The Sonoma County Crushers were a minor league baseball team located in Rohnert Park, California. They were a member of the independent Western Baseball League, and were not affiliated with any Major League Baseball team.

The team was one of the founding members of the league, beginning play in 1995. They won the WBL championship in 1998. At one point, former San Francisco Giants outfielder Kevin Mitchell managed the Crushers.

The team played in Rohnert Park Stadium, which was built in 1981 for the California League's now-defunct Redwood Pioneers. The stadium was demolished in 2005, three years after the Crushers' final season.

The Crushers embraced the local wine industry in multiple ways. The stadium's home run fence included a wall in left field, covered in local wine advertisements, which was called the Wine Sign or the Grape Monster (a play on Fenway Park's Green Monster). The team also sold wine bottles at the stadium, autographed by the players. The team mascot was Crusher, the Abominable Sonoman, with large purple feet for stomping grapes, in reference to the surrounding Wine Country region. The most notable professional baseball player to develop with the Crushers is Chad Zerbe, who pitched for the San Francisco Giants from 2000–2003, including three appearances and a win in the 2002 World Series against the Anaheim Angels.

Season-by-season results

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! colspan="8" style="background:#582C83;color:white;font-weight:bold;"|Sonoma County Crushers

|-

! style="background:#A50034;color:white"|Season

! style="background:#A50034;color:white"|League

! style="background:#A50034;color:white"|Division

! style="background:#A50034;color:white"|Overall

! style="background:#A50034;color:white"|Win %

! style="background:#A50034;color:white"|Finish

! style="background:#A50034;color:white"|Manager

! style="background:#A50034;color:white"|Playoffs

|- align="center"

| 1995 || WBL || South || 44–46 || || 3rd || Paul Deese || Did not qualify

|- align="center"

| 1996 || WBL || South || 34–56 || || 4th || Dick Dietz || Did not qualify

|- align="center"

| 1997 || WBL || South || 56–34 || || 1st || Dick Dietz || Lost in playoffs vs. Chico 1–2

|- align="center"

| 1998 || WBL || South || 49–41 || || 2nd || Dick Dietz || Won in playoffs vs. Chico 3–0 <br>League Champions vs. Western 3–0

|- align="center"

| 1999 || WBL || — || 41–49 || || 3rd || Dick Dietz || Did not qualify

|- align="center"

| 2000 || WBL || South || 38–52 || || 3rd || Jeffrey Leonard || Did not qualify

|- align="center"

| 2001 || WBL || North || 48–42 || || 3rd || Tim Ireland || Did not qualify

|- align="center"

| 2002 || WBL || North || 49–41 || || 2nd || Kevin Mitchell || Lost in playoffs vs. Chico 1–3

|- align="center"

! colspan="3"| Totals !! 359–361 !! !! — !! — !! 8–5

|}

Notable players

<div style="column-count:2; column-gap: 20px;">

  • José Alguacil
  • Lance Blankenship
  • Bobby Bonds Jr.
  • Darrell Brown
  • Tim Cossins
  • Carlos Crawford
  • Glenn Dishman
  • Bo Durkac
  • Curtis Goodwin
  • Donald Harris
  • Wayne Housie
  • Hansel Izquierdo
  • Kurt Knudsen
  • James Lofton
  • Walt McKeel
  • Keith Mitchell
  • Kevin Mitchell
  • Andy Morales
  • Eric Newman
  • Kevin Pickford
  • Víctor Rosario
  • Makoto Sasaki
  • Tim Scott
  • Garry Templeton
  • J. J. Thobe
  • Tom Thobe
  • Steve Wojciechowski
  • Kerry Woodson
  • Chad Zerbe

</div>

References

  • Rohnert Park, California at Baseball Reference