The Helena Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pioneer League located in Helena, Montana, from 1978 to 2018. The team played their home games at Kindrick Legion Field, which was built in 1939. They were affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers (1985–2000, 2003–2018) and Philadelphia Phillies (1978–1983).
Among the best-known players to play in Helena are Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg, who started his career with the Phillies in Helena, Gary Sheffield, who started his career with the Helena Gold Sox in 1986, Jeff Cirillo and Mark Loretta who began their careers with the 1991 and 1993 Helena Brewers, respectively; and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun.
History The Helena Phillies joined the Pioneer League in 1978, giving Helena a professional baseball team for the first time in 64 years. In 1984, the Helena Gold Sox won the Pioneer League Championship, a rarity for an independent club. The team hooked on with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1985 and changed its name to the Helena Brewers in 1987. Helena won the league championship in back-to-back seasons in 1995 and 1996. The franchise moved to Provo, Utah, as the Provo Angels after the 2000 season. In 2003, the Medicine Hat Blue Jays moved to Helena, and the team once again became a Brewers affiliate, called the Helena Brewers.
In 2015, David Denson, while playing for the Helena Brewers, which were then affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers, became the first active player in affiliated professional baseball to come out as gay.
The franchise left Helena for Colorado Springs, Colorado, after the 2018 season, where it would play as the Rocky Mountain Vibes.
Season-by-season record Helena BrewersYear Regular Season Postseason Record Win % Finish* Record Win % Result 1978 30–38 .441 6th — — — 1979 43–26 .623 2nd 0–2 .000 Lost PL Championship vs Lethbridge Dodgers, 0–2 1980 32–38 .457 3rd — — — 1981 22–44 .371 4th — — —1982 29–41 .414 4th — — — 1983 16–54 .229 4th — — — 1984 44–24 .647 1st 3–1 .750 Won PL Championship vs Billings Mustangs, 3–1 1985 42–26 .618 2nd — — — 1986 38–32 .543 3rd — — — 1987 46–24 .657 1st 1–3 .250 Lost PL Championship vs Salt Lake City Trappers, 1–3 1988 41–29 .586 2nd — — — 1989 38–30 .559 2nd — — — 1990 37–28 .569 3rd — — — 1991 44–26 .629 2nd — — — 1992 50–26 .658 2nd — — — 1993 43–30 .589 1st 1–2 .333 Lost PL Championship vs Billings Mustangs, 1–2 1994 44–28 .611 1st 2–3 .400 Lost PL Championship vs Billings Mustangs, 2–3 1995 49–22 .690 1st 4–1 .800 Won Northern Division Championship vs Idaho Falls Braves, 2–1Won PL Championship vs Medicine Hat Blue Jays, 2–0 1996 43–29 .597 2nd 4–1 .800 Won Northern Division Championship vs Lethbridge Black Diamonds, 2–1Won PL Championship vs Ogden Raptors, 2–0 1997 37–34 .521 5th — — — 1998 21–55 .276 4th — — — 1999 47–28 .627 1st 0–2 .000 Lost Northern Division Championship vs Missoula Osprey, 0–2 2000 26–50 .342 4th — — — 2003 48–28 .632 2nd 1–2 .333 Lost Northern Division Championship vs Billings Mustangs, 1–2 2004 39–37 .513 2nd — — — 2005 46–30 .605 1st 2–2 .500 Won Northern Division Championship vs Billings Mustangs, 2–0Lost PL Championship vs Orem Owlz, 0–2 2006 34–42 .447 3rd — — — 2007 48–28 .632 2nd 1–2 .333 Lost Northern Division Championship vs Great Falls White Sox, 1–2 2008 35–41 .461 6th — — — 2009 32–44 .421 6th — — — 2010 41–34 .421 3rd 4–1 .800 Won North Division Championship vs Great Falls Voyagers, 2–1Won PL Championship vs Ogden Raptors, 2–0 2011 30–46 .395 7th — — — 2012 24–52 .316 8th — — — 2013 43–33 .566 2nd 3-2 .600 Won North Division Championship vs Great Falls Voyagers, 2–0Lost PL Championship vs Idaho Falls Chukars, 1–2 2014 27–49 .355 8th — — — 2015 32–42 .432 8th – – — 2016 28–46 .378 8th – – — 2017 28–48 .368 8th – – — 2018 36–40 .474 6th – – — Totals 1,433–1,402 .505 – 29–26 .509 4 League ChampionshipsNote: * Finish denotes overall position in the league standings.
