Lancaster Jethawks

Club established: 1996, when the Riverside Pilots’ franchise folded and was moved to Lancaster.

Affiliation: The Mariners’ Class-A team.

Ownership: The team is owned by Clutch Play LLC, a limited partnership. Mike Ellis is president. His son, Matt, is vice president and general manager.

Manager: Rick Burleson, a shortstop with the Red Sox and Angels, is in his second year with Lancaster. He previously coached with the Angels, Red Sox and Athletics. During his 13-year major league career, Burleson made four All-Star teams, three while with the Red Sox and one with the Angels. Burleson won a Gold Glove in 1979 and played in the 1975 World Series.

The current prospects: The Jethawks had six players make the California League All-Star game, first baseman Cirilo Cruz Jr. and second baseman Adonis Harrison were starters. Cruz Jr., the cousin of former Mariner Jose Cruz Jr., is batting .327 and has a league-leading 95 runs batted in. Cruz Jr. was signed as a free agent in 1995. Harrison, a 24th-round selection in the 1994 draft, was recently promoted to double-A Orlando.

Most famous alumni: Three former Jethawks are currently in the majors, Jose Cruz Jr., pitcher Ken Cloude and outfielder Shane Monahan. Cruz Jr. was traded by Seattle to the Toronto Blue Jays last season for three pitchers. Cloude, who won 15 games with the Jethawks in 1996, is the Mariners’ No. 4 starter. Monahan, rated as the Mariners’ third best prospect by Baseball America, is the Mariners’ starting left fielder.

Home stadium: Lancaster Municipal Stadium, known as “The Hanger,” was built in 1996 and has a capacity of 4,500.

Lancaster baseball history: Lancaster never had a professional baseball franchise before the Jethawks arrived in 1996. The closest it came was in 1994 when the Antelope Valley Ravens played in an independent league at Rosamond High, 10 miles north of Lancaster. That franchise, of which former Angel Doug DeCinces was a co-owner, folded after three games. The Jethawks reached the playoffs last year. They won their first-round series over Stockton but were eliminated in the next round by the eventual league champion High Desert. In their first season in 1996, the Jethawks drew more than 300,000 fans, an average of about 4,000. The Riverside Pilots averaged fewer than 1,000 in 1995.

Lancaster is famous for its proximity to Edwards Air Force Base, which is only a 10-minute drive. The Stealth Bomber was built in Lancaster at the Northrop Grumman plant.

Web Site: https://www.jethawks.com