| 2015 Pacific Association season | |
| League: | Pacific Association |
| Sport: | Baseball |
| Duration: | June 1, 2015 – August 31, 2015 [1] |
| No Of Games: | 77 (155 games in total) |
| No Of Teams: | 4 |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Season Champs: | Sonoma Stompers 1H (26–11), San Rafael Pacifics 2H (29–11) |
| Playoffs: | League postseason |
| Finals Champ: | San Rafael Pacifics |
| Finals Runner-Up: | Sonoma Stompers |
| Seasonslist: | List of Pacific Association seasons |
| Seasonslistnames: | PACA |
| Prevseason Link: | 2014 Pacific Association season |
| Prevseason Year: | 2014 |
| Nextseason Link: | 2016 Pacific Association season |
| Nextseason Year: | 2016 |
The 2015 Pacific Association season was the third season of the Pacific Association. There was a four team 77 game schedule. Most series included a three-game series with each team having 39 home games. The Pittsburg Mettle became the Pittsburg Diamonds for the 2015 season.
The San Rafael Pacifics entered the season as defending champions, having won both halves of the 2014 Pacific Association season.
The playoffs concluded on August 31, with the San Rafael Pacifics defeating the Sonoma Stompers 4–3 in the league's 2015 championship game.[2]
The four teams in the league played a 77-game schedule. Each team played 39 games for the first and second half of the season. Each half champion would receive a place in the best-of-one championship game.
In 2015, the Sonoma Stompers hired Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller to advise the team using their 'sabermetrics' theory of player management. They went on to write a book about their experience, called 'The Only Rule Is It Has to Work'.[3]
In June, Sonoma Stompers' pitcher Sean Conroy became baseball's first openly gay professional player. On the Stompers' pride night, Conroy threw a complete game shutout win.[4] [5]
In July, the San Rafael Pacifics used three cameras stationed at different points around the ballpark, and used a robo umpire for the strike zone. Eric Byrnes would then announce balls and strikes.[6] [7]
as of August 31, 2015
| Pacific Association | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| + Regular Season Standings | Pos | Team | G | First half record | Second half record | Season record | GB | |
| 1 | x – San Rafael Pacifics | 78 | 19–19 | 29–11 | 48–30 | .615 | -- | |
| 2 | x – Sonoma Stompers | 77 | 26–11 | 18–22 | 44–33 | .571 | 3.5 | |
| - style="border-top:3px solid red;" | 3 | e – Pittsburg Diamonds | 77 | 18–20 | 20–19 | 38–39 | .494 | 9.5 |
| 4 | e – Vallejo Admirals | 78 | 13–26 | 12–27 | 25–53 | .321 | 23.0 | |
| Stat | Player | Team | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HR | Matt Chavez | 31 | ||
| AVG | Scott David | .384 | ||
| RBIs | Matt Chavez | 85 | ||
| SB | Matt Hibbert | 32 |
| Stat | Player | Team | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | Gregory Paulino, Max Beatty | 8 | ||
| ERA | Dennis Neal | 2.47 | ||
| SO | Nick DeBarr | San Rafael Pacifics | 115 | |
| SV | Steve Chapter | 14 |
To qualify as league leader for hitter, AVG - Minimum of plate appearances of 2.7 per team game. To qualify as league leader for pitcher, ERA - Minimum inning(s) of .8 pitched per team game.[9]
In 2015, The winner of the first and second half played a best-of-one championship game. The Sonoma Stompers won the first half with a 26–11 record. The San Rafael Pacifics won the second half with a 29–11 record. The Pacifics hosted the Stompers on August 31.
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Matt Chavez [10] | San Rafael Pacifics |
| Pitcher of the Year | Max Beatty [11] | San Rafael Pacifics |
| Reliever of the Year | Sean Conroy[12] | |
| Rookie of the Year | Mark Hurley [13] | Sonoma Stompers |
| Manager of the Year | Aaron Miles[14] | Pittsburg Diamonds |
| Executive of the Year | Mike Shapiro | San Rafael Pacifics |
| Position | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| C | Isaac Wenrich | Sonoma Stompers |
| 1B | Daniel Baptista | Sonoma Stompers |
| 2B | Yuki Yasuda | |
| SS | Daniel Gonzalez | San Rafael Pacifics |
| 3B | T.J. Gavlik | |
| LF | Matt Hurley | Sonoma Stompers |
| CF | Zack Pace | San Rafael Pacifics |
| RF | Matt Hibbert | Sonoma Stompers |
| P | Sonoma Stompers | |
Former Major League Baseball players who played in the Pacific Association in 2015
Other notable players who played in the Pacific Association in 2015