When the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes kicked off the 2015 season in search of their first-ever California League Championship as a Dodgers affiliate on April 9, it became very obvious very quickly that this team was special. They had a brand new manager (Bill Haselman), a brand new pitching coach (Bill Simas) and a brand new assistant coach (Rafael Ozuna) joining their returning hitting coach (Mike Eylward). The franchise (and the entire Dodgers organization) also had a brand new Director of Player Development – former major leaguer Gabe Kapler – who clearly ran a much tighter ship and is far more respected than his predecessor De Jon Watson, who left the organization for a position with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Under this great great staff, the Quakes put together a first half that saw them lead the Cal League South standings for nearly the entire first half, posting a 40-29 record (with one game remaining).

“They play hard, they do what they’re supposed to do and they workout hard,” said Haselman of his players. “I expect a lot of things from them.”

It is abundantly clear that Haselman’s players absolutely think the world of him.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

All of that hard work paid off on Saturday night when the Quakes won the 2015 Cal League South first half title with a decisive 5-2 win over the Rawhide in Visalia.

Without question, one of the guys responsible for the Quakes first Cal League title since 2011 was Dodgers top pitching prospect Jose De Leon, who posted a 4-1 record and a remarkable 1.67 ERA while striking out 58 batters in 37.2 innings pitched. I say was because De Leon, the Dodgers number six ranked prospect, was promoted to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers on May 14 where he continues to put up incredible numbers.

Dodgers top pitching prospect Jose De Leon is a big reason why the Quakes are the 2015 Cal League South first half champions. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

But even to the casual observers this 2015 Quakes team seemed different right from the beginning. They seemed to have gelled unusually fast and seem to all get along exceptionally well.

“It’s a great bunch of guys, there’s not a bunch of different cliques,” said 19-year-old Quakes first baseman Cody Bellinger, who will represent the team in next week’s Cal League versus Carolina League All-Star Game. “We’re all one team and we all support each other and that’s the biggest thing.”

But even Bellinger, who also played a huge role in the team’s first half success, credits the Quakes coaching staff for their great first half run and helping the team gel very quickly.

“Good coaches, obviously. They all bring us together,” said Bellinger. “Good team camaraderie, we all do stuff together [on and off the field]. It’s a fun group of guys.”

2015 Cal League All-Star Cody Bellinger is a big reason why the Quakes won the first half title.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Winning the first half was no walk in the park for Haselman’s team. Not only were they in a fight to the end with their division rival Lancaster JetHawks – the defending 2014 Cal League champions – for the top spot in the Cal League South, but they also had to face the Visalia Rawhide in a crucial four-game series to end the first half. The Rawhide, who themselves secured a playoff berth by winning the Cal League North title, own the best overall record in the extremely competitive California League at 42-27.

Entering the series with Visalia the Quakes held a scant one-game lead over the JetHawks with a magic number was four. Their odds improved when they took the series opener from Visalia by a score of 4-2 on Thursday night but the JetHawks also won on Thursday to keep the lead at one game but dropping the magic number to three. And although Rancho dropped the second game of the series on Friday night by a score of 10-6, they got a little help from the Lake Elsinore Storm who defeated the JetHawks to drop the magic number to two. The JetHawks then lost again to the Storm on Saturday night while the Quakes mounted their exciting come-from-behind win over the Rawhide to clinch the Cal League South first half title and punch their ticket to the 2015 California League playoffs, which begin during the second week of September.

Although the Quakes last appeared in the playoffs in 2013 as a Wild Card team, this is their first Cal League title since 2011. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

As has been the case the entire season, there were several heroes in Saturday night’s title-clinching win over Visalia. But without question game MVP honors go to Quakes first baseman Tyler Ogle. After Bellinger drew a huge two-out walk in the top of the seventh inning with the game tied 2-2, Ogle crushed a two-run home run to left-center – his team-leading 13th of the season – to give the Quakes a 4-2 lead. And although the Quakes added another run in the top of the eighth on a Brandon Dixon solo home run, it was Ogle’s two-run blast in the seventh that sealed the deal in the Quakes eventual 5-2 win over their northern counterparts.

Tyler Ogle’s seventh-inning two run blast guaranteed a spot in the 2015 Cal League championship for the Quakes. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

With the first half of the season now completed (after Sunday’s game), there will undoubtedly be some promotions during the second half and the team that took the field on Opening Day will look nothing like the team that takes the field in Game-1 of the playoffs. But Quakes fans have got to like their chances to win their first Dodgers affiliated Cal league championship in September.

Why?

Because the Dodgers Low Single-A affiliate Great Lakes Loons also clinched a playoff berth in the Midwest League on Saturday night and several of their players will undoubtedly be promoted to Rancho Cucamonga as well – perhaps even 2014 first-round draft pick right-hander Grant Holmes and second-round draft pick outfielder Alex Verdugo.