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The Ventura County Gulls were a minor league baseball team in Ventura, California. They were a Class A-Advanced team that played in the California League, and were a farm team of the Toronto Blue Jays for the franchise's only year as the Gulls. They played all of their home games at the baseball field at Ventura College. In spite of the fact the Gulls' roster featured 14 future Major League Baseball players in their lone year, Ventura County did not make the playoffs; instead, they lost a tiebreaker to the Visalia Oaks. Coupled with the poor attendance mark by the Gulls, this proved too much to bear for the struggling franchise. Prior to the 1987 season, the Ventura County Gulls were sold and moved to San Bernardino, California, where the franchise became the San Bernardino Spirit.

Due to a lack of lights at Ventura College's baseball stadium, the Gulls were one of the few minor league teams (if not the only team) in the nation to have every home game played in the afternoon. This major restriction put Ventura County last in the California League in total home attendance (with 38,818) and was the main reason why the Gulls stayed in Ventura for only one season.

Team identity

The team conducted a survey for a team name at the Ventura County Fair in 1985. Over 200 different names were submitted. The owners, who felt it fitting for the community's coastal location, selected the Gulls. Local artist Chris Martinez designed the Gulls logos. "The Gull in Flight logo is used on the Gulls' office stationery and will be on the player's uniform caps. The Batting Gull has been used for promotional flyers and will be featured on various Gulls memorabilia being sold at the ballpark. Both logos typify the characteristics of the Gull. The 'flight' logo depicts the beauty and face of a bird in flight; while the 'batting gull' shows the scrappy and competitive nature of this sea bird. It is only fitting a beautiful coastal town such as Ventura would adopt the name 'Gulls' for its team." The Gulls would adopt the color scheme of their parent club, the Blue Jays.

After fielding 10 clubs in 1984, the California League of Minor League Baseball made due with 9 members in 1985 after the Lodi Crushers withdrew from the league. In early 1985, Ventura County natives and former Major League ballplayers Ken McMullen and Jim Colborn, along with an erstwhile mortician named Jim Biby, acquired an option to purchase and relocate the dormant Crushers franchise for the 1986 season. Their plan was to build a 3,000-seat econo park in Camarillo, an hour north of Los Angeles.

McMullen and Co. ended up obtaining the Crushers for $125,0001 although the ballpark project fell through where they were forced to seek temporary accommodations at Ventura College’s baseball stadium, which had no lights and prohibited the sale of alcohol, therefore all 72 Ventura County Gulls home games were afternoon matinees. With no beer.

Major league alumni

All players are listed in alphabetical order by their surname, with the year they played for the Ventura County Gulls in parentheses.

• Kevin Batiste (1986)
• Gerónimo Berroa (1986)
• Domingo Martinez (1986)
• José Mesa (1986)
• Enrique Burgos (1986)
• Francisco Cabrera (1986)
• Jeff Musselman (1986)
• Greg Myers (1986)
• Carlos Diaz (1986)
• Rob Ducey (1986)
• Todd Stottlemyre (1986)
• David Wells (1986)
• Dave Walsh (1986)
• Eric Yelding (1986)

Team manager was Glenn Ezell and the pitching coach was Jim Colborn.

Season-by-season record

References

1. 1986 California League Review – The Baseball Cube
2. Ventura County Gulls Baseball Program 1986

External links

• Stats Crew Ventura County Gulls

• Defunct baseball teams in California
• Ventura County Gulls players
• Sports in Ventura County, California
• Defunct California League teams
• Toronto Blue Jays minor league affiliates
• Baseball teams disestablished in 1986
• Baseball teams established in 1986