Portland Baseball by the Numbers: Hops, Pickles, and More
Barley T. Hop, the mascot for the Hillsboro Hops, a minor league affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks
Image: Thomas Teal
While Major League Baseball fans adjust to the many rule changes introduced this season—including bigger bases to encourage more steals and a pitch clock meant to hustle games along—around here it’s the MiLB changes that are looming large, specifically for one local ballpark. The 10-year-old Ron Tonkin Field, home of the Hillsboro Hops, apparently doesn’t meet all the standards for High A minor league, which include upgraded facilities and amenities for home and visiting teams; specifications for food and dining areas; accommodations for female staff, players, and umpires; and upgraded training areas. In March, the Hillsboro City Council decided building a new park made more sense than renovating the old one. The new facility is set to open next door to Tonkin Field, and still be part of the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex, in 2025.
$15.5m Construction cost of Ron Tonkin Field, completed in 2013 with a capacity of 4,500
$120m Anticipated cost of new stadium, with a capacity of 6,000 for baseball games, with funding from the team, the state, and Hillsboro’s existing hotel tourism tax
3 Existing baseball fields at Gordon Faber that will be replaced by the new stadium
$80m Anticipated cost of new Emeralds stadium in Eugene, funded in part by a tourism-tax increase
66 Scheduled 2023 regular-season home games for the Hops, with promos including a wedding-attire-encouraged game, a Marvel night, a dentist-sponsored Smile Day, and Barley T. Hop’s 10th birthday
38 Scheduled 2023 regular-season home games for the Pickles, including a Goonies theme night, a Bill Nye game, a corgi celebration (but all dogs are welcome), and a California People Moving to Portland night
60–100 Estimated number of permanent tattoos applied per season at the Pickles’ Tattoo Tuesdays
21 Years between postseason appearances (from 2001 to 2022) for the Seattle Mariners, the closest MLB team to Portland
67 Diameter, in feet, of the Jantzen Beach Carousel, which the Portland Diamond Project had hoped to take out of storage and site at a new MLB ballpark
