Tri-City Dust Devils
Our most anticipated game! Dad and I meet on-field host Erik “The Peanut Guy” Mertens at Gesa Stadium in Pasco, Washington, home of the Tri-City Dust Devils, the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Their opponent: the Hillsboro Hops. And it’s my first Minor League first pitch!
The ever-present winds of eastern Washington whipped wildly as Dad and I pulled up to the front gates at Gesa Stadium in Pasco, Washington. We were there to see a game between the hometown Tri-City Dust Devils, the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, and the Hillsboro Hops. But what I was really looking forward to was meeting Erik “The Peanut Guy” Mertens, on-field host for the Dust Devils and unofficial Minor League super-ambassador.
Mertens joined the Dust Devils as a peanut vendor in their inaugural year in 2001. He was a high school senior involved in theater at the time, and he translated his skills and natural charisma to the ballpark, entertaining the crowd with juggling, songs, and skits. Two years later, the Dust Devils promoted him to on-field host.
Mertens is without question one of the nicest people you will ever meet. He is the face of the team, graciously meeting fans at the front gate, doing extensive promotional work, and spreading his unending love and enthusiasm for Minor League baseball across social media. Well aware of our trip through his beloved Pacific Northwest, Mertens greeted us warmly as we entered the ballpark.
It is no overstatement to say that Mertens has become the face of the Dust Devils. In fact, there are two life-size bobbleheads on display at Gesa Stadium: one of them depicts two-sport superstar Russell Wilson, who played second base for the Dust Devils in 2010 before becoming a Super Bowl-winning quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks; the other is Erik Mertens, complete with his signature apron, khaki shorts, and bow tie.
The Dust Devils origin story goes back to 1999, when an ownership group claimed Triple-A rights to the city of Portland to bring the Portland Beavers back to life. The city had been home to the Portland Rockies of the Northwest League, at the time a Class-A Short Season league. The Rockies made room for the Beavers and moved to Pasco to become the Dust Devils, joining a trend of Minor League teams shedding the names of their parent clubs to better identify with their local communities.
The principal owner of the team is Hall-of-Famer George Brett, who also owns significant shares in the Minor League Spokane Indians and Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Tri-City became affiliated with the San Diego Padres in 2015, then switched to the Angels in 2021. They have made five championship series in their 22 seasons of existence but have yet to win a title.
Gesa Stadium opened in 1995 as Tri-City Stadium, hosting the Tri-City Posse of the independent Western Baseball League for its first six seasons. The ballpark can seat 3,654 fans; in 2022, it averaged less than 1,700 per game, lowest in the six-team Northwest League.
Gesa Stadium’s most recognizable feature is its massive, 137-foot sunshade, added to the first-base side in 2007 to protect fans on the third-base side from the setting sun at the southern-facing ballpark.
Dad and I made our way to the team store to make some critical headwear selections. We also took the opportunity to donate to “Ed’s Fund” in honor of Mertens’ late father. Ed Mertens had a habit of secretly buying souvenirs at the ballpark and giving them to his son to distribute to young fans at the game. His legacy lives on through fan donations to the Ed’s Fund gift cabinet at Gesa Stadium.
We checked out the hats on offer, including the attractive Viñeros de Tri-City brand that honors the heritage of local winemaking through Minor League Baseball’s Copa de la Diversión Latin outreach program. In the end, we picked two classics, with Dad choosing the Dust Devil insignia and me picking the clever “TC” logo, with a swirling wind forming the "C.”
Team mascot Dusty the Dust Devil made his acquaintance with Dad as we settled in. Dusty was quite friendly during our visit, though I found his grin to be vaguely unsettling.
Mertens invited me to throw out the first pitch, a new honor for me at a Minor League game. He also asked Dad to join us to act as “umpire” for the ceremonial toss.
As we waited for the pre-game festivities to commence, Erik shared his notes for the game. On-field hosts get quite a workout during a Minor League baseball game, filling the time between innings with contests, trivia, and announcements. The pitch clock — instituted first in the Minors before being introduced in Major League baseball in 2023 — has made their work even more hectic.
