Visalia Rawhide

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Visalia Rawhide Founded in 1946 Visalia, California
Team logo Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class	Low-A (2021–present)
Previous classes	Class A-Advanced (1990–2020) Class A (1975–1989) Class C (1946–1962)
League	Low-A West (2021–present)
Division	South Division
Previous leagues	California League (1946–2020)
Major league affiliations
Team	Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–present) Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2005–2006) Colorado Rockies (2003–2004, 1993–1994) Oakland Athletics (1997–2002) Co-op (1995–1996) Minnesota Twins (1977–1992) New York Mets (1968–1975) Chicago White Sox (1962) Kansas City Athletics (1960–1961) Cincinnati Reds (1957–1959) Chicago Cubs (1946–1952)
Minor league titles
League titles (3)	1971 1978 2019
Division titles (3)	2015 2018 2019
First half titles (1)	2016
Team data
Name	Visalia Rawhide (2009–present) Visalia Oaks (1995–2008, 1977–1992) Central Valley Rockies (1993–1994) Visalia Mets (1968–1975) Visalia White Sox (1962) Visalia Athletics (1960–1961) Visalia Redlegs (1957–1959) Visalia Cubs (1954–1956, 1946–1952) Visalia Stars (1953)
Mascot	Tipper
Ballpark	Valley Strong Ballpark
Owner(s)/ Operator(s)	First Pitch Entertainment, LLC
General manager	Mike Candela & Julian Rifkind[1]
Manager	Javier Colina

The Visalia Rawhide are a Minor League Baseball team of the Low-A West and the Low-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Visalia, California, and have played their home games at Valley Strong Ballpark since their inception in 1946.

The team has had nine names, most of which reflected its changing major-league affiliates, most recently are the Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, Oakland A's, Tampa Bay Rays, and Diamondbacks. It took the name Rawhide in 2009, after two years of fan surveys, polls, focus groups, and direction by players.

Casey Jones/Casey at the Bat[]

Once per season, the team wears old-fashioned uniforms recalling Mighty Casey, the main folklore hero of "Casey at the Bat" and the "Mudville Nine", based on the Stockton Ports in Stockton. ^[2]

Visalia is one of the four oldest cities of the Cal League, along with San Jose (the San Jose Giants/Bees); and Modesto (the Modesto Nuts/A's).

Mascot[]

The Visalia Rawhide mascot is a Holstein Bull named Tipper, introduced on October 15, 2008. Tipper represents the tens of thousands of Holsteins in Tulare County, the top dairy-producing area in the country. Tipper's home is a ballpark barn – a 40' x 20' red barn which is part of the outfield fence – doubles carom off the side of the barn, and home runs land on the roof, leading to a new twist on the old baseball adage "couldn't hit the broad side of the barn" which now represents weak hitters instead of wild pitchers. The traditional red barn was built as a "community barn raising" to raise awareness for Habitat for Humanity and stands as an icon for the agricultural heritage of the valley.

Radio broadcast[]

The Rawhide are heard terrestrially on KJUG AM 1270 and over the internet through their website www.rawhidebaseball.com.

Notable Visalia alumni[]

Pop culture[]

As a minor league affiliate of the Oakland A's at the time, the Visalia Oaks were prominently mentioned in the Michael Lewis Book 'Moneyball', and also featured a few times during the 2011 movie Moneyball (which took place in 2002). In one scene, Billy Beane is driving to see the Visalia Oaks during the A's winning streak, and another shows Billy watching video of Visalia Oaks catcher Jeremy Brown tripping and then diving back to first on a ball that turned out to be a home run.

In the 1988 film Bull Durham, Visalia was mentioned as a potential managing job for aging catcher Crash Davis, played by Kevin Costner.

In the 1994 film Little Big League, a Visalia Oaks pennant can be seen hanging on the wall in the main characters' bedroom.

Roster[]

Alumni[]

• Visalia Oaks
• Central Valley Rockies
• Visalia Mets
• Visalia Redlegs

Minor league affiliations[]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website
• Statistics from Baseball-Reference