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Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
Founded in1997 Keizer, Oregon
Team logo Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class	Independent (from 2021)
Previous classes	Class A Short Season (1997–2020)
League	Mavericks Independent Baseball League (from 2021)
Previous leagues	Northwest League (1997–2020)
Major league affiliations
Previous teams	San Francisco Giants (1997–2020)
Minor league titles
League titles(6)	1998 2001 2006 2007 2009 2024
Division titles(7)	1998 2001 2003 2006 2007 2008 2009
Team data
Name	Salem-Keizer Volcanoes (1997–present)
Colors	Gray, lava red, obsidian, burnt gold, white
Mascot	Crater
Ballpark	Volcanoes Stadium (1997–present)
Owner(s)/ Operator(s)	Jerry Walker[1]
Manager	Tony Torcato

TheSalem-Keizer Volcanoes are a baseball team located inKeizer, Oregon, who are charter members of theMavericks Independent Baseball League, a four-team league entirely based in theSalem Metropolitan Statistical Area and playing all their home games atVolcanoes Stadium.^[2] From 1997 to 2020, they were members ofMinor League Baseball'sNorthwest League as theClass A Short Season affiliate of theSan Francisco Giants. With the reorganization of baseball after the 2020 season, the Volcanoes were not offered a player development license with anyMajor League Baseball club, though the Volcanoes promised to continue play in 2021, a promise they kept in forming the Mavericks League.

The Volcanoes history begins inBellingham, Washington where the franchise played for eighteen season as an affiliate of theSeattle Mariners. In 1994, Seattle shifted their affiliation toEverett, who had been a long timeSan Francisco Giants farm club. Bellingham swapped parents with Everett and adopted their parent club's name to become theBellingham Giants. Bellingham had long struggled with attendance and its facility failed to meet league standards. Efforts to secure funding for facility improvements in Bellingham were unsuccessful.^[3] In 1996, Bellingham Giants co-owners Jerry Walker and William Tucker announced that they were moving the franchise toKeizer, Oregon, a city of 22,000 people located immediately north of Salem.

Keizer had striven to assert itself as an independent, thriving city for 12 years since the former Salem suburb had become an incorporated municipality. City officials, led by Mayor Dennis Koho, and civic leaders worked toward getting a new baseball stadium located and built in Keizer. The area had lacked a suitable facility for pro baseball since the early 1960s, when the Salem Dodgers vacated historic Waters Field (which burned down in 1966).

Area fans chose the nickname "Volcanoes" in a contest. The new franchise was designated as a "Salem-Keizer" team, despite its location, in order to incorporate both the history and the prestige of the larger city and state capital. The Volcanoes continued their player development contract with the San Francisco Giants, a relationship that continued through 2020.

In their inaugural season of 1997, the Volcanoes posted a record of 40–36 and finished third in the south division standings. The 1998 season was a banner year for Salem-Keizer. The Volcanoes finished the year at 43–33, tied with theSouthern Oregon Timberjacks. In a one-game play-off the Volcanoes bested the Timberjacks to earn the south division title. Salem-Keizer defeated theBoise Hawks in the best-of-three series en route to aNorthwest League championship.

In 2001, the Volcanoes won the south division title. The team went on to sweep the Boise Hawks in the championship series to claim their second Northwest League crown. The Volcanoes won the Freitas Award as the best short-season Class A baseball franchise. The Volcanoes celebrated their 10th season in Salem-Keizer by ending the regular season with a league record 55 victories, a league record. The team set franchise records of most consecutive games won with 12 and most runs in an inning (10), in the seventh inning of a 19–3 rout of theCanadians on August 30. In that game, catcher Adam Witter hitting the team's first evercycle. The Volcanoes capped the 2006 season by defeating the Boise Hawks, three games to one, winning the league championship. Salem-Keizer broke their own record for wins in a season, finishing the season with a 57–19 mark, a .750 overall record; the best in baseball that year. They won their second consecutive championship in a row by defeating theTri-City Dust Devils, three games to one. The team was honored with the Best Short-Season and Best Overall Team in the 2007 Minor League Baseball Awards.

