Pocatello Giants
Encyclopedia
The Pocatello Giants were a professional minor league baseball
team located in Pocatello, Idaho
. The team played in the Rookie-level Pioneer League, and were affiliated with the San Francisco Giants
for the 1988 and 1989 seasons; prior affiliation was with the Oakland A's. The home stadium was Halliwell Park
, located on Alameda Drive. After the 1989 season the franchise ended their farm team affiliation with the San Francisco Giants. The franchise became an independent/co-op team and was renamed the Gate City Pioneers for the 1990 season; that team featured players from the Montreal Expos
and Chicago White Sox
farm systems as well as minor league players from the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
of the Japanese Pacific League. For the 1991 season, the team changed its name to the Pocatello Pioneers. The success of the franchise was hampered by a series of ownership and front office staff changes, including one season where the out-going management and ownership left numerous debts to local businesses. Added to the difficulties for the franchise was a feeling by a vocal group of citizens that Halliwell park should be the domain of the two Pocatello high school baseball teams and the local American Legion team, rather than a professional team run by "outsiders." The last ownership group moved the franchise to Lethbridge, Canada.
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
team located in Pocatello, Idaho
Pocatello, Idaho
Pocatello is the county seat and largest city of Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho. It is the principal city of the Pocatello metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Bannock...
. The team played in the Rookie-level Pioneer League, and were affiliated with the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
for the 1988 and 1989 seasons; prior affiliation was with the Oakland A's. The home stadium was Halliwell Park
Halliwell Park
Halliwell Park is a stadium in Pocatello, Idaho. It is primarily used for baseball and was the home of Pocatello Giants. The ballpark has a capacity of 2,000 people....
, located on Alameda Drive. After the 1989 season the franchise ended their farm team affiliation with the San Francisco Giants. The franchise became an independent/co-op team and was renamed the Gate City Pioneers for the 1990 season; that team featured players from the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
and Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
farm systems as well as minor league players from the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Hiroshima Toyo Carp
The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Central League. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda. Mazda is the largest single shareholder , which is less than the portion owned by the Matsuda family . Because of that,...
of the Japanese Pacific League. For the 1991 season, the team changed its name to the Pocatello Pioneers. The success of the franchise was hampered by a series of ownership and front office staff changes, including one season where the out-going management and ownership left numerous debts to local businesses. Added to the difficulties for the franchise was a feeling by a vocal group of citizens that Halliwell park should be the domain of the two Pocatello high school baseball teams and the local American Legion team, rather than a professional team run by "outsiders." The last ownership group moved the franchise to Lethbridge, Canada.