Great in '08: a Look Back at 2008 Northwest Champs
September 30, 2024 - Northwest League (NWL)
Spokane Indians News Release
Sixteen long years. That's how long the Spokane Indians had to wait between Northwest League titles. Prior to this year's triumph over the Vancouver Canadians, Spokane's last championship came all the way back in 2008. A lifetime ago, really. At that time, the short-season Northwest League still included the Boise Hawks, Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, and Yakima Bears, Spokane's only mascots were OTTO and Recycleman, and 2024 Northwest League MVP Kyle Karros was just going into first grade. Wanna feel old? Here's what else was going on around the world in 2008:
- Barack Obama became the first African-American to be elected as U.S. President
- The release of Iron Man marked the beginning of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
- Flo-Rida and T-Pain's "Low" topped the charts
- Apple launched the the App Store
- "Mansplain" and "Photobomb" are added to the dictionary
- The Dark Knight was released in theaters
- Michael Phelps won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics
- America struggled through greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression
- Taylor Swift released "Fearless" featuring "Love Story" and "You Belong With Me"
The 2008 squad steamrolled through the regular season-finishing 51-25 (.671) after leading the league in runs and ERA-before defeating a Salem-Keizer team that featured Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey in four games for the NWL title. A total of eight players from that Spokane squad would reach the majors including future All-Star Martín Pérez-the only member of the 2008 team still playing in MLB.
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Northwest League Stories from September 30, 2024
- Great in '08: a Look Back at 2008 Northwest Champs - Spokane Indians
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