Lansing Lugnuts

Last updated

Lansing Lugnuts
LansingLugnuts PrimaryLogo.png LansingLugnuts PrimaryCapLogo.png
Team logoCap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class High-A (2021–present)
Previous classes Class A (1955–2020)
League Midwest League (1955–present)
DivisionEast Division
Major league affiliations
Team Oakland Athletics / Athletics (2021–present)
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles (9)
  • 1958
  • 1959
  • 1960
  • 1975
  • 1976
  • 1980
  • 1986
  • 1997
  • 2003
First-half titles (4)
  • 1999
  • 2008
  • 2012
  • 2015
Second-half titles (1)
  • 1996
Team data
NameLansing Lugnuts (1996–present)
Previous names
ColorsRed and silver
  
MascotBig Lug
Ballpark Jackson Field (1996–present)
Previous parks
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
 Diamond Baseball Holdings
General managerZac Clark [1]
ManagerCraig Conklin
Website milb.com/lansing
The Lansing Lugnuts at Oldsmobile Park in 2009 Lugnuts01.jpg
The Lansing Lugnuts at Oldsmobile Park in 2009

The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field.

Contents

The Midwest League came to Lansing after owners Tom Dickson and Sherrie Myers moved the team to work with the city for a public-private lease to build a new stadium. Mayor David Hollister, and the City Council worked to attract the owners and build the stadium for downtown economic development. The team began playing in downtown Lansing in 1996. The franchise began as the Lafayette Red Sox in Lafayette, Indiana, in 1955; after two seasons it became the Waterloo Hawks, moving to Waterloo, Iowa, where it stayed for 36 seasons. Before the 1994 season it moved to Springfield, Illinois, but only spent two seasons there before moving to Lansing. The franchise was an affiliate of the Kansas City Royals on two occasions in three cities: as the Waterloo Royals [2] from 1969 through 1976, as the Sultans of Springfield in 1995, and then, upon the team's move to Lansing, from 1996 through 1998. The Lugnuts were then an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs from 1999 through 2004 before joining the Jays' farm system for the 2005 season. In September 2014, the Jays extended their agreement with the Lugnuts through the 2016 season. [3] In October 2016, their player development contract was extended through the 2018 season. [4] Since 2021, they have been be the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics.

The Lugnuts' ballpark, Jackson Field, opened in 1996. The stadium seats over 10,000 fans and is one of the most handicapped accessible stadiums in the country. The franchise attendance record of 538,326 was set during its inaugural year. They won the Midwest League Championship in 1997 and 2003. The Lugnuts have their own original song which plays immediately after the national anthem for every home game accompanied by their mascot, Big Lug.

In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Lugnuts were organized into the High-A Central. [5] 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. [6]

Crosstown Showdown

Since 2007, the Lansing Lugnuts have participated in an annual exhibition game with nearby Michigan State University which draws a large crowd of students to the event. The overall record and attendance for each game is as follows:

Date  Winning team Score  Losing team  Attendance  Ref 
April 3, 2007Lansing Lugnuts4–3Michigan State6,223
April 24, 2008Lansing Lugnuts4–2Michigan State12,862
April 16, 2009Michigan State12–2Lansing Lugnuts12,992
April 26, 2010Lansing Lugnuts5–4Michigan State6,778
April 5, 2011Michigan State4–3Lansing Lugnuts7,212
April 5, 2012Lansing Lugnuts7–0Michigan State12,997
May 1, 2013Lansing Lugnuts10–2Michigan State11,619
April 3, 2014Lansing Lugnuts3–2Michigan State4,455
April 9, 2015Lansing Lugnuts9–4Michigan State9,318 [7]
September 6, 2016Lansing Lugnuts4–1Michigan State8,432
September 5, 2017Lansing Lugnuts5–1Michigan State6,804 [8]
September 4, 2018Lansing Lugnuts6–4Michigan State6,338 [9]
September 3, 2019Lansing Lugnuts5–1Michigan State5,933 [10]
April 6, 2022Lansing Lugnuts3–2Michigan State3,117 [11]
April 4, 2023Lansing Lugnuts12-3Michigan State4,412 [12] [13]

Playoffs

SeasonQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
1996---
1997W, 2–1, Michigan W, 2–0, Fort Wayne W, 3–2, Kane County
1998---
1999W, 2–0, Michigan L, 2–0, Wisconsin -
2000---
2001L, 2–0, Dayton --
2002W, 2–1, Michigan W, 2–1, West Michigan L, 3–1, Peoria
2003W, 2–0, South Bend W, 2–0, Battle Creek W, 3–0, Beloit
2004L, 2–1, West Michigan --
2005---
2006W, 2–0, South Bend L, 2–0, West Michigan -
2007L, 2–0, West Michigan --
2008L, 2–0, Dayton --
2009---
2010---
2011W, 2–1, Dayton W, 2–0, Fort Wayne L, 3–0, Quad Cities
2012L, 2–0, Fort Wayne --
2013---
2014---
2015W, 2–0, Great Lakes L, 2–1, West Michigan -
2016---
2017---
2018L, 2–0, Bowling Green --
2019---

Media coverage

Jesse Goldberg-Strassler broadcasts Lugnuts home and away games on WVFN-AM. WVFN previously aired Lugnuts games from 2001 to 2003.

