General manager,
Tom Green, who also served as its first manager, started the Alameda
Merchant baseball club in 1977. They played in the Ala-Costa Senior Babe
Ruth League, playing only one home game at Krusi Park and having Merchant
uniforms for their last two games.
Mr. Green's
concept was to give the best sixteen through eighteen-year-old baseball
players in Alameda the unique opportunity to play in a program similar to
a college or minor league level program, show casing the players
commitment and skills to college and pro scouts while playing quality
teams. This is still the foundation for the program today.
Don Murray, and
outstanding college baseball player and coach at Alameda High School
became its second manager in 1978 and served until 1987. During this time
the Merchant teams made it to the Northern California State Tournament,
all but one year, compiling a record of 291 wins, 181 losses, and 7 ties.
Steve Yamasaki
became the manager in 1988 and the team compiled a record that year of 41
wins, losing only 14 games. They won the State Tournament, the Pacific
Southwest Regional Tournament and finished second in the Babe Ruth World
Series losing two extra inning games to Marrieta, Georgia, who won a
second National Championship as a team that year. Steve continued the
success from 1989 to 1997 as the Merchants compiled a record of 237 wins,
123 losses, and 6 ties, playing in the Northern California State
Tournament each year except 1991 when the Merchants did not field a team.
Rick Hubbs took
over the reigns of the Merchant team in 1998 and the team played in the
Northern California State Tournament. Gary Nelson was the General manager
of the program.
In 1999, John
Harris became the Merchant Manager, moving up from a highly successful
year as Manager of the Mariners, the sixteen-year-old team that won the
Northern California State Championship and went to the Southwest Regional
Tournament in Bakersfield. Don Sherratt, moving with John from the Mariner
program assumed the General Manager position. The team qualified for the
Northern California State Tournament, finishing in third place at
Woodland. The Alameda Babe Ruth Program started a very successful Memorial
Day Tournament that attracted the best teams in Northern California. The
tournament continues being a success.
Mike Gerson took
over the Merchant program in 2000 and the team qualified for the Northern
California State Tournament and traveled to Whitefish, Montana to play in
a select tournament of the Pacific Northwest and Canadian teams. The team
played an intense schedule of thirty-nine games in fifty days.
The Merchants did
not field a team in 2001, but Tim Marr took the Mariner team through a
successful season, playing in tournaments in Reno, Nevada, and Whitefish,
Montana and finishing second in the Northern California State Tournament
in Galt.
Tim Marr took over
the manager's position in 2002. The Merchant team had a successful season
in 2002 and 2003 playing an intense schedule. Traveling those two years to
Mesa, Arizona during the Fourth of July week, the team played in a
thirty-two team tournament held a the training fields of the Chicago Cubs.
Other major tournaments where the team found success were in Sacramento,
Reno, and Santa Barbara.
Tom Greens' vision
still continues as a number of Merchant players are playing college baseball this year.
Those Serving the Merchant Teams:
General Managers:
Diane Bustos 1993-95
Tom Green 1977-87
Rich Hubbs 1998
Bill Leitz 1996
Mario Mariani 1988-90
Gary Nelson 1997
Ray Ortner 1992
Don Sherratt 1999-2005
Ron Matthews 2006
Nan Klein 2007-08
Dave Boyd 2009
