Joplin Blasters

Last updated
Joplin Blasters
JOP Blasters.png
Information
League American Association  (South)
Location Joplin, Missouri
Ballpark Joe Becker Stadium
Founded 2015
Folded 2016
ColorsBlack, gold, white
   
OwnershipWLD Suarez Baseball LLC
Manager Gabe Suarez
General ManagerShawn Suarez
Website joplinblasters.com

The Joplin Blasters were an American professional baseball team based in Joplin, Missouri. The Blasters were members of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. [1] The team's home games were played at a reconstructed Joe Becker Stadium. [2] [3] [4] The team was managed by former Chicago Cubs player and minor league managing veteran Carlos Lezcano. [5] A home game on May 21, 2015, against the Wichita Wingnuts inaugurated the franchise and its 100-game regular season. [6] The Blasters organization failed to pay the stadium lease during its final season. [7] During the 2016 fall league meetings, it was confirmed by league commissioner Miles Wolff that the Blasters would not be returning for 2017. [8]

Contents

Season-by-season records

Joplin Blasters (2015–2016)
SeasonTotalFinishedPlayoffs
201555–45 (3) [9] .550Did not qualify
201636–64 (3) [10] .360Did not qualify

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridgeport Bluefish</span> Minor league professional baseball team in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States

The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseball. They played their home games at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard from 1998 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Paul Saints</span> Minor league baseball team

The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They previously played at Midway Stadium from 1993 to 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kane County Cougars</span> American baseball team

The Kane County Cougars are a professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois, and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their home games at Northwestern Medicine Field. From 1991 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pawtucket Red Sox</span> American minor league professional baseball team

The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The PawSox played their home games at Pawtucket's McCoy Stadium as the only professional baseball team in Rhode Island, and won four league championships, their last in 2014. Following the 2020 season, the franchise moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, to become the Worcester Red Sox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntsville Stars</span> Minor league baseball team

The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Milwaukee Brewers from 1999 to 2014. The Stars played their home games at Joe W. Davis Stadium and were named for the space industry with which Huntsville is economically tied.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Paso Diablos</span> Minor league baseball team

"El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From 1990 to 2013, the Diablos, in both incarnations, played their home games at Cohen Stadium. The team's name means "devils" in the Spanish language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William DeWitt Jr.</span> American businessman

William Orville DeWitt Jr. is an American businessman who is currently the managing partner and chairman of the St. Louis Cardinals, a professional baseball franchise which competes in Major League Baseball (MLB). The Cardinals have won two World Series — in 2006 and 2011 — during DeWitt's time as owner. In addition to the Cardinals, DeWitt has also owned or invested in the Cincinnati Stingers hockey club, Baltimore Orioles, the Cincinnati Reds and the Texas Rangers. Business interests outside baseball include Reynolds, DeWitt & Co., which owns Arby's franchises and invests in the U.S. Playing Card Company and the petroleum company Spectrum 7.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England Collegiate Baseball League</span> U.S. collegiate summer baseball league

The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June and July, with a playoff in early August. Like the Cape Cod Baseball League and other amateur leagues, the NECBL is a showcase for top college-level players, giving professional baseball scouts a chance to see prospective pros playing against each other. Along with the Cape Cod Baseball League, Northwoods League, and Coastal Plain League, it is considered one of the top summer leagues in the country and is a part of the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball. In 2019, the Collegiate Summer Baseball Register ranked the NECBL as the 2nd best collegiate summer baseball league, behind only the Cape Cod League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph L. Bruno Stadium</span>

Joseph Bruno Stadium is a stadium located on the campus of Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York. It is the home field of the Tri-City ValleyCats minor league baseball team of the independent Frontier League and previously the New York–Penn League. Located in the center of the tri-city area of New York's Capital Region, it was named after former New York State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, who helped secure the funds for the ballpark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Association of Professional Baseball</span> Baseball league

The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor league affiliates. Joshua Schaub is the league commissioner. League offices are located in Moorhead, Minnesota. Though a separate entity, the league shared a commissioner and director of umpires with the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball during that league's existence. The American Association of Professional Baseball has 501(c)(6) tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service. In 2020, as part of MLB's reorganization of the minor leagues, the American Association, together with the Atlantic League and the Frontier League, became an official MLB Partner League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sports in Boston</span> Historically prominent sports teams

Boston, Massachusetts, is home to several major professional sports franchises. They include the Red Sox (baseball), the Celtics, and the Bruins. The New England Patriots and the New England Revolution play at Gillette Stadium in nearby Foxborough, Massachusetts.

