June 17th, 2016 at 6:00 am 
by Harold Uhlman The Ogden Raptors are the Dodgers’ Rookie League team in the Pioneer league. The Raptors are an advanced rookie team that became affiliated with the Dodgers in 2003. Prior to that, the Ogden team was an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Ogden, with a population of about 83,000, claims to be the oldest settlement in Utah dating back to 1845 and has a long history with minor league baseball of over 100 years.
The Raptors are blessed to play in one of the most beautiful settings in professional baseball. In fact, Lindquist Field, which was built in the heart of downtown Ogden in 1997, was named the “Best View” by Baseballparks.com – not just in the Pioneer League but in all of Baseball. Digitalballparks.com gave Lindquist Field the same honor and also awarded it the 2007 Ballpark of the Year. Not alone in their assessment, a staff writer for Grand Slam Enterprises, Inc. also named the view beyond the fence as the best in professional baseball. The outfield fences are set against a breathtaking panoramic view the Wasatch Mountains, which majestically stand at 9,000 feet above sea level.
Many consider Lindquist Field to have the most beautiful backdrop in all of baseball.
(Photo courtesy of alwaysogden.com)
Lindquist Field has been the home of the Raptors since 1997. The ballpark is located in downtown Ogden, a town with a population of just over 80,000.
Paul Swaney, Stadium Journey Co-Founder writes: “Rookie Leagues like the Pioneer League are a great place to see a game in general. You will see more mistakes, but the hustle of these new professionals in undeniable. All of this combines for a very good ballpark experience if you make the journey to Ogden.
The beauty of minor league baseball is that there is so much to see, and it is a great way to get to know the United States. If you are planning a future MiLB road trip, be sure to keep Utah, and specifically a trip to Lindquist Field in Ogden on your potential agenda. You’ll be in for a real treat.”
The Raptors have led the Pioneer League in attendance every year since 1997 and did so again in 2015 with an average attendance of 3,300. The continued yearly attendance is due to the historically strong fan base and is buoyed by the ownership’s efforts to thank the fans in a variety of creative ways. Since 1997 upwards of one million free general admission tickets have been given away at local restaurants, thus supporting the team and the restaurant industry. “There’s a million of them (tickets),” said Raptors president and general manager Dave Baggott. “That’s a lot of them. It’s an unprecedented program. No one has ever done it. I challenge any other company to donate $5 million (worth of product) to their communities.”
The Ogden Raptors recently announced their broadcaster team for the 2016 season. Robbie Bullough returns for his second season as the director of broadcasting and media relations. A.P. Harreld joins the franchise for his first season as the assistant director.
“I am honored and humbled by this opportunity with such a first-class organization,” Harreld said. “I thank Dave Baggott for the opportunity and look forward to working for and learning from Robbie Bullough as we strive to make Raptors broadcasts the best that they can be.”
Shaun Larkin, 36, joins the Dodger organization as Ogden’s skipper following three seasons coaching in the Indians organization, including his managerial debut last year with Single-A Lake County Captains of the Midwest League.
“I’m honored and proud to be a part of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and look forward to representing us in the great city of Ogden this coming summer,” Larkin said. “It will be great to be a part of the Raptor family and share the experience of watching our up and coming stars play at Lindquist field.”
Don Alexander is new to the organization after spending the past four seasons as Houston’s High-A Lancaster JetHawks pitching coach. He enters his 25th season as a professional coach, which along with the Astros, includes time spent coaching in the minors for the San Diego Padres.
Twenty-seven year former catcher Austin Chubb is the very new Raptors hitting coach. Chubb appeared in 10 games with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in 2015 and chose minor league free agency after the season. Another 27-year old – Pedro Guerrero – also joins the Raptors coaching ranks.
The official mascot of the Ogden Raptors minor league baseball team is Oggie. Oggie is a cartoon green velociraptor dinosaur who wears the white home uniform with a ? as the number. He is a regular part of Raptors home games and events.
Ogden’s roster was set on Thursday, June 16th.
The Ogden Raptors 2016 opening day roster features 26 players from the Dodgers minor league organization, including 15 players who spent time in Ogden last season. At this point none of the Dodgers 2016 draft selections have been assigned to the Raptors although a few have been signed. Expect to see some of them in Ogden soon, perhaps first round selection Gavin Lux.
