Asheville Tourists

Last updated
Asheville Tourists
AshevilleTourists.PNG AshevilleTouristscap.PNG
Team logoCap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class High-A (2021–present)
Previous classes
  • Class A (1976–2020)
  • Double-A (1968–1975)
  • Class A (1967)
  • Double-A (1963–1966)
  • Class A (1959–1962)
  • Class B (1932, 1934–1942, 1946–1955)
  • Class C (1931)
  • Class B (1924–1930)
  • Class D (1910–1917)
League South Atlantic League (2022–present)
DivisionSouth Division
Previous leagues
Major league affiliations
Team
Minor league titles
League titles (7)
  • 1915
  • 1939
  • 1961
  • 1968
  • 1984
  • 2012
  • 2014
Team data
Name
  • Asheville Tourists (1976–present)
  • Asheville Orioles (1972–1975)
  • Asheville Tourists (1916–1971)
  • Asheville Mountaineers (1913–1915)
  • Asheville Moonshiners (1897, 1910–1912)
ColorsBlue Ridge blue, midnight navy, Biltmore jade [1]
   
MascotsTed E. Tourist and Mr. Moon
Ballpark McCormick Field (1924–present)
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
 Mike DeWine and family
General managerLarry Hawkins
ManagerNate Shaver

The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Asheville, North Carolina.

Contents

Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in different leagues and classifications for over a century, with the earliest dating to 1897. The current team has played continuously in what is now known as the South Atlantic League since 1976, though it was briefly known as the High-A East in 2021. Asheville has won three South Atlantic league championships, first in 1984 and most recently in 2014. Previous Tourists teams won a total of four additional championships.

The Tourists play home games at McCormick Field. The stadium opened in 1924, renovated in 1959, and renovated again for the 1992 season. It seats 4,000 fans. [2]

History

Earlier teams

Professional baseball in Asheville, North Carolina, dates to 1897, when the Asheville Moonshiners took the field. [2] It has been played continuously for nearly every year since 1909, with early teams such as the Redbirds (1909) and the Mountaineers (1910–1914). [2] [3] The "Tourists" name dates to 1915, when local sportswriters began referring to the Mountaineers team as the Tourists. [2]

The original Tourists brought Asheville its first ever professional sports championship in 1915. They continued playing in the Class-D North Carolina State League until 1917, when the league suspended operations due to World War I. In 1924 the "Asheville Skylanders" started play in the South Atlantic League; however, they soon adopted the Tourists nickname. [2] They played in the South Atlantic League until 1930, when they jumped to the Piedmont League, where they played for two seasons before folding. In 1934 the Columbia Sandlappers moved to Asheville, taking up the Tourists name. [4] This incarnation won the 1939 Piedmont League championship; however the league suspended operations in 1942, due to the outset of World War II. [2]

In 1946 a new Tourists franchise started up in the Tri-State League. During the 1940s they shared McCormick Field with the Asheville Blues, an independent Negro leagues team.[ citation needed ] They folded along with their league in 1955. [3] In 1959 a new South Atlantic League (later the Southern League) franchise came to town. McCormick Field was renovated. The team initially wanted a new name, and organized a fan vote to pick. However, fans voted overwhelmingly to keep the Tourists nickname. [2] The team won two league titles, in 1961 and 1968. In 1968, the Tourists won the Southern League championship under manager Sparky Anderson, who went on to manage the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers during his 26 years in Major League Baseball.

In 1972 Asheville became affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles MLB team. As part of Baltimore's "Oriole Way" system, the Asheville team was rebranded the Asheville Orioles, adopting the logo and colors of their affiliate. The team had four successive winning seasons, but after the 1975 season the Orioles relocated their Double-A franchise to Charlotte, North Carolina, as the Charlotte Orioles. [2]

Current team

The Asheville Tourists in a game against the Rome Braves Rome Braves vs. Asheville Tourists, May 30, 2018 (75).jpg
The Asheville Tourists in a game against the Rome Braves

McCormick Field would not be unoccupied for the 1976 season, however. Shortly after the AA franchise moved to Charlotte, their place was taken by an expansion team in the Western Carolinas League (which in 1980 became the South Atlantic League). Like many teams before it, it assumed the Tourists nickname. The team has remained in Asheville continuously since, winning the 1984 league championship. They are currently a farm team of the Houston Astros (1982–93, 2021–), with whom they have been affiliated since 2021. They were previously affiliated with the Texas Rangers (1976–81) and the Colorado Rockies (1994–2020). The team has subsequently won two additional league titles in 2012 and 2014.

In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Tourists were organized into the High-A East. [5] In 2022, the High-A East became known as the South Atlantic League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. [6]

Ownership

On January 5, 2010 it was reported by the Asheville Citizen-Times that Palace Sports and Entertainment have sold the Asheville Tourists to former U.S. Senator and current Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine and his family. It was reported that Brian DeWine, son of Mike, would be the team president. [7] The team is owned by DeWine Seeds-Silver Dollar Baseball. Governor DeWine has a 32% stake in the team but does not play a role in management. [8] In 2020 the team received a $189,500 Paycheck Protection Program loan during the COVID-19 pandemic. [8]

Roster

Asheville Tourists roster
PlayersCoaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 30 Edinson Batista Injury icon 2.svg
  • 26 Valente Bellozo
  • 37 A.J. Blubaugh
  • 22 Walker Brockhouse
  • 41 Carlos Calderon
  • 12 Franny Cobos
  • 32 Brayan De Paula
  • 31 Nolan DeVos
  •  2 Ronny Garcia
  • 46 Michael Knorr Injury icon 2.svg
  • 39 Joey Mancini
  • 35 Deylen Miley
  • 23 Max Roberts
  • 34 Luis Angel Rodriguez
  • 11 Alex Santos
  • 30 Nic Swanson
  • 27 Miguel Ullola

