The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Dehler Park since 2008. The team previously played at Cobb Field.
History
The Mustangs joined the Class C Pioneer League in 1948, then a full-season league. The club was founded by Brown Derby founder Bob Cobb, a Billings native who enlisted Hollywood stars such as Bing Crosby, Cecil B. DeMille, Robert Taylor, and Barbara Stanwyck to purchase stock at $500 to $1,000 apiece to help launch the club. Local residents also purchased stock to help fund $100,000 in upgrades to Billings' Athletic Park, which was renamed for Cobb.
In the inaugural 1948 season, the Mustangs were an independent club, though they maintained a loose relationship with Cobb's other club, the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League. After their inaugural season, the Mustangs had affiliations with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1949–1951), Pittsburgh Pirates (1952–1956), and St. Louis Cardinals (1957–1963), winning Pioneer League championships in 1950, 1957, 1959, and 1962. However, despite this success, the club folded following the 1963 season, ending a sixteen-season run.
After going dark for five seasons, the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion created the need for more minor league affiliates. The Mustangs were reborn in the now short-season Pioneer League as the Rookie-level affiliate of the Seattle Pilots in 1969. That was followed by a four-year stint as an affiliate of the Kansas City Royals (1970–1973), earning Pioneer League titles in 1972 and '73. Future Baseball Hall of Fame inductee George Brett began his professional career with the 1971 Mustangs.
In 1974, the Mustangs signed as an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, beginning a relationship with the Reds that stretched for 47 years. As of 2019, the Reds-Mustangs partnership was tied for the fifth-longest affiliation in all of Minor League Baseball.
Billings claimed league championships in 1978 and 1983, with the 1978 team becoming best-known for the record-breaking exploits of Gary Redus, who set a still-standing all-time minor league record by batting .462. The late 80's were leaner, but still featured memorable moments, including snapping the minor league record 29-game winning streak of the Salt Lake City Trappers in 1987 and featuring future Hall of Famer pitcher Trevor Hoffman in 1989, who played shortstop that season before moving to the mound a year later.
The Mustangs won three consecutive Pioneer League championships from 1992 to 1994, then won another in 1997. The 1994 season featured a club-record fifteen-game winning streak and a perfect game by Jason Robbins on August 1, the only perfect game thrown in the Pioneer League since 1951 and one of only three in the league's 85-year history.
After sweeping the Provo Angels in the 2001 championship series, the Mustangs repeated the feat in 2003. In the latter year, Billings, the last team to qualify for the postseason, won game one at Provo 8–5 in 11 innings, then, Billings won 3–0 on a no-hitter by James Paduch to win the championship in front of a sold-out Cobb Field in Billings. The game was a pitchers' duel between two of the top pitchers in the league (Provo's being 2003 Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year Abel Moreno).
In 2006, Chris Valaika set a Pioneer League record with a 32-game hitting streak during the Mustangs 51-win campaign. The Mustangs snapped an 11-year drought in 2014 with their Pioneer League-record 15th league championship.
The Billings Mustangs changed their logo for the 2006 season. The 2007 season was their last at Cobb Field and the Mustangs begin the 2008 season at Dehler Park. On September 11, 2014, the Mustangs defeated the Orem Owlz for their first Pioneer League Championship since the 2003 season. After the 2014 season, the team introduced its new ownership group, Main Street Baseball at a December 5 in a press conference at Dehler Park.
After the cancellation of the 2020 season, Major League Baseball contracted 43 minor league franchises for the 2021 season, including all eight members of the Pioneer League. The Pioneer League converted to an independent baseball league and became an MLB Partner League.
In this new arrangement, the Mustangs enjoyed a playoff appearance under the leadership of former MLB manager Jim Riggleman in 2022, before reaching the Pioneer League championship series in 2023, where they fell to the Ogden Raptors.
In its time as a Rookie or Advanced Rookie team, Billings was the first experience with professional baseball for most players. Many major league stars have begun their pro careers in Billings. These include George Brett, Reggie Sanders, Paul O'Neill, Trevor Hoffman, Keith Lockhart, Danny Tartabull, Ben Broussard, Scott Sullivan, Aaron Boone, Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, and B. J. Ryan.
Playoffs
1949: Defeated Salt Lake City 2–0 in semifinals; lost to Pocatello 3–2 in finals. 1950: Defeated Pocatello 2–0 in semifinals; defeated Twin Falls 3–0 to win league championship 1952: Lost to Pocatello 2–0 in semifinals 1953: Lost to Great Falls 2–0 in semifinals 1954: Lost to Great Falls 2–1 in semifinals 1957: Defeated Salt Lake City 3–2 to win league championship 1959: Defeated Great Falls 2–1 in semifinals; defeated Idaho Falls 3–1 to win league championship 1962: Defeated Boise 3–0 to win league championship 1963: Defeated Great Falls 2–0 in semifinals; lost to Idaho Falls 2–1 in finals 1978: Defeated Idaho Falls 2–0 to win league championship 1980: Lost to Lethbridge 2–1 in finals 1983: Defeated Calgary 3–1 to win league championship 1984: Lost to Helena 3–1 in finals 1992: Defeated Salt Lake 2–0 to win league championship 1993: Defeated Helena 3–2 to win league championship 1994: Defeated Helena 2–1 to win league championship 1995: Lost to Medicine Hat 2–1 in semifinals 1997: Defeated Idaho Falls 2–0; defeated Great Falls 2–0 to win league championship 1999: Defeated Idaho Falls 2–0; lost to Missoula 2–0 in finals 2001: Defeated Missoula 2–1 in semifinals; defeated Provo 2–0 to win league championship 2002: Lost to Great Falls 2–0 in semifinals 2003: Defeated Provo 2–0 to win league championship 2004: Defeated Great Falls 2–0 in semifinals, lost to Provo 2–0 in finals 2005: Lost to Helena 2–0 in semifinals 2006: Lost to Missoula 2–0 in semifinals 2008: Lost to Great Falls 2–0 in semifinals 2014: Defeated Great Falls 2–0 in semifinals; defeated Orem 2–0 to win league championship 2015: Lost to Missoula 2–1 in semifinals 2016: Defeated Great Falls 2–1 in semifinals; lost to Orem 2–0 in finals. 2018: Lost to Great Falls 2–0 in semifinals. 2019: Lost to Idaho Falls 2–1 2022: Lost to Missoula 2-1 in semifinals. 2023: Defeated Missoula 2-1 in semifinals; lost to Ogden 2-0 in finals. 2026: Defeated Missoula 2-0 in semifinals; defeated Long Beach 2-0 in finals.
