Named for the rivers as much as the cities
The clubs appearing in a single Sunday's fixtures include the Multnomah Expos, the Outlaws, the Rose City Cardinals, the Portland Cutthroats, the Clark Rangers, the Steelheads and the Portland Rays, out of twenty-six across the three leagues. Cutthroat and steelhead are both Pacific Northwest trout; Multnomah is the county and Rose City is Portland itself.
A league whose team names are drawn from local rivers and counties rather than from major league franchises is one that has been allowed to invent itself. No roster of players is published for any club. Rosters on High Cheese update as men sign and follow a player between clubs and leagues, so twenty-six teams are twenty-six pages a drafted player can find himself on.
Northwest Independent Baseball League in detail
- Four teams in 2007, twenty-six by 2025 — everyone welcome, as long as you're not a jerk.
- A 2026 season schedule page, with fixtures reaching only the front page.
- Three leagues, twenty-six teams, and no table delivered to a plain reader.
- Finals on the front page, with each club's league printed underneath it.
- No batting or pitching figure is published, across three leagues.
- A published telephone number, an email route, and three separate invitations to write.
- A public tryout and draft — and if too many turn up, they build a new team.
- Seven venues, including two professional stadiums and the Portland Pickles' home.
- Three leagues — 18+, 30+ weekends and 30+ weeknights — and a fourth being considered.
- A news section carrying registration and season announcements.
- An album section, and two professional stadiums to shoot in.
- No sponsors named — and an open request for anyone with a ballfield.
- Playoffs in August and September, on top of a 14 to 16 game season.
- Four teams in 2007; twenty-six teams and nearly 300 games by 2025.
- Written throughout in the first person plural, and nobody named.
- Eleven questions, answered as a person would answer them.
- The fee structure explained rather than published: the manager pays, then collects.
- Late April to August, playoffs into September, with four weekends deliberately clear.
- An Apparel section in the main navigation, between the FAQ and Contact.
- Named in the first line of the FAQ as proof this is real baseball.
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