Cedar Rapids Kernels

Last updated

Cedar Rapids Kernels
Cedar Rapids Kernels logo.svg Cedar Rapid Kernels Cap.png
Team logoCap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class High-A (2021–present)
Previous classes
League Midwest League (1962–present)
Division West Division
Previous leagues
Major league affiliations
Team Minnesota Twins (2013–present)
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles (5)
  • 1958
  • 1988
  • 1992
  • 1994
  • 2023
Division titles (2)
  • 2023
  • 2025
First-half titles (3)
  • 2022
  • 2023
  • 2025
Team data
NameCedar Rapids Kernels (1993–present)
Previous names
  • Cedar Rapids Reds (1980–1992)
  • Cedar Rapids Giants (1975–1979)
  • Cedar Rapids Astros (1973–1974)
  • Cedar Rapids Cardinals (1965–1972)
  • Cedar Rapids Red Raiders (1963–1964)
  • Cedar Rapids Braves (1958–1962)
  • Cedar Rapids Raiders (1953–1957)
  • Cedar Rapids Indians (1950–1952)
  • Cedar Rapids Rockets (1949)
ColorsYellow, red, navy blue, green, white [1]
     
Ballpark Veterans Memorial Stadium (2002–present)
Previous parks
 Veterans Memorial Stadium (I) (1949–2001)
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
Cedar Rapids Ball Club, Inc.
General manager Scott Wilson
Manager Brian Meyer
Website milb.com/cedar-rapids

The Cedar Rapids Kernels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium. They were founded in 1949 as the Cedar Rapids Rockets and originally played in the Central Association and the Three-I League. The Kernels are owned by Cedar Rapids Ball Club, Inc. (also known as Cedar Rapids Baseball Club, Inc.). [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Cedar Rapids baseball history

Professional baseball has been played in Cedar Rapids since 1890. Cedar Rapids teams have been a member of various leagues preceding the current franchise. They have been a member of the Western League (1934–1937), Mississippi Valley League (1922–1932), Central Association (1913–1917), Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (1901–1909, 1920–1921, 1938–1942), Western Association (1896–1899), Eastern Iowa League (1895) and the Illinois–Iowa League (1890–1891). [5] Cedar Rapids teams also had numerous nicknames prior to the current franchise: Cedar Rapids Raiders (1934–1942), Cedar Rapids Red Raiders (1963–1964), Cedar Rapids Bunnies (1904–1932), Cedar Rapids Rabbits (1896–1903) and Cedar Rapids Canaries (1890–1891). [5]

The current Cedar Rapids franchise was founded in 1949 as a member of the Class C Central Association, and was called the Cedar Rapids Rockets. [6] The moniker of "Rockets" was chosen via a name-the-team contest. [7] After the 1949 season, the Rockets moved to the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (more commonly known as the Three-I) to replace the Springfield, Illinois team that the league had just dropped. [8]

Cedar Rapids played in the Three-I League until it folded after the 1961 season, at which point they moved to the Midwest League along with the Fox City Foxes and the Burlington Bees. [9]

When Cedar Rapids entered the Midwest League in 1962, the franchise switched back to the Red Raiders (1962–1964) nickname. Subsequently, the team used the name of the major league franchise it affiliated with: the Cardinals (1965–1972), the Astros (1973–1974), the Giants (1975–1979), and the Reds (1980–1992). The team adopted the current "Kernels" nickname before the 1993 season. On the field, the franchise won Midwest League championships in 1988, 1992, 1994, and 2023.

In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Kernels were organized into the High-A Central. [10] In 2022, the High-A Central became known as the Midwest League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. [11]

Ballpark

The team's first home ballpark the original Veterans Memorial Stadium, [12] which opened in 1949. In August 2000 voters approved a referendum to build a new ballpark adjacent to the old one, which was demolished after the 2001 season. The new Veterans Memorial Stadium was completed in time for the opening of the 2002 season, and the Kernels set a franchise attendance record of 196,066 in the new park's inaugural year.

Roster

Cedar Rapids Kernels roster
PlayersCoaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 40 Spencer Bengard
  • -- Miguelangel Boadas
  • 25 Adrian Bohorquez
  • 30 Ross Dunn
  • 47 Matt Gabbert
  • 45 Ruddy Gomez
  • 23 Tanner Hall
  • 24 Xander Hamilton
  • 19 Dasan Hill
  • 38 Garrett Horn
  • 46 Jacob Kisting
  • 37 Ty Langenberg
  • 19 Jose Olivares
  • 44 Brennen Oxford
  • 33 Paulshawn Pasqualotto
  • 30 Cole Peschl
  • 15 Ivran Romero
  • -- Nolan Santos
  • 32 Charlee Soto
  • 51 Eston Stull
  • 11 Nick Trabacchi

Catchers

  • 35 Khadim Diaw
  • 35 Luis Hernandez
  •  9 Poncho Ruiz
  • 13 Eduardo Tait

Infielders

  • 11 Billy Amick
  •  8 Danny De Andrade
  • 27 Kyle DeBarge
  • 22 Rayne Doncon
  • 32 Marek Houston
  • 41 Jay Thomason

Outfielders

Manager

  • 16 Brian Meyer

Coaches

  • 26 Argenis Angulo (pitching)
  • 49 C.J Baker (hitting)
  •  4 Julian Gonzalez (hitting)
  • 18 Hunter Townsend (pitching)
Casey Kotchman bats against the Clinton LumberKings, September 1, 2002 KernelsKotchman.jpg
Casey Kotchman bats against the Clinton LumberKings, September 1, 2002

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Cedar Rapids Kernels" (PDF). 2018 Media Guide. Cedar Rapids Kernels. 2018. p. 2. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  2. ↑ "The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Minor League Baseball . Retrieved November 23, 2019.
  3. ↑ Cedar Rapids Baseball Club
  4. ↑ "Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball Team in Cedar Rapids, IA - 950 Rockford Rd SW, Cedar Rapids, IA - Superpages.com". Superpages.
  5. 1 2 "Cedar Rapids, Iowa Encyclopedia - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  6. ↑ "Explore Cedar Rapids' Veterans Memorial Stadium". mlb.com. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Cedar Rapids Selects Rockets as Nickname". The Sioux City Journal. AP. March 25, 1949. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Cedar Rapids in Three-I League". The Hammond Times. AP. November 20, 1949. p. 37. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  9. ↑ Gus Schrader (January 15, 1962). "C.R. Joins Midwest League". Cedar Rapids Gazette. Cedar Rapids, IA. p. 11. Retrieved November 12, 2025.
  10. ↑ Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  12. ↑ "1949 Cedar Rapids Rockets Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.