The Sonoma County Crushers were a minor league baseball

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 team located in Rohnert Park, California

Rohnert Park, California

Rohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco. The population at the 2010 United States Census was 40,971. It is an early planned city, modeled directly after Levittown, New York and Levittown, Pennsylvania. Rohnert Park is the...

. They were a member of the independent Western Baseball League

Western Baseball League

The Western Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in the Western United States and Western Canada. It's member teams were not associated with any Major League Baseball teams. It operated from 1995 to 2002....

, and were not affiliated with any Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 team.

The team mascot was "Crusher" with his large purple feet for stomping grapes. The team played in the wine country to which the region is famous. "Crusher" was a large furry animal and referred to as the "Abominable Sonoman." The Ballard family participated in team activities, and Joel, now in the USMC, was a marvelous "Crusher." Chris "Kirby" Anderson substituted as Crusher on occasion. Now, he works with top secret stuff at Lawrence Livermore. Local fans loved the games not only for the baseball, but because there were lively contests during the inning breaks making the games a fun family experience.

The team was one of the founding members of the league, beginning play in 1995. They won their first and only league championship in 1998. The team folded with the league after the 2002 season. The Crushers were the only team in the WBL that remained in constant operation through the league's eight years. At one point, former San Francisco Giants

San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

 outfielder

Outfielder

Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

 Kevin Mitchell

Kevin Mitchell (baseball player)

Kevin Darnell Mitchell is a former American Major League Baseball left fielder. He became widely known not only for his occasional brilliance on the field, but also for his unpredictable and sometimes volatile behavior off the field.-New York Mets:In Amazin, Peter Golenbock's oral history of the...

 managed the Crushers.

The team played in Rohnert Park Stadium

Rohnert Park Stadium

Rohnert Park Stadium was a stadium in Rohnert Park, California, located at . It was primarily used for baseball, and was the home field of the Redwood Pioneers and the Sonoma County Crushers minor league baseball teams. It was built in 1981 and held 4,150 people...

, which was built in 1981 for the California League

California League

The California League is a Class A Advanced minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High-A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...

's now-defunct Redwood Pioneers

Redwood Pioneers

The Redwood Pioneers were a minor league baseball of California League. They were part of the California Angels farm system. The Pioneers played in Rohnert Park, California during the early 1980s . The team produced players such as Kirk McCaskill, Mark McLemore and Devon White to name a few...

. The team's mascot was Crusher, the Abominable Sonoman.

The team produced one notable professional baseball player in Chad Zerbe

Chad Zerbe

Chad Zerbe is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for the San Francisco Giants from 2000 to 2003.-Career:...

 who pitched for the San Francisco Giants from 2000-2003 including Three appearances in the 2002 World Series

2002 World Series

The 2002 World Series was a best-of-seven playoff series to determine the champion of Major League Baseball for the 2002 season. It was the 98th such contest between the champions of the American League and National League , and featured the AL champion Anaheim Angels against the NL champion San...

against the Anaheim Angels. He was credited with a win in Game 5.