Climbing the Ladder with the Spokane Indians
Published on November 25, 2025 under Northwest League (NWL)
Spokane Indians News Release
Baseball is a game of extremes. There's no better example of this than Aaron Judge and Jose Altuve. Both are MVPs - and likely future Hall of Famers - but one towers over the competition at 6'7" while the other is a diminutive dynamo at just 5'6". The photos of them standing next to each other appear to have been photoshopped, but they're the real deal, and have gone on to spawn countless memes.
That's the thing about baseball, though. No matter how tall or short a player is, it's still 90 feet between the bases and 60'6" from the mound to the plate. You can measure height, but you can never measure heart.
Without further ado, here is a list of the top Spokane Indians player at each height - starting with Ernie Oravetz at 5'4" all the way up to Spencer Mraz at 6'10":
5'4" - Ernie Oravetz
The shortest player in team history, Ernie Oravetz didn't let his height prevent him from fulfilling his big league dreams. Generously listed at 5'4" and 145 pounds, the Pennsylvania native signed with Washington as an amateur free agent and hit well in two minor league seasons (including an incredible 121 BB/29 K mark in his first year of pro ball) before putting his career on hold while serving in the U.S. Army from 1953-54. He made his MLB debut with the Senators upon his return in 1955 and hit .270 in 100 games despite being the smallest player in the big leagues that year. Oravetz followed that up with a .370 OBP in 88 games the next year, but would spend the final seven seasons of his playing career in the minor leagues. One of his stops after the big leagues was with Spokane in 1961, where Oravetz batted .287 with three times as many walks (46) as strikeouts (15) in 114 games with the Indians. He retired following the 1963 season with a career .311 average and 750 BB/197 K mark across nine minor league seasons.
5'6" - Ed Mensor
Nicknamed 'The Midget," Mensor was a switch-hitting shortstop who spent part of three seasons in the big leagues with Pittsburgh. His best year in the majors came in 1912, when he hit .263 with a .402 OBP and 10 stolen bases in 39 games for the Pirates. Following his time in MLB, Mensor continued to play in the minors and hit .308 in 114 games with the Spokane in 1916, teaming up with talented outfielders Ken Williams and Harry Harper to lead the Indians to a league pennant with a 79-48 mark.
5'7" - Joey Cora
A fan favorite during his four seasons with the Seattle Mariners, "Little Joey" was selected by the San Diego Padres in the first round of the 1985 draft after a standout collegiate career at Vanderbilt. He had no trouble acclimating to pro ball with the Spokane Indians that summer, slashing .324/.437/.465 with 11 doubles, two triples, three home runs, 26 RBI, 13 stolen bases, and more walks (27) than strikeouts (24) in 43 games. Cora reached the majors with San Diego in 1987 and also spent four years with the Chicago White Sox, but he enjoyed his greatest success in Seattle. The diminutive second baseman was a key player on the 1995 "My Oh My" Mariners - batting .297 with 18 stolen bases for the AL West champs - and hit .300 with 40 doubles to earn his lone All-Star appearance in 1997.
Honorable Mention: Jim Barbieri
5'8" - Fred Norman
Despite being listed at just 5'8" and 155 pounds, Norman was an integral piece of the Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" in the 1970s. The southpaw was originally signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent in 1961 and made his big league debut the following year at just 19 years of age. Norman bounced back and forth between the minors and MLB over the next decade, including a pair of seasons with the Spokane Indians in 1967 (8-5, 3.71 ERA) and 1969 (13-6, 2.62 ERA). The pint-sized portsider's breakout year came with the Padres in 1972 (9 W, 3.44 ERA in 211.2 IP) and he joined the Reds in 1973, where he would go on to win a pair of World Series titles and eventually a spot in the team's Hall of Fame.
