The Defending Pacific Association Champion Stompers have extended their partnership with People's Home Equity and will continue to call Arnold Field home through 2018.
Geoff Safford/Sonoma Stompers
Theo Fightmaster, Vice President & General Manager
Sonoma, Calif. – The Sonoma Stompers Professional Baseball Club has extended its partnership with the North Bay’s leading mortgage provider, Peoples Home Equity Mortgage Lending, through the 2018 season.
A Presenting Partner of Stompers Baseball in 2016, Peoples Home Equity Ballpark at Arnold Field, will continue to serve as the home of the 2016 Pacific Association Champions. Last spring, the mortgage provider became the first organization to acquire the naming rights to the Stompers home ballpark.
It was an iconic season for the Stompers at Peoples Home Equity Ballpark, as the club garnered unprecedented attention for their on-field achievements in 2016. On July 1, along with Francis Ford Coppola’s Virginia Dare Winery, the Stompers started two females in outfielder Kelsie Whitmore and pitcher Stacy Piagno, becoming the first co-ed professional baseball team since the 1950s when Toni Stone, Mamie “Peanut” Johnson and Constance Morgan achieved the distinction of becoming the first women to play alongside men in the Negro Leagues.
On July 22, the team added catcher Anna Kimbrell, and all three female players appeared in the game that night against the Pittsburg Diamonds.
The Stompers enjoyed a franchise best 47-31 record in 2016, clinching the league title for the first time in team history. They became the first Pacific Association team to win both the first and second half titles since 2014. The first half title was clinched at Peoples Home Equity Ballpark on July 13 in a thrilling 8-7 win over Pittsburg.
Since 2014, Peoples Home Equity Ballpark at Arnold Field has hosted such notable guests as former San Francisco Giants great, J.T. Snow, current Washington National’s manager, Dusty Baker, former American League MVP Jose Canseco, former Boston Red Sox hurler, Bill “Spaceman” Lee.
In 2015, the Peoples Home Equity Ballpark set the stage for the New York Times Best-Selling book, “The Only Rule Is It Has to Work: Our Wild Experiment Building a New Kind of Baseball Team,” authored by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller. The two authors spent the 2015 season serving as the Stompers Baseball Operations department, and chronicled their experience in their bestselling book.
On June 25, 2015, Sean Conroy became the first openly-gay player in the history of the sport, and debuted with a 14-strikeout shutout victory over the Vallejo Admirals. That moment was recognized in international headlines, and enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.
In their three seasons, the Stompers have compiled a record of 133 wins 100 losses, have enjoyed three consecutive years of increased attendance, sponsorship support and per-cap revenue growth, while continuing to offer the best family entertainment option in the Sonoma Valley.
The Stompers will open the 2017 season approximately on June 1, as the look to defend their championship title. Full Season tickets, mini-plans and partial season tickets are on sale now; simply stop by the Stompers Fan Shop, located at 234 West Napa Street in Sonoma, or email info@stompersbaseball.com.
About Peoples Home Equity, Inc. NMLS #63371
Formed in 2001, Peoples Home Equity, Inc. is dedicated to the simple goal of helping Americans achieve the dream of responsible home ownership. We are a fully functional Conventional and Government HUD-approved lender that closes two billion dollars in mortgage loans annually. We have over 70 branch locations in 27 states. By working hard to earn trust and respect with every transaction, we continue to grow and prosper alongside our home buyer and Realtor partners.