currently the home of the Bellingham Bells of the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League.[5]

Following the 1994 season, the Bellingham Mariners and Everett Giants swapped cities and the M's affiliate became the Everett AquaSox. After the 1996 season, the Bellingham Giants moved south to Keizer, Oregon, and became the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes.