The Rangers signed a 12-year contract with the city to provide a team to play at Grainger Stadium beginning with the 2017 season. They were members of the Carolina League from 2017 to 2020. With the 2021 restructuring of the minor leagues, the Wood Ducks were placed in the Low-A East, though this was renamed the Carolina League and reclassified as Single-A in 2022. Their lone Carolina League title was won in 2017.
Kinston's Grainger Stadium hosted Carolina League baseball every season from 1962 to 2011, bar a three-season gap in the mid-1970s. But in late 2010, Carolina Mudcats owner Steve Bryant announced his purchase of the Kinston Indians franchise to replace his Southern League club in Zebulon for 2012. League travel rules, combined with the gradual shift of other franchises further south and west, had made a Southern League franchise in eastern North Carolina untenable, and a Pensacola, Florida-based ownership group purchased the club to move to a new stadium there for 2012, arranging Bryant's deal to replace them with a Carolina League club under the same branding at the same time.[1] The Indians' move left Kinston without affiliated professional baseball for the first time since 1977. Prior to that, the area was served by the Kinston Expos franchise, which operated as an affiliate of four different Major League Baseball clubs from 1962 to 1974.
Meanwhile, there were reports as early as 2008 that two Class A-Advanced franchises could eventually move from the California League to the Carolina League, most likely the Bakersfield Blaze and High Desert Mavericks.[2] After the Indians' departure, Kinston became an obvious destination; by 2013, rumors suggested strongly that one club would be earmarked for Kinston in any California–Carolina shift.[3] In July 2015, the Texas Rangers signed a tentative lease agreement with the city of Kinston should a franchise become available, but the Rangers needed a move partner before Minor League Baseball would permit a switch.[4] Such a partner emerged in April 2016 when the Houston Astros, affiliated with the California League's Lancaster JetHawks only through the end of that season, began discussions with Fayetteville, North Carolina, about siting their affiliate at a new stadium.[5]
During the 2016 season, the Astros and Rangers worked to secure ownership of the Bakersfield and High Desert franchises to prepare for relocation. On August 22, the Rangers announced that they would indeed site an owned-and-operated High-A affiliate in Kinston for the 2017 season.[6][7] The Astros would eventually announce their own stadium deal in Fayetteville, but with no suitable facility available until the 2019 season, the Astros temporarily placed their club at Campbell University as the Buies Creek Astros. Both clubs officially entered the Carolina League as expansion franchises, with their predecessor California League franchises terminated rather than relocated.
The new ownership group, Rangers Kinston, LLC,[8] filed a trademark application for the name Wood Ducks on August 15, 2016.[9] One week later, on August 22, the ownership group announced that the Rangers were bringing a team to Kinston and that there would be a naming contest for the fans.[10][11] On September 16, the team announced the finalists in the contest: Down East Eagles, Down East HamHawks, Down East Hogzillas, Down East Shaggers, and Down East Wood Ducks.[12] At first, the names drew negative reaction from fans who were upset that the team would not be known by the town name, that Kinston was not part of "Down East" North Carolina, and that some of the names were demeaning.[13][14][15] This backlash later subsided as the community grew to embrace the moniker.[16] On November 2, the team announced that the new name would be the name that they trademarked on August 15, Down East Wood Ducks, without naming a winning fan.[17] A similar situation happened when Kinston joined the Virginia League in 1925. The owners of that club decided that none of the submitted names in a name the team contest were satisfactory and picked a name of their own choosing, the Eagles.[18]
During the Wood Ducks' inaugural season in 2017, they were crowned co-champions of the Carolina League by defeating the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.[19] Down East and the Lynchburg Hillcats were declared co-champions as a result of the playoffs being called off because of Hurricane Irma.[20]
In September 2017, Ballpark Digest named the Down East Wood Ducks the best logo/branding for Minor League Baseball in 2017.[16]
During the 2018 season, Down East wore uniforms of the Kinston Indians at seven "Throwback Thursday" games to honor the history of baseball at Grainger Stadium.[21]
The 2019 Wood Ducks won the first half of the season with a 50–20 record,[22] but lost to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, 3–2, in the South Division finals.[23]Corey Ragsdale was selected for the league's Manager of the Year Award.[22]
In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Wood Ducks were organized into the Low-A East.[24] In 2022, the Low-A East became known as the Carolina League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.[25]
In May 2023, the Texas Rangers sold the Wood Ducks to Diamond Baseball Holdings, which owns and operates many minor league baseball teams across the United States. The team will move to a newly-built ballpark in downtown Spartanburg "as early as the 2025 season".[26]
The Down East Wood Ducks play their home games at Grainger Stadium, located at 400 East Grainger Avenue in Kinston. The original structure was built by architect John J. Rowland in 1949 at a cost of $170,000 inclusive of everything except the land, with $150,000 raised by bond issue.[34] The stadium is owned by the city and leased by the team. A dedicatory plaque identifies the structure as "Municipal Stadium", but it has been called Grainger Stadium since it was first built.[35] Kinston Indians ownership referred to it as "Historic Grainger Stadium" due to its age relative to other fields in the Carolina League; it is the second-oldest stadium in the circuit. The name Grainger comes from its location on Grainger Avenue as well as its early use by Grainger High School; Grainger is a prominent old family name in Lenoir County. The Texas Rangers have invested in a multi-year renovation project to improve the 4,100-seat facility.[10]
As of the completion of the 2020 season, 24 Wood Ducks players have also played in at least one game for a Major League Baseball team. These players are:
The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the Low-A East before reassuming its original moniker in 2022.
The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the lowest rung on the North American minor-league ladder.
Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 19,900 as of the 2020 census. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the coastal plains region of eastern North Carolina.
The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949.
The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eight different major league affiliations over its 29 seasons.
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at Pelicans Ballpark, which opened in 1999 and seats up to 6,599 people.
Grainger Stadium is a sports venue located in Kinston, North Carolina. It is the home ballpark for the Down East Wood Ducks, which joined the Carolina League starting in the 2017 season, and was placed in the Low-A East for only the 2021 season. Grainger was previously home to the Kinston Indians and all the professional Kinston baseball teams since 1949.
The Kinston Expos were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL), and the High-A affiliate of the Montreal Expos. They were located in Kinston, North Carolina, and were named for their parent club. The team played its home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949 and holds 4,100 fans.
Stephen Wayne Mintz is an American former professional baseball pitcher and manager. Mintz played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants and the Anaheim Angels.
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home games at Admiral Fetterman Field. In 2012, the team relocated to Pensacola from Zebulon, North Carolina, where they were known as the Carolina Mudcats.
The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and play their home games at Five County Stadium. "Mudcats" is Southern slang for catfish.
The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and play their home games at Segra Stadium. From 2017 to 2018, the team was known as the Buies Creek Astros and played at Jim Perry Stadium on the campus of Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina.
Leody Taveras Salazar is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Rangers signed him as an international free agent in 2015, and he made his MLB debut in 2020. He won the 2023 World Series with the Rangers.
The Kinston Eagles were a Minor League Baseball team of the Coastal Plain League. They were located in Kinston, North Carolina. The team played its home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949 and holds 4,100 fans. Prior to that they played in Grainger Park.
Jonathan Hernández is a Dominican-American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019.
Ricardo José Rodríguez is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers in 2017 and 2018.
Jason Thomas Bahr is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.
Pedro Julio Payano is a Dominican-American professional baseball pitcher for Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers.
William Corey Ragsdale is an American professional baseball former player and current coach. He is the first base coach and major league field coordinator for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB).
The Kinston Eagles were a minor league baseball team based in Kinston, North Carolina. In 1928 and 1929, the Eagles played as members of the six–team, Class D level Eastern Carolina League, hosting home games at Grainger Park. The 1927 Kinston Eagles of the Class B level Virginia League immediately preceded the 1928 team. The 1934 Kinston Eagles resumed play as members of the Class D level Coastal Plain League.
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