The Amarillo Gold Sox was the name of an American minor league baseball franchise that represented the city of Amarillo, Texas, in the Class D West Texas–New Mexico League, the Class A Western League and the Double-A Texas League at various times between 1939 and 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Slagle</span> American baseball player

Roger Lee Slagle is a retired Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. He played a single MLB game for the New York Yankees. He was drafted by the Yankees in the first round of the secondary phase of the 1976 amateur draft.

Carlos Manuel Lezcano, is a former professional baseball player who played outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1980 to 1981 for the Chicago Cubs. His cousin, Sixto Lezcano, was also a Major League outfielder and was a recipient of a Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 1979 while a member of the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Joplin Miners was the primary name of the minor league baseball team in Joplin, Missouri that played for 49 seasons between 1901 and 1954. Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Mickey Mantle and Whitey Herzog played for Joplin. Professional baseball returned to Joplin and Joe Becker Stadium when the Joplin Blasters began play in 2015.

Joe Becker Stadium is an American baseball ballpark, built in 1913, located in Joplin, Missouri. The stadium has burned down twice, the first time in 1936 and the second time in 1971. The stadium currently has seating capacity of 4,200 as the home of the Joplin Outlaws of the summer collegiate MINK League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amarillo Thunderheads</span>

The Amarillo Thunderheads, formerly known as the Amarillo Sox, were a professional minor league baseball team based in Amarillo, Texas. They were members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league unaffiliated with Major League Baseball, and played their home games at Potter County Memorial Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demize NPSL</span> American amateur soccer club

Demize NPSL, formerly known as Joplin Demize, is an American amateur soccer club based in Springfield, Missouri, which began play in the fourth-tier National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) in May 2014. The team competes within the Heartland Conference in the NPSL's South Region and plays home games at Lake Country Soccer's Cooper Stadium. It formerly played in the now dissolved South Central Conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwest League of Professional Baseball</span> Formerly planned US independent professional baseball league

The Southwest League of Professional Baseball was a planned independent professional baseball league. The first two announced teams were the Waco BlueCats and the Royse City Griffins followed by the Joplin Miners. In July 2018, it was announced that the Southwest League planned to play a 112-game schedule in 2019. However, the 2019 season was canceled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Country DockHounds</span> Baseball team in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin

The Lake Country DockHounds are a professional baseball team based in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, that plays in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The DockHounds played their first season in 2022, becoming the first professional sports team in Waukesha County.

References

  1. Schremmer, Mark (October 2, 2014). "Joplin Blasters to play in American Association's South Division". The Joplin Globe . Community Newspaper Holdings . Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  2. Lamb, Katie (September 24, 2014). "Joplin plays host for groundbreaking ceremony for Joe Becker Stadium". The Joplin Globe . Community Newspaper Holdings . Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  3. Schremmer, Mark (September 24, 2014). "After stadium groundbreaking, Blasters look to sign manager, players". The Joplin Globe . Community Newspaper Holdings . Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  4. Woodin, Debby (May 18, 2015). "Professional baseball returns Tuesday to Joe Becker stadium". The Joplin Globe . Community Newspaper Holdings . Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  5. "Joplin Blasters name first field manager". The Joplin Globe . Community Newspaper Holdings. January 12, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  6. Schremmer, Mark (November 1, 2014). "Joplin Blasters release 2015 schedule". The Joplin Globe . Community Newspaper Holdings . Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  7. Price, Stuart (September 30, 2016). "City of Joplin sues Joplin Blasters baseball team". KSNF . Nexstar Media Group . Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  8. Woodin, Debby; Payton, Levi (October 7, 2016). "UPDATED: Blasters franchise defunct, league commissioner says". The Joplin Globe . Community Newspaper Holdings . Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  9. "American Association - standings". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  10. "American Association - standings". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Retrieved October 11, 2016.