Catchers

  • 21 John Garcia
  • 24 Miguel Palma
  • 18 Collin Price Injury icon 2.svg
  • 16 Ryan Wrobleski

Infielders

  • 15 Tim Borden II
  • 19 Austin Deming
  •  6 Rolando Espinosa
  • 10 Kobe Kato
  • 14 Tommy Sacco Jr.
  • 36 Justin Williams

Outfielders


Manager

  • 25 Nate Shaver

Coaches

  • 28 Sean Buchanan (pitching)
  •  8 Eric Stamets (development)
  • 17 Bryan Muniz (hitting)

60-day injured list

  • 94 Cristian Gonzalez
  • -- Juan Pablo Lopez
  • 21 Nerio Rodriguez

Injury icon 2.svg 7-day injured list
* On Houston Astros 40-man roster
~ Development list
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporarily inactive list
Roster updated August 8, 2023
 Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB  •  South Atlantic League
→ Houston Astros minor league players

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame alumni

Notable alumni

Season-by-season records

SeasonRecordFinishManagerPlayoffs
191574–461st Jack Corbett League Champs
191658–544th Jack Corbett none
191712–16– Ernest "Doc" Ferris none
Team disbanded 1917–1923
192458–635th Bob Higgins none
192566–635th Bob Higgins / Larry Gardner none
192680–662nd Larry Gardner none
192776–734th Larry Gardner none
192897–491st Ray Kennedy none
192984–622ndMike KennedyLost League Finals
193079–613rd George Speirs
193166–674th Ray Kennedy / Bobby Hipps
193235–33– Joe Guyon Team disbanded July 7
Team disbanded 1933
193434–59 (55–78 overall)5th Bill Laval / Possum Whitted Columbia moved to Asheville June 7
193575–621st Billy Southworth Lost League Finals
193640–1036th Billy Southworth
193789–501st Hal Anderson Lost in 1st round
193863–757th Hal Anderson
193989–551st Hal Anderson League Champs
194075–602nd Tommy West Lost in 1st round
194164–767th Nick Cullop
194261–776th Bill DeLancey
Team disbanded 1943–1946
194683–572nd Bill Sayles Lost in 1st round
194765–746th Bill Sayles
194895–511st Clay Bryant Lost in 1st round
194976–713rd Ed Head Lost in 1st round
195083–622nd Clay Bryant Lost League Finals
195185–552nd Ray Hathaway Lost League Finals
195265–755th Bill Hart / George Tesnow
195383–672nd Ray Hathaway Lost in 1st round
195486–541st Ray Hathaway Lost League Finals
195553–633rd Earl Naylor
Team disbanded 1956–1958
195970–705th Clyde McCullough
196062–776th Chuck Kress
196187–501st Ray Hathaway none League Champs
196270–704th Ray Hathaway Lost in 1st round
196379–612nd Ray Hathaway
196452–868th Ray Hathaway (28–53) / Bob Clear (24–33)none
196580–602nd Pete Peterson none
196678–612nd Pete Peterson none
196764–7410th Chuck Churn
196886–541st Sparky Anderson none League Champs
196969–693rd Alex Cosmidis none
197059–808th Jim Snyder none
197190–512nd Larry Sherry Lost League Finals
Team known as Asheville Orioles 1972–1975
197676–621st Wayne Terwilliger Lost League Finals
197781–582nd Wayne Terwilliger
197873–674th Wayne Terwilliger none
197975–632nd Wayne Terwilliger
198069–715th Tom Robson
198174–684th Tom Robson
198265–768th Dave Cripe
198364–809th (t) Tom Spencer
198473–705th Tom Spencer League Champs
198576–624th Fred Hatfield
198690–502nd Ken Bolek Lost League Finals
198791–481st Keith Bodie Lost League Finals
198865–759th Gary Tuck / Jim Coveney
198968–708th Jim Coveney
199066–779th Frank Cacciatore
199155–8314th Frank Cacciatore
199274–664th Tim Tolman
199351–8814th Bobby Ramos
199460–7311th Tony Torchia
199576–635th Bill McGuire Lost in 1st round
199684–521st P. J. Carey Lost in 2nd round
199762–7612th Ron Gideon
199871–697th Ron Gideon
199964–7711th Jim Eppard
200066–698th (t) Joe Mikulik
200168–719th Joe Mikulik
200264–7412th Joe Mikulik
200374–656th Joe Mikulik
200464–7513th Joe Mikulik
200571–6710th Joe Mikulik
200674–636th Joe Mikulik
200780–584th Joe Mikulik
200883–562nd Joe Mikulik
200968–707th Joe Mikulik Lost in 1st round
201069–707th Joe Mikulik
201169–709th Joe Mikulik
201288–521st Joe Mikulik League Champs
201363–739th Fred Ocasio
201489–491st Fred Ocasio League Champs
201572–672nd Warren Schaeffer Lost League Finals
201666–725th Warren Schaeffer
201768–705th Warren Schaeffer

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References

  1. ↑ "New Affiliation FAQ". Asheville Tourists. Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Jarrett, Keith (May 14, 2007). "On Base with the Asheville Tourists" Archived 2011-08-12 at archive.today . Asheville Citizen-Times blog. Retrieved April 5, 2011
  3. 1 2 Asheville, North Carolina Minor League City Encyclopedia. baseball-reference.com. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
  4. ↑ "1934 Columbia Sandlappers/Asheville Tourists Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  5. ↑ Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  7. ↑ "None".
  8. 1 2 "Company partly owned by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine gets loan from federal virus aid program, AP reports". Cleveland.com. Associated Press. July 6, 2020.
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