The Marion Berries, Salem’s new summer collegiate baseball team, will throw its first pitch at Willamette University’s baseball field bordering Bush’s Pasture Park come June 2025.
The new team’s debut season will end around August during the height of the marionberry season when families across the area will be filling crates with berries to make jams and other local delicacies, said Pat Zajac, the team’s general manager.
Leaders of Salem Baseball Club LLC, the for-profit company behind the venture, announced the team’s name Tuesday. Company owners began planning to bring the team to Salem over two years ago and secured $3 million in taxpayer money from state lawmakers earlier this year to fund renovation of Willamette University’s John Lewis Field.
The Marion Berries will play as the 17th member of the West Coast League which has teams in Oregon, Washington and Canada, the team said in a news release Tuesday. The league includes the Portland Pickles.
Zajac said by the time he joined the organization, the Marion Berries’ name was pretty much set in stone given the berry’s connection to Marion County, where it was developed, and the fruit’s versatility as a marketing mechanism.
Some of the other choices were the Salemanders, and the Lumberjacks, both of which simply didn’t ring the same as the Marion Berries, Zajac said.
The team’s new logo features two ripe, purple marionberries sitting in a crate, one grinning wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap with the letter “B” on it.
“We have the avenue to have some fun and play off of the mascot we’ve already created with the logo. Do we want it to look similar to that? Do we want to change it up and have some sort of different berry character? Do we want to have multiple mascots?” Zajac brainstormed during an interview with Salem Reporter. “Marionberries themselves kind of go through a changing of colors when they get ripe, from green to red, to that deep purple. Like, do we want to have two or three mascots? One of each of those shades to create a little berry family?”
The team’s field will be renovated starting in late November, Zajac said, to get it ready for the Berries.
In June, the Salem City Council unanimously approved a controversial agreement between the city and Willamette University allowing the university, in partnership with the Salem Baseball Club LLC to retrofit baseball fields next to Bush’s Pasture Park.
Salem-Keizer School District and local nonprofit leaders supported expansion, saying they would use the renovated field year-round for youth sports.
The city agreement allows Willamette and Salem Baseball LLC to encroach slightly into Bush’s Pasture Park.
Some neighbors opposed the plans over concerns about parking, noise and transforming the character of Bush Park.
“New turf, new lights. There will also be some renovations done to pour concrete in certain areas so we can create new concession stands and hospitality areas…and just make the ballpark a bit more social,” Zajac said. “The ballpark itself as it stands was built in 1989, it’s got great bones. We are finishing the project. Creating some new modern amenities … just make it a great place in the Pacific Northwest for the West Coast League for guys to come train and develop and then for the fans to have a good time and something they can be proud to call their home for the community.”
Zajac said the team is hoping for community assistance in coming up with ideas for team jerseys, food, entertainment, and anything else berry related.
“We want to hear from you. And yes, there will be plenty of marionberry pie and marionberry themed drinks at the ballpark, too,” Zajac said.
Zajac said the best way to help the team come up with ideas is by following the Berries on Facebook and Instagram and joining the team’s newsletter. The team is also looking for mascots, Zajac said.
“If you’ve got ins on mascots, have them email me directly. I will happily listen to anyone who is interested in becoming a mascot for the team,” he said. Zajac can be reached at [email protected].”
Contact reporter Joe Siess: [email protected] or 503-335-7790.
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Joe Siess is a reporter for Salem Reporter. Joe joined Salem Reporter in 2024 and primarily covers city and county government but loves surprises. Joe previously reported for the Redmond Spokesman, the Bulletin in Bend, Klamath Falls Herald and News and the Malheur Enterprise. He was born in Independence, MO, where the Oregon Trail officially starts, and grew up in the Kansas City area.
