Humboldt Crabs

Originally the Eureka Paladini Crabs, named for the Paladini Fish Company who sponsored the team from 1945 to 1947.

In the 77-year history of the Humboldt Crabs, over 300 players have continued on to play professional baseball, with over 60 former Crabs going all the way to the Major Leagues.[3] Dane Iorg played for the Crabs from 1968 to 1970.[4][5] John Oldham, a Crabs pitcher in 1952–53, was the first to make it all the way, playing for the Cincinnati Reds in 1956.[6] Leo Rosales, who pitched for the 2002 Crabs,[7] was called up to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2008.[8] 2003 Crabs infielder Brett Pill was called up to the San Francisco Giants in 2011, and was on the team's 2012 roster as a 1st baseman.[9][10] Most recently, Vinny Pestano, Bradley Zimmer, and Mike Redmond are all former Crabs.

Their best season, record-wise, was 1985 when the team won 46 consecutive games to start the season. Future Major Leaguers Mike Harkey, Eric Gunderson, Steve Olin, and Scott Chiamparino led a dominant pitching staff.

The Crabs play the majority of their games at home at the Arcata Ball Park,[11] owned by the City of Arcata.[12] The team is made up of college players from different NCAA programs throughout the U.S. The Humboldt Crabs are a non-profit baseball organization operated by a 12-member all-volunteer Board of Directors. Rivals include the Redding Colt .45s, the Fontanetti's Athletics, the Corvallis Knights, and the Seattle Studs.[13] Most recent opponents include Healdsburg Prune Packers, San Luis Obispo Blues, Seals Baseball, Walnut Creek Crawdads, Solano Mudcats, Marysville Gold Sox and many others from the CCL League. Past opponents include House of David, the Indianapolis Clowns, the Oakland Larks, the Los Angeles White Sox, the San Diego Tigers, the Portland Roses, Owl Drug, the Alaska Goldpanners, the Redding Browns, the Bend Elks, the Bellingham Bells, the North Pole Nicks, the Valley Green Giants, the Santa Barbara Foresters, the Anchorage Glacier Pilots, the Boulder Collegians, the Sacramento Smokeys, the Grand Junction Eagles, and Athletes in Action. Through the years the Crabs have run multiple secondary teams, the Humboldt Ports (1962), the Humboldt All-Stars (1996-2006), and the Humboldt Steelheads (2007-2011).

In 2007, the team's 63rd consecutive season, the Crabs overall season record was 42 - 12;[14] in 2008, the Crabs drew an average of 874 fans to the ball park and went 35 - 13 for the season;[15] in 2009 the Crabs record was 48–11;[16] in their 66th season, 2010, the Crabs went 43 - 9;[17][18] the 2019 team went 33-16. Find stats on the GameChanger app.

The Humboldt Crabs are a non-profit, community-oriented organization. Its mission is four-fold:

• To promote family entertainment by providing high-quality summer collegiate baseball games to the public at a reasonable price;
• To provide talented collegiate-level baseball players with a positive summer baseball experience;
• To support youth sports programs (with an emphasis on baseball or softball) in the Humboldt County area with contributions of funding and/or equipment as funds permit in addition to annual baseball skills camps and clinics operated by Humboldt Crabs players and coaches;
• To preserve and build the tradition of Humboldt Crabs Baseball.

• Most Valuable Player: Billy Hamm
• Offensive Player of the Year: Wyatt Reginatto
• Defensive Player of the Year: Peyton Miller
• Co-Pitcher of the Year: Nolan Long
• Co-Pitcher of the Year: Brady Chavez
• "Coaches Award" - Kevin Morsching/Scott Heinig Memorial Award: Cubby Cortez and Kawana Soares

Humboldt Crabs Fan Appreciation Day 2010

Humboldt Crabs Baseball, Inc is a 501(c)(4) community-owned organization. A volunteer board of directors rely on the support of community members & sponsors to keep the Humboldt Crabs Baseball operation functioning.

The Crabs joined the Far West League (FWL), which had ten teams participating in the 2011 season. The five-team FWL North Division included the Humboldt Crabs, Nor Cal Pirates, Redding Colt .45s, Nevada Bullets (formerly Reno Aces), and Southern Oregon RiverDawgs. The five-team FWL South Division included the Atwater Aviators, Fontanetti's Athletics, Neptune Beach Pearl, California Glory, and Fresno Cardinals. The Crabs were part of the West Coast League/Tri-State[21] (which was associated with the West Coast League in the Pacific Northwest) then merged with the Pacific West Baseball League to form the FWL. (The California Seals were originally an eleventh team in the FWL but are on hiatus for the 2011 season.)

(*)denotes California State Semi-Pro Champion

(^) denotes West of the Rockies Tournament Champion

(<) denotes All-American Invitational Champion

(~) denotes season not played due to the COVID-19 pandemic

National Rankings through 1985 are for finishes at the National Baseball Congress World Series in Wichita, Kansas.