Shortly after signing his contract, Dodgers first round draft pick Gavin Lux posted this on Twitter.
(Image courtesy of @TheRealGavinLux)
Jairo Pacheco, a 2015 Pioneer League postseason All-Star, highlights the returning players. Joining Pacheco are fellow pitchers Andrew Istler, Rob McDonnell, Shea Spitzbarth, Corey Copping, Gregor Mora, Bernardo Reyes, Cameron Palmer, Willian Soto, Roberth Fernandez, and MJ Villegas.
Catchers Gersel Pitre and Garrett Hope also return to Ogden along with outfielders Jordan Paroubeck and Michael Medina.
Mitchell Hansen, the Dodgers’ 2nd round draft pick in 2015, highlights 11 newcomers to Ogden. He is joined by fellow position players Carlos Aquino, Moises Perez, Samuel Ortiz, Federico Celli, and Ibandel Isabel.
Catcher Luis Paz and pitchers Dillon Moyer, Jorge Gonzalez, Johan Diaz, and Miguel Ureña round out the Raptors opening day roster. Moyer returns to Ogden where he played during the 2013 season.
Ogden opens up the 2016 campaign at Idaho Falls against the Chukars on June 17th with the home opener on June 20th when the Raptors welcome Grand Junction Rockies to Lindquist Field.
The Raptors will host the 2016 All-Star game. In its second year with the new format, the Northwest League and Pioneer League All-Star Game is scheduled for August 2nd.
“Ogden is proud to host the game and looks forward to showing our friends from the Northwest League the best Lindquist Field and Ogden have to offer,” said Ogden Raptors president Dave Baggott. “It will be a big project for us but we will be excited and ready for the game.
It looks like another exciting season ready to kick off in Ogden.
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beautiful pic! Thanks for posting:)
The one name that popped for me is Mitch Hansen. So much was expected of Hansen as a 2015 #2 pick, and he got off to a horrible start last year. His strength was supposed to be his ability to hit for average and yet his line for 2015 was .201/.281/.282/.563. 9 XBH with zero HRs, and he struck out 51 times in 164 plate appearances. A #2 pick that was signed away from a Stanford scholarship, who is 20, should be at least at Great Lakes. Verdugo at the same age is excelling at AA. Willie Calhoun(21)a #4 pick last year went through Ogden, to Great Lakes, to Rancho all last year. He is now one of the better offensive players at AA. The FO seems to play it a little more safe with the pitchers, but they do look like they want to push the position players, so I will be very interested to see if Hansen can improve enough to get to Rancho this year. I love the kids, so I am really pulling for him.
Good observation. It will be interesting to see if can exit quickly from the Raptors.
His season at the plate got off to a very slow and most likely disappointing start but he recovered nicely with a .279 batting average in August along with a .353 OBP.
Even as an older high school player, some kids have a tough time the first time away from home. He probably felt more comfortable once he got better acclimated later in the season. I hope he continues with the good August he had last year. Hansen is someone I will follow closely this summer.
Didn’t Lasorda start his coaching career at Ogden?
Lasorda, who managed in Ogden from 1966-68, had his number four jersey retired. Lasorda is the first inductee into the Ogden Professional Baseball Wall of Fame.
“It is an honor and privilege to be recognized in Ogden,” said Lasorda. “Some of my best memories are of my time there as we played great baseball, made lifelong friendships, and had lots of fun.”
The Ogden Dodgers were the Dodgers’ Rookie League affiliate and played in the Pioneer League. During Lasorda’s three seasons in Ogden he posted a .607 winning percentage with an overall record of 119-77 while guiding his club to three consecutive Pioneer League championships.
Lasorda,developed 14 players who went to the big leagues during his years in Ogden, nine of which played for the Los Angeles Dodgers including Charlie Hough, Bill Russell, Bob Stinson, Steve Yeager, Bill Buckner, Steve Garvey, Tom Paciorek, Bobby Valentine, and Sandy Vance.
Thanks. I heard when Steve Garvey arrived at the hotel, Tommy came over and said something like, “You must be Garvey. You don’t know how lucky you are. Next week I’m going to start turning you guys into Dodgers!”