If you are reading this online the following statement will be true for you: This week, the Tri-City Dust Devils roll into town to take on our beloved C’s.
If you are reading this in our humble little newspaper, the following statement will be true for you: Last week, our beloved C’s took on and (presumably) mopped the floor with the Tri-City Dust Devils.
For some of you this is a series preview, and for some a series review. Time is relative. And also a circle, I’m told? Also, planning and organization have never been my strong suit. I have too much baseball to watch!
But let’s continue our virtual tour around the six-team strong North West League. Welcome to the greater Tri-City area, Washington!
The Team: The Tri City Dust Devils. I know what you’re thinking: what the heck are the three cities that make up this trifecta of cities the Dust Devils play for? Those would be: Richland, Kennewick and Pasco. They are three cities closely linked by the meeting of three rivers, nestled right at the bottom of Washington State.
The Dust Devils play out of Gesa Stadium in Pasco. So for the rest of this article, I will refer to them as The Pasco Dust Devils, in a subtle act of trolling.
Major League Team: The Dust Devils are a minor league affiliate The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. You know, the MLB team that has squandered the talents of Mike Trout and Shoei Ohtani? Yeah, that one.
How are they doing: The Pasco Dust Devils finished second last in the first half of the season and are currently sitting (as of this writing) in second half. Hence the headline.
3 facts: In an effort to better know our enemies, here are three facts about Pasco (and maybe Richland and Kennewick…depending) and their baseball squadron.
- The Principal owner of the team is hall-of-famer George Brett, best known for charging an umpire with an intent to kill after being ejected for using too much pine tar on his bat. It’s a fascinating piece of baseball lore and if you’ve never had a chance to look into it, I encourage you to do so!
- Wine Country. Apparently, Washington's Tri-Cities have around 200 wineries within a one-hour drive. So, if you’re a fan of vines and fermented grapes, you might want to consider visiting.
- The team’s colours, blue and khaki, are meant to represent the colours of the surrounding areas. The desert hills are kinda khaki, and the sky and rivers are, you guessed it, blue.
Player to watch out for: Zach Neto. Another quality baseball name. If you say it fast enough, it kind of sounds like Shar-nado. Also, he was a first-round pick in the 2022 MLB draft going 13th overall. He’s only played three games, but he’s come out the gate hot as all heck. Maybe me writing about it will jinx him into a slump? Only time will tell.
So there you have it. Hopefully see you down at the Nat this week (or hopefully I will have seen you at The Nat last week, depending when you read this) as we’re entering the home stretch of the season. Don’t squander the baseball season. Take in as many games as you can, because before you know it, we’ll all be pining for baseball while staring out a rainy window.