The Volcanoes finished 2008 with third consecutive west division title. In an effort to three-peat as Northwest League champions, the team came up short a dropped the championship series to theSpokane Indians. Salem-Keizer posted a 49–27 record to win its fifth straight division title. Led by a pitching staff that recorded a 0.69 ERA over the four-game set, the Volcanoes defeated the Tri-City Dust Devils to with the league championship. In the first decade of the new millennium the Volcanoes made an unprecedented six postseason appearances, winning four Northwest League championships.

In 2013, the Volcanoes won the south division title, but lost to Boise in the division series. After a five-year drought, Salem-Keizer returned to the postseason in 2019 by winning the first half south division. The Volcanoes were defeated in the division series by the eventual league championHillsboro Hops.

Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Minor League Baseball season was cancelled. Following the cancelled season,Major League Baseball took direct control ofMinor League Baseball. The Northwest League was elevated to theHigh-A classification and contracted to six teams. The Volcanoes were not extended an invitation to continue as a franchise affiliated with a major league organization. The team, however, has plans to continue in some other form, such ascollegiate summer baseball or independent baseball, in 2021.^[4] The team was one of 22 teams slated to join the MILB "Copa de Diversion" in 2020, playing under the identity "Campesinos de Salem-Keizer."^[5]

On January 26, 2021, the team announced the formation of a new professionalindependent league called the Mavericks League. It is a four-team league consisting of the Volcanoes and Campesinos de Salem-Keiser (founding members), as well as two returning teams from the past, the Salem Senators (founded in the 1940s) and the Portland Mavericks (founded in the 1970s).^[6]

The Volcanoes play atVolcanoes Stadium located in Keizer, Oregon. The facility was built in less than a year, in time for the debut of the Volcanoes, on a tract of land adjacent toInterstate 5 just northwest of the Keizer interchange. The stadium seats 4,252. In 1999, the American Institute of Architects honored the Volcanoes with a design award for the stadium.

Volcanoes Stadium also hosts all five ofOregon's state high school baseball championship games. In 1998, theUniversity of Oregonfootball team played its spring Green-White game in the stadium in early May.^[7]

The Salem-Keizer area has been home to professional baseball since 1940, when theSalem Senators (an homage to Salem's role as Oregon's capital) were formed as a member of theWestern International League (WIL). When the WIL reformed into the current Northwest League (NWL) in 1955, the Senators were a charter member of the new circuit. The Salem franchise played as the Senators until 1960, when it became a Class A affiliate of theLos Angeles Dodgers and adopted the parent club's nickname. The Salem Dodgers continued to play until the 1965 season, after which the franchise was dormant for 17 years.

In 1977, formerStockton Ports owner/managerCarl Thompson purchased the Salem franchise and put it back on the field as an NWL member and Dodgers farm club. The revived Senators played until after the 1981 season, when theCalifornia Angels became the team's parent club.

The 1982 Angels captured the first NWL championship by a Salem-area franchise, and became the first NWL champion with a losing regular-season record, a distinction which lasted until 2005.

The Salem Angels shifted their major-league affiliation and nickname back to the Dodgers after the 1987 season. The Dodgers played in Salem for two seasons, with future major-league starMike Piazza on the team's 1989 roster.

In 1990, owners moved the Salem Dodgers toYakima, Washington, mainly due to lack of adequate facilities. The Salem club had played its home games at theChemeketa Community College field, which lacked a grandstand, permanent concession stands and other amenities. It would be seven years before pro baseball returned to the Salem-Keizer metropolitan area.

As of 2025, the region will be host of theWest Coast League's 17th franchise, theMarion Berries.

Since 1997, 84 former Volcanoes have played in the major leagues. Two former Volcanoes also played in the inaugural2006World Baseball Classic:Joe Nathan (U.S.) andJonathan Sánchez (Puerto Rico).

• Salem-Keizer Volcanoes official website
• Mavericks League official website

• Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
• Baseball teams established in 1997
• Keizer, Oregon
• San Francisco Giants minor league affiliates
• 1997 establishments in Oregon
• Northwest League teams
• Professional baseball teams in Oregon

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