5'9" - Davey Lopes
Lopes, a second-round pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of Washburn University (KS) in 1968, was a late bloomer whose first full season in the majors came at the age of 28. He was part of Spokane's legendary 1970 squad that rolled to a Pacific Coast League title, batting .262 with 15 doubles and 11 stolen bases in 100 games. Lopes improved upon his return to the Indians in 1971 (.306 AVG, 27 SB in 94 games) and got a cup of coffee with the Dodgers the following season before taking over as LA's full-time second baseman in 1972. The speedy infielder led the National League in stolen bases in back-to-back seasons (1975-76) and went on to earn four All-Star appearances, one Gold Glove, and a World Series title with the Dodgers in 1971.
5'10" - Ron Cey
A third-round pick out of Washington State University in 1968, Cey hit .328 with 32 home runs and 123 RBI for the Indians in 1971 before earning a late-season cup of coffee with the Dodgers. The Tacoma native, who earned the nickname "The Penguin" for his slow and waddling running gait, was named to six consecutive National League All-Star teams from 1974-79 and finished his 17-year big league career with a .261 average (1,868-for-7,162), 328 doubles, 316 home runs, and 1,139 RBI.
Honorable Mention: Roy White
5'11" - Stan Coveleski
A product of the Pennsylvania coal mines, Coveleski tossed won a combined 37 games while tossing over 600 innings with the Spokane Indians in 1913-14. The right-hander had his best big league seasons with Cleveland, including 22 wins and a 1.82 ERA in 1918, and went 3-0 with an 0.67 ERA in his team's 1920 World Series triumph over Brookyln. Coveleski finished his career with a 215-142 record, 38 shutouts, and a 2.89 ERA and was elected inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.
Honorable Mention: Maury Wills
6'0" - Ian Kinsler
Kinsler hit .277 in 51 games with the Spokane Indians and helped lead the team to the 2003 Northwest League title after being selected in the 17th round of that year's draft by the Texas Rangers. The scrappy second baseman made his MLB debut with the Rangers in 2006 - finishing 7th in AL Rookie of the Year voting - and made his first of four All-Star appearances in 2008. 'Bootsie' recorded 30 HR/30 SB seasons in 2009 and 2011, picked up Gold Glove Awards in 2016 and 2018, and won a World Series title with the Boston Red Sox in 2018.
Honorable Mention: Ken Williams
6'1" - Carlos Beltrán
A second-round pick out of Fernando Callejo HS (Puerto Rico) by Kansas City in 1995, Beltrán held his own as a 19-year-old with Spokane in 1996, slashing .270/.359/.433 with 7 HR, 29 RBI, and 10 SB and 59 games. He was named American League Rookie of the Year with the Royals in 1999 and made his first of nine All-Star appearances in 2004. A true five-tool talent, Beltrán retired as one of just eight members of baseball's 300 HR/300 SB club while also collecting three Gold Gloves for his stellar defensive work in center field. One of the game's greatest all-time postseason performers, Beltrán had a 1.021 OPS in 65 playoff games and captured a World Series title with Houston in 2017.
Honorable Mention: Don Sutton
6'2" - Zack Greinke
The sixth-overall selection out of Apopka High School (FL) in 2002, Greinke made a brief pit stop in Spokane that summer and was in the big leagues with Kansas City just two years later. He took home AL Cy Young honors in 2009 after a breakout campaign with the Royals (16-8, 2.16 ERA, 10.4 bWAR) and was runner-up for the award in 2015 with the Dodgers after leading the National League with a 1.66 ERA. The talented right-hander was also one of the best fielding and hitting pitchers of his era, capturing six Gold Glove awards and a pair of Silver Sluggers, and should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer as soon as he is eligible in 2028.
Honorable Mention: Willie Davis
6'3" - Doyle Alexander
A ninth-round selection out of a Woodlawn HS (AL) by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1968, Alexander was a key part of the legendary 1970 Spokane Indians team, finishing with a 9-7 record and 3.61 ERA for the PCL Champions. He made his big league debut with the Dodgers the next year and went on to a 19-year MLB career that included 194 wins, 98 complete games, and an All-Star appearance in 1998 (although he's probably best remembered for being traded to the Tigers for a young pitching prospect named John Smoltz).
