The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007.
The Michigan Battle Cats were a Minor League Baseball team which began playing in the Midwest League in 1995 and called C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle Creek, Michigan, home. The franchise had previously been located in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1994 where they were called the Madison Hatters. Prior to that the team was located in Springfield, Illinois, and was known as the Springfield Cardinals. Upon moving to Battle Creek the team initially sought the name Battle Creek Golden Kazoos to help create a regional tie-in with the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan, but legal disputes led to the adoption of the Battle Cats moniker. The team became known as the Battle Creek Yankees beginning with their affiliation with the New York Yankees in 2003, and again changed names and affiliations in 2005 and became the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays. In 2007, citing declining attendance, the team moved to Midland, Michigan and became the Great Lakes Loons.
Constantino "Tino" Martinez is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 1990 through 2005. He also served as a hitting coach for the Miami Marlins in 2013. He is known as "Tino", a shortened version of his first name, but was also nicknamed "The Bam-tino" after his home run in game 1 of the 1998 World Series. Formerly a third baseman, Martinez was the first round draft pick for the Seattle Mariners in 1988 out of the University of Tampa, where he starred during his time on campus. During his 16-year MLB career, he scored 1,009 runs, drove in 1,271 runs, and hit 339 home runs. He had 100 or more RBI in six different seasons and was twice named to the All-Star team.
Travis Reynolds Lee is an American former professional first baseman and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball.
Daniel Ryan Johnson is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for six teams, over ten seasons, as well as one season in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), but never held a Major League starting job for an entire season. He is perhaps best known for hitting a dramatic two-out, two-strike home run for the Tampa Bay Rays in the bottom of the ninth inning of the last game of the 2011 season, also known as Wild Card Wednesday. That home run tied the game, which the Rays eventually won, sending them to the playoffs. His clutch hitting for the Rays, along with his red hair and beard, earned him the nickname "The Great Pumpkin".
Kevin Forrest Cash is an American professional baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, Cash played catcher in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Houston Astros. As a player, Cash was listed at 6 feet 0 inches (1.83 m) and 200 pounds (91 kg); he batted and threw right-handed. He was the bullpen coach for the Cleveland Indians before being hired as the Rays' manager in December 2014. Cash was the American League Manager of the Year in 2020 and 2021, the first AL manager to win the award consecutively. Cash will enter the 2024 Season as the longest-tenured manager in Major League Baseball.
Douglas Michael Waechter is an American former professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Florida Marlins and Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball. He graduated from Northeast High School and was then drafted by the Devil Rays in the 3rd round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft. During his minor league career he threw a no-hitter when he was with the Single-A short season club, the Hudson Valley Renegades. Since making his major league debut in 2003, he was shuffled back and forth between Triple-A Durham and Tampa Bay, making 54 starts with the Devil Rays.
The Madison Hatters were a minor-league baseball team based in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1994. A Class A minor league baseball affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, they were a member of the Midwest League. The team played its home games at Warner Park.
The Southwest Michigan Devil Rays were an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the Midwest League in 2005 and 2006. The club began play in 1995 and was previously known as the Michigan Battle Cats and the Battle Creek Yankees. They played their home games at C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle Creek, Michigan. Following the 2006 season, the team moved to Midland, Michigan and became known as the Great Lakes Loons.
Akinori Iwamura is a former Japanese baseball infielder, who currently is a manager for the Fukushima Red Hopes in Japan's Baseball Challenge League. He made his Major League debut with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2007.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays' 2007 season, the tenth season in franchise history, involved the Devil Rays trying to improve on their 2006 season, where they finished last in the American League East Division, and managed to finish the season with a league-worst record of 66–96. During the offseason they signed Japanese infielder Akinori Iwamura to a three-year deal. Their manager was Joe Maddon, who entered his second season with the Devil Rays.
The 2004 New York Yankees season was the 102nd season for the team. The Yankees opened the season by playing two games against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in Japan on March 30, 2004. The team finished with a record of 101-61, finishing 3 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. The 2004 season was the Yankees third straight season of 100+ wins, the first such instance in franchise history. New York was managed by Joe Torre. In the playoffs, the Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins, 3 games to 1, in the ALDS, before losing to the wild card Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 3, in the ALCS. The 2004 Yankees are notable as the only team in MLB history to lose a 7-game playoff series after taking a 3 games to none lead. This was the fourth straight year in which the Yankees lost to the eventual World Series champions in the postseason. Only the Los Angeles Dodgers (2016–19) have duplicated the same feat.
The 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season was the first season in franchise history. This season, they finished last in the AL East division and finished the season with a record of 63–99, 51 games behind the World Champion New York Yankees. Their manager was Larry Rothschild.
David Shelley Duncan is an American former professional baseball player. He was a left fielder, designated hitter, and first baseman. Duncan played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Tampa Bay Rays. He was the Major League field coordinator for the Toronto Blue Jays, and later served as the analytics coordinator for the Chicago White Sox.
The Springfield Cardinals were a minor league baseball team located in Springfield, Illinois. The Springfield Cardinals played in the Midwest League from 1982 to 1993 and were an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team played at Lanphier Park on the northside of Springfield.
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ballpark has been Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Reid Michael Brignac, is an American professional baseball manager and former professional baseball infielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Miami Marlins, and Atlanta Braves. He is currently the manager of the minor league Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
The Tampa Bay Rays' 2009 season was their 12th season of baseball on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The team attempted to defend their American League Championship they won in the previous season. Although they missed the playoffs, they still finished with a winning record (84–78) – only the second in franchise history.
Brandon Durell Allen is an American professional baseball coach and former first baseman who is the assistant hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Oakland Athletics, and Tampa Bay Rays and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venue has been Tropicana Field.
