Birmingham Barons | |||||
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Minor league affiliations | |||||
Class | Double-A (1946–1961; 1964–1965; 1967–1975; 1981–present) | ||||
Previous classes |
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League | Southern League (1972–1975; 1981–present) | ||||
Division | North Division | ||||
Previous leagues |
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Major league affiliations | |||||
Team | Chicago White Sox (1986–present) | ||||
Previous teams |
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Minor league titles | |||||
Dixie Series titles (6) |
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League titles (12) |
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Pennants (10) |
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Division titles (8) |
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First-half titles (11) |
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Second-half titles (6) |
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Team data | |||||
Name | Birmingham Barons (1981–present) | ||||
Previous names |
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Colors | Black, red, gray | ||||
Mascot | Babe Ruff (1992-present) Lillie Mays (2006-present) WickyWood (1981-1992) | ||||
Ballpark |
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Previous parks |
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Owner(s)/ Operator(s) | Diamond Baseball Holdings [1] | ||||
General manager | Jonathan Nelson | ||||
Manager | Sergio Santos |
The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Barons were previously located in Montgomery, Alabama, and known as the Montgomery Rebels. [2]
Most of the professional baseball teams that have played in Birmingham have used the name Barons. The current team began playing in Birmingham in 1981, having previously played in Montgomery, Alabama as the Montgomery Rebels. Like previous Barons teams, they played at Rickwood Field on a full-time basis from 1981 to 1987. Since then, they have only played at Rickwood on special occasions. From 1988 to 2012, the team played at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in the suburb of Hoover, Alabama, where former basketball star Michael Jordan played with the team in 1994. Since 2013, the team plays at Regions Field in the downtown part of Birmingham.
As a result of Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Barons were organized into the eight-team Double-A South. [3] In 2022, the Double-A South became known as the Southern League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. [4]
In 2023, Diamond Baseball Holdings purchased the team from The Logan Family. [1]
All Birmingham Barons games are televised live on MiLB.TV. [6] All games are also broadcast on radio on either WJQX 100.5 FM, WJOX-FM 94.5 FM or WJOX-AM 690 AM. [7] Birmingham Barons Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Curt Bloom is the broadcast commentator for both WERC and MiLB.TV and has been the voice of the Barons since 1992. [8]
Players | Coaches/Other | |||
Pitchers
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Infielders
Outfielders
| Manager Coaches
60-day injured list
7-day injured list |
The Southern League is a Minor League Baseball league that has operated in the Southern United States since 1964. Along with the Eastern League and Texas League, it is one of three circuits playing at the Double-A level, which is two grades below Major League Baseball (MLB).
The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. The team is owned and operated by Diamond Baseball Holdings, which purchased the Braves from Liberty Media in 2022.
The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home games at AT&T Field which opened in 2000 and seats 6,340 fans. They previously played at Engel Stadium from 1930 through 1999, with a one-year break in Montgomery, Alabama's Cramton Bowl in 1943.
Rickwood Field, located in Birmingham, Alabama, is the oldest existing professional baseball park in the United States. It was built for the Birmingham Barons in 1910 by industrialist and team-owner Rick Woodward and has served as the home park for the Birmingham Barons and the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro leagues.
Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, also known as The Hoover Met, is a baseball stadium located in Hoover, Alabama, United States, a suburb of Birmingham. It was home of the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League from 1988 to 2012, replacing historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham. The stadium also serves as the home for the SEC baseball tournament, as well as the primary home for Hoover High School football. It is located in the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area near Interstate 459 at Exit 10 just off Alabama State Route 150. The stadium is located three miles from the Riverchase Galleria, one of the south's largest shopping centers.
The Birmingham Black Barons were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1920 until 1960, including 18 seasons recognized as Major League by Major League Baseball. They shared their home field of Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, with the white Birmingham Barons, usually drawing larger crowds and equal press.
WJOX is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Birmingham, Alabama. It is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts a sports format. WJOX is the Birmingham affiliate of the UAB Blazers Radio Network, the Tennessee Titans Radio Network and the Atlanta Braves Radio Network. It used to be the broadcast home of the Birmingham Barons. The station has studios and offices in Homewood.
Paterson Field is a baseball stadium in Montgomery, Alabama. The stadium, named after William Burns Paterson junior, has a maximum capacity of 7,000 people and was opened in 1949. Paterson Field has played host to, among other professional teams, the Montgomery Rebels, a AA-class minor-league team affiliated with the Detroit Tigers, and the Montgomery Wings, an independent minor-league team. The stadium is still in use today, having recently been used as the home field of Alabama State University, a Division I program that competes in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
Regions Field is the name of a minor league baseball park in the Southside community of Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. It is the home field for the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League, and it replaced Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover as their home field. It also serves as the second home field along with Jerry D. Young Memorial Field for the UAB Blazers. Regions Field is located adjacent to the Railroad Park, just south of downtown Birmingham.
Stewart Bryan Cole is an American former professional baseball infielder and current coach. He is the third base coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Cole played in MLB Kansas City Royals.
George J. Digby was an American baseball scout and consultant in Major League Baseball.
The Montgomery Rebels was the name of several American minor league baseball franchises representing Montgomery, Alabama, playing in various leagues between 1912 and 1980. Rebels was the predominant nickname of the Montgomery teams, but it was not the original moniker, and it was one of several used by the city's 20th century professional baseball teams, which began play in organized baseball in 1903. Others included the Billikens, Bombers, Capitals, Climbers, Grays, Lambs, Lions and Senators.
William Henry Greason is an American former professional baseball player who years later became a Baptist minister in Birmingham, Alabama. Greason played for the Birmingham Black Barons in the Negro leagues from 1948 to 1951 and for the St. Louis Cardinals of the National League in 1954.
Allan Harvey "Rick" Woodward was an American businessman and baseball team owner.
Sports in Birmingham, Alabama, include several minor league professional teams and college sports. The City of Birmingham and the Birmingham metro area have no major professional sport franchises. The Birmingham area is home to the Birmingham Barons, the AA minor league affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, which plays at Regions Field in the Southside adjacent to Railroad Park. The University of Alabama at Birmingham and Samford University in Homewood have popular collegiate sports teams, including college basketball and football. The Hoover Metropolitan Stadium is home to the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament, which drew more than 108,000 spectators in 2006 and continues to draw large crowds today. The city also hosts a USL team: the Birmingham Legion FC. The Birmingham area also hosts the Alabama Youth Sports Alliance basketball league and Tragic City Rollers women's roller derby team.
The Rocket City Trash Pandas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Madison, Alabama, and play their home games at Toyota Field.
The Southern League All-Star Game was an annual baseball game sanctioned by Minor League Baseball between professional players from the teams of the Double-A Southern League. Each division, North and South, fielded a team composed of players in their respective divisions as voted on by the managers, general managers, and broadcasters from each of the league's eight clubs.
MLB at Rickwood Field: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues was a Major League Baseball (MLB) specialty game played between the National League (NL) West's San Francisco Giants and the NL Central's St. Louis Cardinals on June 20, 2024. The game was played at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, the former home of the Negro leagues' Birmingham Black Barons, one day after Juneteenth. This was the first regular-season Major League Baseball (MLB) game played in the state of Alabama. The Cardinals won 6–5.