Last weekend brought a bittersweet ending in Minor League Baseball, as the High Desert Mavericks (High A; California League) ended their history with a league title.
Arriving from Riverside in 1991, the Mavericks spent 16 seasons at Adelanto’s Mavercks Stadium. Following the 2016 season, the Mavericks are one of two franchises that will be contracted as part of the California League/Carolina League realignment. While there were high points in the team’s history, the Mavericks began this season locked in a dispute with Adelanto’s City Council, which attempted to void its lease with the team. It was not enough to prevent the Mavericks from playing this season at the ballpark–now known as Heritage Field at Mavericks Stadium–and the team’s performance on the field made finale memorable.
The Mavericks finished the regular season with an 82-58 record, the best in the California League. In the postseason, the Mavericks knocked out the Lancaster JetHawks in the semifinals rounds, setting the stage for a championship showdown with the Visalia Rawhide. On Saturday, the Mavericks completed a championship sweep over Visalia at Heritage Field, providing fans with one last memorable moment. More from the Daily Bulletin:
It was the fourth title in the history of the Mavericks, and first since 1997 and it will be their last.
The Mavericks have not had a radio or internet broadcasts all year, but Saturday, former Mavericks broadcaster Mike Lindskog, now with the Quakes, and Lake Elsinore Storm broadcaster Sean McCall teamed up to give Mavericks fans an internet broadcast of their team’s final game.
When the final out was made, Lindskog announced, “the Mavericks will truly go out on top.”
The Mavericks and Bakersfield Blaze, whose run ended in the California League semifinals, are both being contracted as part of the realignment. The Mavericks’ parent club, the Texas Rangers, will own and operate the new Carolina League franchise that will play in Kinston, NC’s Grainger Stadium.