The time had come for my second first pitch of the road trip. I had been relieved to get the ball over the plate — though a little high — in my first attempt with the West Coast League Cowlitz Black Bears. The stakes felt much higher at a Minor League game. This time, with my Dad in his theatrical element as umpire and Mertens manning the camera, I threw an actual strike.
Both the Hops and the Dust Devils came into the game with a 1-2 record early in the second half, hoping for another chance at reaching the playoffs after the Eugene Emeralds had taken the first half.
The two managers brought their lineup cards to the plate. Dust Devils manager “Cactus” Jack Howell played 11 season in the Major Leagues, having success early on with the California Angels as a third baseman with some pop in his bat. Following a single season with the Padres, Howell played four seasons in Japan, winning the Central League’s Most Valuable Player award after leading the league in home runs (38) and batting average (.331) while playing for the Yakult Swallows. He finished his career back in Anaheim and then Houston, later serving as the hitting instructor for the Arizona Diamondbacks and manager of the Class-A Short Season Burlington Bees.
Hops skipper Vince Harrison never made it to the big leagues, but he did play five Minor League seasons in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, New York Mets, and Florida Marlins organizations, hitting .274 overall. He missed two years due to injuries and later played four seasons of independent baseball, hitting .311. Those numbers made him a natural hitting instructor in the Diamondbacks organization before moving on to manage the Class-A Short Season Kane County Cougars in 2019 and the Hops beginning in 2021.
The Dust Devils started left-hander Nick Mondak, drafted by the Angels just two years earlier out of St. John’s University. He had given up five earned runs in five innings or fewer in each of his last three starts. But the third batter of the game, Hops third baseman A.J. Vukovich, sent the first pitch he saw over the left-field wall.
Mondak recovered quickly and allowed no further hits for the next five-plus innings.
Hillsboro sent right-hander Ross Carver to the mound. The 20th-round pick out of Dallas Baptist University in 2021 made it through the first two innings without trouble. But Tri-City pounced on him in the third, with four straight hits followed by errors and walks. Carver did not make it out of the inning, and the home team led 4-1.
I took a quick tour of my eating options and settled on a German sausage with peppers and onions at Dusty’s Grill. I loved it, but I think Dad won dinner with his outstanding foot-long hot dog — freshly grilled, super thick, and big enough for two buns!
Mertens was kind enough to hang out with Dad and me while he worked, running a musical chairs game, overseeing a sack race, and interviewing us about the trip.
After the fifth inning, Dusty led a group of kids on a quick sprint across the outfield.
A lovely sunset warmed the proceedings but brought a few chills to Dad, who found a perfect remedy in the team shop.
The Hops kicked off a rally in the seventh, getting two runs on three hits and chasing Mondak from the game. The home team clung to a 4-3 lead.
Gesa Stadium’s sunshield had finished its work for the day. It now towered over the field as a dramatic silhouette backed by a spectrum of color.
Cameras set up by scouts captured a collapse in the Dust Devils bullpen, as the Hops put two more runs on the board in the eighth to take the lead, 5-4.
I asked Erik if I could turn the tables and interview him quickly, primarily to get him to speak about his love for Minor League Baseball. He spoke from the heart about the strong local community, giving support to the great young talent on display, and how traveling to Minor League ballparks is the best way to see the country.
Former Oregon State star Nathan Burns (no relation) came on for Tri-City in the ninth and promptly gave up three more runs. Hillsboro had pulled away and now led it 8-4.
Four Hops relievers combined to hold the Dust Devils scoreless over the final 6 1/3 innings, giving the visitors the win.
It’s never good to see the home team lose, but it had been a fantastic night for the two of us — meeting Erik Mertens, both of us on the field for the first pitch, good baseball, excellent ballpark food, and a bunch of new merch for our suitcases. And we still had six more games coming up that week.