Roster Source:
Hall of Fame alumni
George Brett (1971) Inducted, 1999 Trevor Hoffman (1989) Inducted, 2018
Notable alumni
1948 Charlie Root (Player-Manager) 1949 Larry Shepard (Player-Manager) 1950 Larry Shepard (Player-Manager) 1951 Larry Shepard (Player-Manager) 1952 Dick Stuart 1955 Bennie Daniels, Dick Stuart 1956 Ellis Burton 1957 Chris Cannizzaro, Mel Nelson 1958 Jim Hickman 1959 Whitey Kurowski (Player-Manager) 1960 Doug Clemens 1969 Rick Auerbach, Gorman Thomas, Jim Slaton 1970 Al Cowens, Greg Minton, Jim Wohlford 1971 George Brett (Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 1999), Mark Littell 1972 Jamie Quirk 1973 Ruppert Jones, Bob McClure, Rodney Scott 1974 Steve Henderson, Mike LaCoss, Ron Oester, Harry Spilman 1975 Frank Pastore, Larry Rothschild 1976 Eddie Milner 1977 Tom Foley, Joe Price, Greg Riddoch 1978 Skeeter Barnes, Nick Esasky, Gary Redus 1980 Dave Miley, Danny Tartabull 1981: Paul O'Neill 1982 Tom Browning, Kal Daniels 1983 Gary Denbo, Rob Dibble, Lenny Harris, Jeff Montgomery, Joe Oliver, Kurt Stillwell 1984 Troy MacDonald 1985 Don Wakamatsu 1986 Keith Lockhart 1987 Jack Armstrong, Butch Henry, Reggie Jefferson, Ed Taubensee 1988 Reggie Sanders, Jerry Spradlin 1989 Trevor Hoffman (Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2018) 1992 Chad Mottola, Eric Owens, Donnie Scott (Manager) 1993 Paul Bako, Chris Sexton, Scott Sullivan, Donnie Scott (Manager) 1994 Aaron Boone, John Riedling, Donnie Scott (Manager) 1995 Ray King, Jason LaRue, John Riedling, Donnie Scott (Manager) 1996 Lance Davis 1997 Gookie Dawkins, Scott Williamson, DeWayne Wise 1998 Todd Coffey, Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, B. J. Ryan, Russ Nixon (Manager) 1999 Ben Broussard, Scott Dunn, John Koronka, Brad Salmon, Russ Nixon (Manager) 2000 Russ Nixon (Manager), Randy Ruiz 2001 Todd Coffey, Edwin Encarnación, Rick Burleson (Manager), Ted Power (Pitching Coach) 2002 William Bergolla, Rick Burleson (Manager) 2003 Rick Burleson (Manager), Chris Dickerson, Miguel Perez, Joey Votto 2004 Paul Janish, Craig Tatum, Chris Sabo (Hitting Coach) 2005 Jay Bruce, Carlos Fisher, Sam LeCure, Adam Rosales, Jeff Stevens, Travis Wood, Rick Burleson (Manager) 2006 Danny Dorn, Juan Francisco, Chris Heisey, Marcos Mateo, Logan Ondrusek, Denis Phipps, Josh Roenicke, Jordan Smith, Drew Stubbs, Justin Turner, Chris Valaika, Rick Burleson (Manager) 2007 Scott Carroll, Enerio Del Rosario, Todd Frazier, Jeremy Horst, Curtis Partch 2008 Justin Freeman, Josh Ravin, Miguel Rojas, Dave Sappelt, Neftali Soto 2009 Daniel Corcino, Didi Gregorius, Donnie Joseph 2010 Tucker Barnhart, Billy Hamilton, Yorman Rodríguez, Delino DeShields (Manager) 2011 Tony Cingrani, Carlos Contreras, Steve Selsky, Kyle Waldrop 2012 Amir Garrett, Jon Moscot, Sal Romano, Robert Stephenson, Jesse Winker 2013 Aristides Aquino, Ben Lively, Layne Somsen, Zack Weiss, Daniel Wright 2014 Tejay Antone, Aristides Aquino, Shed Long Jr., Tyler Mahle, Dick Schofield (Manager) 2015 Tanner Rainey, Jose Siri, Tyler Stephenson, Dick Schofield (Manager) 2016 TJ Friedl, Tony Santillan, Nick Senzel, Taylor Trammell 2017 Jeter Downs, Stuart Fairchild, Hunter Greene 2018 Jonathan India 2019 Noah Davis, Nick Lodolo 2022 Jim Riggleman (Manager) 2023 Dennis Rasmussen (Pitching Coach)
References
External links
Statistics from Baseball-Reference