Major leaguers The following is a list of Helena players by year that later played in Major League Baseball: 1978: George Bell, Carmelo Castillo, Wil Culmer, Bob Dernier, Ed Hearn, Alejandro Sánchez, Ryne Sandberg 1979: Jay Baller, Roy Smith 1980: Rocky Childress, Darren Daulton, Marty Decker, Ken Dowell, Tony Ghelfi 1981: Johnny Abrego, Charles Hudson, Jim Olander, Jose Segura 1982: Ken Jackson, Lance McCullers, Johnny Paredes, Wilfredo Tejada 1983: Ricky Jordan, Tom Magrann, Tom Newell 1984: Jack Daugherty, John Trautwein 1985: John Jaha, Russ McGinnis, Randy Veres 1986: George Canale, Brian Drahman, Darryl Hamilton, Gary Sheffield, Greg Vaughn 1987: Frank Bolick, Oreste Marrero, Ángel Miranda, Charlie Montoyo, Jaime Navarro, Dave Nilsson, Troy O'Leary, Steve Sparks, Bill Spiers 1988: Bert Heffernan, Mike Ignasiak, Mark Kiefer 1991: Jeff Cirillo, Mike Matheny, Marshall Boze 1992: Bobby Hughes, Danny Perez, Tim Unroe; Danan Hughes played minor league baseball for the 1992 and 1993 seasons in the Pioneer League for the Helena Brewers. He decided to make football his full-time profession when the Kansas City Chiefs selected him in the 7th round of the 1993 NFL Draft. Hughes played for the Chiefs from 1993 to 1998 as a wide receiver and special teams player. 1993: Brian Banks, Todd Dunn, Danny Klassen, Mark Loretta, Sean Maloney, Greg Martinez 1994: Antone Williamson, Kelly Wunsch 1995: Robinson Cancel, Geoff Jenkins, Mike Kinkade, Mickey Lopez, Greg Mullins 1996: Allen Levrault, Mark Watson 1997: Jason Childers, Brian Mallette 1998: Matt Childers, Bill Hall, Luis Martinez 2003: Drew Anderson, Carlos Corporán, Tim Dillard, Dana Eveland, Vinny Rottino, Mitch Stetter, Ty Taubenheim 2004: Alcides Escobar 2005: Michael Brantley, Ryan Braun, Lorenzo Cain, Darren Ford, Matt Gamel, Ángel Salomé, Joe Thatcher 2006: Zach Braddock, Cole Gillespie, Taylor Green, Mike McClendon 2007: Dane De La Rosa, Eric Farris, Eric Fryer, Caleb Gindl, Donovan Hand, Matt LaPorta, Jonathan Lucroy, Zelous Wheeler 2008: Erik Komatsu, Lucas Luetge, Wily Peralta, Logan Schafer, Rob Wooten 2009: Chris Capuano, Khristopher Davis, Michael Fiers, Sean Halton, Jake Odorizzi, Josh Prince 2010: Hiram Burgos, Jimmy Nelson, Caleb Thielbar, Tyler Thornburg 2011: Tyler Cravy, David Goforth, Yadiel Rivera, Jason Rodgers 2012: Michael Reed, Tyler Wagner 2018: Max Lazar
References
External links Official Helena Brewers website Helena Brewers statistics at The Baseball Cube Ballpark Digest – Helena Brewers