(*)denotes California State Semi-Pro Champion

(^) denotes West of the Rockies Tournament Champion

(<) denotes All-American Invitational Champion

(~) denotes season not played due to the COVID-19 pandemic

70 former Crabs went on the play in the Major Leagues: Dave Melton (1949), John Oldham (1952-1953, 1961-1962), Chuck Nieson (1961), Danny Frisella (1964), Rich Nye (1965), Mike Paul (1965), Buzz Stephen (1965), Sandy Vance (1966), Steve Hovley (1966), Jim Nettles (1966), Bob Gallagher (1966), Greg Shanahan (1967-1970), Lute Barnes (1967-1968), Rick Sawyer (1967), Ken Hottman (1968), Ken Crosby (1968), Rick Miller (1968), Dane Iorg (1968-1970), Bruce Bochte (1969), Bill Bonham (1969), Eric Raich (1970), Bob Kammeyer (1971), Rich Dauer (1972), Frank LaCorte (1972), Warren Brusstar (1973), Steve Davis (1973), Barry Bonnell (1974), Sandy Wihtol (1974), Randy Niemann (1975), Bruce Benedict (1976), Joe Price (1976), Jim Wessinger (1976), Tim Tolman (1976), Mike Gates (1977), Stefan Wever (1977), Craig Lefferts (1978), Rich Bordi (1978), Jim Scranton (1978), Tom Dodd (1978-1979), Rod Booker (1979), Jack Fimple (1979-1980), La Schelle Tarver (1980), Jim Wilson (1981), Colin Ward (1981), Shane Turner (1982), Scott Anderson (1982-1983), Jose Mota (1983), John Fishel (1983), Xavier Hernandez (1984), Mike Harkey (1985), Scott Chiamparino (1985), Steve Olin (1985-86), Eric Gunderson (1985-86), Dennis Springer (1986), Scott Lewis (1986), Victor Cole (1987), Ed Giovanola (1988), Greg Gohr (1988), Gary Wilson (1989), Mike Redmond (1991), Mike Kinkade (1992), Roland Delamaza (1992), Mike Thurman (1993), Rob Ryan (1993), Josh Pearce (1998), Leo Rosales (2002), Brett Pill (2003), Vinnie Pestano (2004), Bradley Zimmer (2012), James Outman (2016), and David Hamilton (2016). Four players, Lee Gregory (1966-67), Bill Serena (1961), Eddie Kearse (1951), and Floyd Stromme (1950) played for the Crabs after playing in the MLB.

Bill Prentice (1946), Dick Clegg (1949), Roger Osenbaugh (1949-1950), Ed Hemingway (coach 1953), Bob Milano (player 1962-1963, coach 1979), Augie Garrido (1966), Mark Marquess (1966-1967), Russ McQueen (1971-1972), Berdy Harr (coach 1976-1977), Tom Beyers (1977-78), Pat Casey (1980), Dan Yokubaitis (1981-1982), Kerwin Danley (1982), Mike Dotterer (1982), Nick Fuscardo (coach 1983-1984), Gary Henderson (1983), Reggie Christiansen (player 1995-1996, coach 2000), Ron Mingo (2000-2003), Marco Grifantini (2004), Steve Detwiler (2007, 2009), Alex Crosby (2014), Alex Cappa (staffer 2015-2016), Tim Wheeler (coach 2016), and Tyler Ganus (2021).

Class of 2012: Ned Barsuglia, Bob Bonomini, Lou Bonomini, Adam Carr, Steve Fish, Mike Harkey, Dane Iorg, Rico Pastori, Greg Shanahan, Don Terbush, 1985 Team (51 Wins, 3 Losses)

Class of 2013: Eddie Oliveira, Don Carter, Sandy Vance, Mark Marquess, Randy Niemann, Craig Lefferts, Steve Olin, Tom Giacomini, Mike Redmond, Brian Blauser, 1968 Team (42 Wins, 11 Losses)

Class of 2014: Eldridge “Red” Hunt, Carl Del Grande, Dennis Pontoni, Augie Garrido, Rich Nye, Rich Bordi, Rod Booker, Steve Neel, Gary Wilson, Jeff Giacomini, 1981 Team (43 Wins, 10 Losses)

Class of 2015: Fred Papini, Douglas Clayton, Billy Olsen, Lute Barnes, Paul Ziegler, Shane Turner, Scott Eskra, Joe Gerber, Nick Giacone, 2003 Team (43 Wins, 5 Losses)

Class of 2016: Mark Pirrucello, John Oldham, Bruce Benedict, Jim Wilson, Burt Nordstrom, Chris DeBoo, Richard Cates, Jerry Nutter, Elvira Bonomini, 1999 Team (45 Wins, 3 Losses)

No Hall of Fame Class of 2017

Class of 2018: John Austin, Lee Iorg, Troy Schader, Leo Rosales, Pat Clements, Bob Milano, Jim "Spider" Thomas, Jack Fimple, Ugo Giuntini, 1990 team (44 Wins, 3 Losses)

Class of 2019: Hans Smith, Wade Hammond, Gregg Reynolds, Eric Gunderson, Al Masterson, Larry Taylor, David Ferres, Ken Dunaway, Joe Gallaty, Mary "Baseball Betty" Lacefield

No Hall of Fame Class of 2020-2022

Class of 2023: TBA

• Official website
• Video documentary "Humboldt Crabs Baseball," A Nutter Production