Honorable Mention: Sandy Alomar Jr.
6'4" - Don Newcombe
Don Newcombe spent two years with the Negro League's Newark Eagles before embarking on a storied MLB career with the Dodgers, Reds, and Indians. The big right-hander was named Rookie of the Year for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949 and the first Black pitcher to start a World Series game that same year. "Newk" had a season for the ages in 1956, posting a 0.989 WHIP and winning 27 games to earn league MVP and baseball's first-ever Cy Young Award. After struggling throughout the 1960 season with Cincinnati and Cleveland, Newcombe attempted to resurrect his big league career with the Spokane Indians, but a 4.96 ERA in 25 games (23 GS) in Pacific Coast League brought his time stateside to a close. Newcombe, always a good hitter for a pitcher, wrapped up his playing career as a first baseman/outfielder with Japan's Chunichi Dragons in 1962.
6'5" - Stan Williams
Nicknamed 'Big Daddy', the tall right-hander out of New Hampshire enjoyed success as both a starting pitcher and reliever over a 14-year MLB career. Signed by Brookyln in 1954, Williams won a World Series title with the Dodgers in 1959 and earned his lone All-Star appearance the next season (14-10 record and 3.00 ERA in 207.1 innings). After a subpar season with the Cleveland Indians in 1965, Williams spent all of 1966 in the minors with Spokane, where he was one of the team's best pitchers (4-2, 1.65 ERA). He returned to the big leagues the next year and wrapped up his MLB career following the 1972 season with 109 wins and 42 saves.
Honorable Mention: Joey Gallo
6'6" - John Mayberry Jr.
The son of a Kansas City Royals legend, Mayberry Jr. was selected in the first round by the Seattle Mariners in 2002 but chose to attend Stanford instead. He was chosen in the first round again - this time by Texas in 2005 - and made his pro debut with the Spokane Indians that summer, slashing .253/.341/.438 in 71 games while helping to lead the Indians to a Northwest League title. The rangy outfielder made his MLB debut with Philadelphia in 2009 and would go on to spend seven seasons in the majors with the Phillies, Blue Jays, and Mets.
6'7" - Frank Howard
The "Capital Punisher" towered over the competition in Major League Baseball for 16 seasons, leading the American League in home runs twice and finishing with 382 career roundtrippers. A four-time MLB All-Star and 1960 National League Rookie of the Year, Howard spent a pair of seasons in Spokane as a player (1959-60) before returning to the Inland Northwest in 1976 as Indians manager.
6'8" - Kyle Snyder
A first-round pick (7th overall) of the Kansas City Royals in 1999, Snyder appeared in seven games with Spokane that summer, posting a 1-0 record and 4.13 ERA in 24 innings. The right-hander reached the big leagues with the Royals in 2003 and won a World Series title with the Red Sox in 2007, but lasted just one more season in the majors as he battled injuries and inconsistency. Snyder joined the Tampa Bay Rays organization as an MiLB coach starting in 2013 and was promoted to his current role as the big league club's pitching coach in 2018.
6'9" - Adam Choplick
The towering southpaw out of the University of Oklahoma was drafted three times before signing with his hometown Texas Rangers in 2015. Choplick was a force out of the bullpen for the Spokane Indians that summer, finishing with a 4-0 record, 2.18 ERA, three saves, and a 9.5 K/9 mark in 16 appearances. He reached as high as Double-A in the Rangers system before wrapping up his professional career with four seasons of Indy Ball.
6'10" - Spencer Mraz
The tallest player in team history, Mraz was selected in the 33rd round out of Miami (OH) by the Texas Rangers in 2019. He appeared in three games with the Indians that summer, picking up one win while striking out five and walking three over four innings. The big right-hander remained in the Rangers organization through 2023 but never advanced past High-A, ultimately coming up short in his quest to reach the big leagues.
Northwest League Stories from November 25, 2025
- Climbing the Ladder with the Spokane Indians - Spokane Indians
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