| Hillsboro Hops | |||||
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Class | High-A (2021–present) | ||||
| Previous classes | Class A Short Season (2013–2020) | ||||
| League | Northwest League (2013–present) | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Team | Arizona Diamondbacks (2013–present) | ||||
| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles(3) |
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| Division titles(3) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Colors | Navy blue, green, light blue, white | ||||
| Mascot | Barley | ||||
| Ballpark | Hillsboro Ballpark(2013–present) | ||||
Owner(s)/ Operator(s) | Short Season, LLC | ||||
| General manager | K.L. Wombacher | ||||
| Manager | Mark Reed | ||||
| Website | milb.com/hillsboro | ||||
TheHillsboro Hops are aMinor League Baseball team in thenorthwest United States, located inHillsboro, Oregon, a city in thePortland metropolitan area. The Hops are members of theNorthwest League and are theHigh-A affiliate of theArizona Diamondbacks. They play their home games atHillsboro Ballpark (formerly Ron Tonkin Field), which opened in 2013.
As early as 2011, theYakima Bears, a team of theNorthwest League inYakima, Washington, started exploring options to relocate after a lack of progress on a new ballpark to replace their below-standardYakima County Stadium and to escape a declining local economy.[1] Following a failed proposal to move toVancouver, Washington, the team received an offer to move toHillsboro, Oregon, in June 2012, with plans to start play in 2013.[2] The city and team reached a deal, with city council approval on June 5,[3] and approval by the league and the franchise on June 8.[4] The city signed the agreement with the team on June 26,[5][6] with approval byMajor League Baseball coming in August.[7] Groundbreaking for a new 4,500-seat stadium took place on September 21,[8] and the team's name, Hillsboro Hops, was announced on October 16.[9] The Hops replaced theTriple-APortland Beavers of thePacific Coast League, who relocated toTucson at the end of the 2010 season.[2] The Portland area went without minor league baseball in 2011 and 2012.
The Hillsboro Hops' first game was played on the road against theSalem-Keizer Volcanoes on June 14, 2013, a 3–2 loss.[10] Ryan Gebhardt had the team's firsthit and Brian Billigen earned the firstRBI.[10] Their first win came on June 17 in theHillsboro Ballpark home opener against theEugene Emeralds.[11] The inaugural home opener was attended by a sellout 4,710 fans, who watched Jordan Parr hit the firsthome run in the Hops' history.[11][12]
Barley, the team's mascot, was introduced on June 28, 2013.[13] The Hops set the franchise attendance record in 2014, when their games were attended by 138,732 people.[14] They also won their division and the league championship.[15] The team was managed byJ. R. House, whose coaching staff included fellow-former major leaguersDoug Drabek andMark Grace. Hillsboro swept the championship series against the three-time NWL defending championVancouver Canadians. The team set another franchise attendance record in 2015 with 143,412 (an average of 3,774 for 38 dates) while winning a second consecutive league title.[16][17]
The Hops hosted the NWLAll-Star Game in 2017.[18]
On August 28, 2019, the Hops clinched a playoff berth for the sixth straight season breaking the Northwest League record previously held by Vancouver at five straight seasons.[19] They faced the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in the divisional round, where they won the series 2–0, and advanced to Northwest League finals for the first time since 2015.[20] In Game 1, Hillsboro entered the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 3–1 but put up fourruns in the inning including awalk-off 3-run home run byAndy Yerzy. The Hops were defeated in Game 2, losing 9–1, but bounced back in Game 3 with a two-run ninth-inning rally to snag the win. The Hops wereshut out in Game 4, losing 6–0. Then in Game 5, Hillsboro captured their third NWL title, and their first since 2015, winning the series 3–2.[21]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Minor League Baseball season was cancelled. In conjunction withMajor League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Hops were organized into theHigh-A West along with five other teams previously of the Northwest League.[22] They continued as theHigh-A affiliate of the Diamondbacks.[22] In 2022, the High-A West became known as the Northwest League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.[23]
In January 2023, it was announced thatVeronica Gajownik had been hired to manage the Hops, which made her the first woman to manage a minor league ClassHigh-A baseball team,[24] and the first openlyLGBTQ manager in minor or major league baseball history.[25]
The team competes as the "Sonadores de Hillsboro" as part of minor league baseball's "Copa de Diversion" program.[26]
| Season | PDC | Division | Finish | Wins | Losses | Win% | Postseason | Manager | Attendance | |
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| Hillsboro Hops | ||||||||||
| 2013 | ARI | South | 3rd | 34 | 42 | .447 | — | Audo Vicente | 135,167 | |
| 2014 | ARI | South | 1st | 48 | 28 | .632 | DefeatedBoise in division series 2–1 DefeatedVancouver in championship series 2–1 | J. R. House | 138,732 | |
| 2015 | ARI | South | 1st | 45 | 31 | .592 | DefeatedSalem-Keizer in division series 2–1 DefeatedTri-City in championship series 2–1 | Shelley Duncan | 143,412 | |
| 2016 | ARI | South | 2nd | 42 | 33 | .560 | Lost to Eugene in division series 2–1 | Shelley Duncan | 131,851 | |
| 2017 | ARI | South | 1st | 41 | 35 | .539 | Lost toEugene in division series 2–0 | Shawn Roof | 128,416 | |
| 2018 | ARI | South | 1st | 51 | 25 | .671 | Lost toEugene in division series 2–0 | Shawn Roof | 130,286 | |
| 2019 | ARI | South | 1st | 48 | 28 | .632 | DefeatedSalem-Keizer in division series 2–0 DefeatedTri-City in championship series 3–2 | Javier Colina | 133,605 | |
| 2021 | ARI | West | 4th | 52 | 60 | .464 | — | Vince Harrison | 110,384 | |
| 2022 | ARI | N/A | 4th | 60 | 70 | .462 | — | Vince Harrison | 150,792 | |
| 2023 | ARI | N/A | 6th | 56 | 76 | .424 | — | Veronica Gajownik | 158,723 | |
| 2024 | ARI | N/A | 3rd | 69 | 62 | .527 | — | Javier Colina | 153,571 | |
| 2025 | ARI | N/A | 4th | 60 | 71 | .458 | — | Mark Reed | 174,777 | |
| Division winner | League champions |
The Hops play their home games atHillsboro Ballpark.[27][28]
Rich Burk was signed as the team's radio announcer onKPOJ (620 AM).[29]
| Players | Coaches/Other |
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Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
| Manager Coaches
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The team name is a reference tothe plant used inbeer brewing (Oregon is the second-largest hop-producing US state by volume),[30] as well as to various baseball terms such as theshort hop,bad hop, and crow hop.[9] No previous professional or collegiate sports team has ever been called the "Hops".[31] The team's logo includes a hop cone wearing a baseball hat, evergreen trees, andMount Hood.[32] Team colors are green, navy blue, and light blue.[30] The Hops' mascot is Barley, who is green with a blue baseball cap.[13] (Barley is another plant used in beer brewing.) The team's branding and logo was named byBallpark Digest as the best in Minor League Baseball for 2013.[33]
In March 2013, the team announced a three-year deal withBridgePort Brewing Company to be the official beer of the Hops.[34][35]Advantis Credit Union,Les Schwab Tires,Nike,Tuality Healthcare, andThe Oregonian were the founding sponsors.[36]
| Preceded by | Northwest League franchise 2013–present | Succeeded by |
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