Lugnuts games also aired on WJIM-AM from 1996 to 2000 and WQTX-FM from 2004 to 2016. Several games per season aired on WLNS-TV from 1996 through 2001. From 2002 to 2009, one game aired each season on WILX-TV.

Alumni

The following are players in Major League Baseball who played, at one time, for the Lugnuts. This partial list includes players making injury-comeback starts as well as those that developed in Lansing.

Kansas City Royals

Chicago Cubs

Toronto Blue Jays

Miami Marlins

St. Louis Cardinals

San Francisco Giants

Roster

2010 Lugnuts wearing their away jerseys LansingLugnuts2010July.jpg
2010 Lugnuts wearing their away jerseys
Lansing Lugnuts roster
PlayersCoaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 23 Diego Barrera
  • 15 Hunter Breault
  • -- Drew Conover
  • 34 Micah Dallas
  • 40 Jake Garland
  • 33 Dylan Hall
  • 11 Garrett Irvin
  • 22 Grant Judkins
  • 14 Luis Morales
  • 25 Kade Morris
  • 27 Mitch Myers
  • 20 Jack Owen
  • 16 Blaze Pontes
  • 30 Yehizon Sanchez
  • 24 Jacob Watters Injury icon 2.svg

Catchers

  •  5 Cole Conn
  • 21 CJ Rodriguez

Infielders

  • 29 Danny Bautista Jr.
  •  2 Joshua Kuroda-Grauer
  • 13 Luke Mann
  •  7 T.J. Schofield-Sam
  •  3 Sahid Valenzuela
  •  6 Casey Yamauchi

Outfielders

  •  8 Jonny Butler
  •  4 Jared Dickey
  •  1 Ryan Lasko
  • 19 Nate Nankil


Manager

  •  9 Craig Conklin

Coaches

60-day injured list

  • 43 Luis Carrasco (full season)
  •  7 Colby Halter

Injury icon 2.svg 7-day injured list
* On Oakland Athletics 40-man roster
~ Development list
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporarily inactive list
Roster updated September 4, 2024
 Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB  •  Midwest League
→ Oakland Athletics minor league players

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midwest League</span> American Minor League baseball league

The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Lakes Loons</span> American Minor League baseball team

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Michigan Whitecaps</span> American Minor League baseball team

The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan Battle Cats</span> Minor league baseball team

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackson Field (Lansing)</span>

Jackson Field is a baseball stadium in Lansing, Michigan, home field of the Lansing Lugnuts minor league baseball team. The Michigan State Spartans college baseball team also plays select home games at Jackson Field. The stadium is situated in downtown Lansing in the Stadium District on a relatively narrow strip of land between and below Larch and Cedar streets.

Kenneth Paul Huckaby is an American professional baseball coach and former catcher who is currently the manager for the Lake Country DockHounds of the American Association of Professional Baseball. Huckaby attended Manteca High School, and played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and Boston Red Sox over his 6-year career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riverfront Stadium (Waterloo)</span>

Riverfront Stadium is a stadium in Waterloo, Iowa, located at 850 Park Road, Waterloo, Iowa 50703. It is primarily used for baseball, serving as the home field of the Waterloo Bucks baseball team of the summer collegiate Northwoods League. Riverfront Stadium has a capacity of 5,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Ware (baseball)</span> American baseball player (born 1970)

Jeffrey Allan Ware is an American former professional baseball pitcher who currently serves as the bullpen coach for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He also played in parts of two seasons with the Blue Jays in 1995 and 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willie Collazo</span> Puerto Rican baseball pitcher

William Collazo[koy-yah'-zo] is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball pitcher. During the 2007 season, he appeared in six games for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since 2016, Collazo has worked as a minor league pitching coach in the Toronto Blue Jays organization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Nicolino</span> American baseball player (born 1991)

Justin Brian Nicolino is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Miami Marlins, and in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) for the Rakuten Monkeys.

Mitchell Ellis Nay is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He was drafted out of high school by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Pentecost</span> American baseball player (born 1993)

Maxwell Glen Pentecost is an American former professional baseball catcher. Prior to playing professionally, Pentecost attended Kennesaw State University, where he played college baseball for the Kennesaw State Owls baseball team. He was selected in the first round of the 2014 Major League Baseball draft by the Blue Jays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan McBroom</span> American baseball player

Ryan P. McBroom is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Harris (baseball)</span> American baseball player

Jonathan Richard Harris is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He played college baseball at Missouri State University, and was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round of the 2015 Major League Baseball draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bo Bichette</span> American baseball player (born 1998)

Bo Joseph Bichette is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019. Bichette is a two-time MLB All-Star and twice led the American League in hits. His father, Dante Bichette, also played in the MLB.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Schuemann</span> American baseball player (born 1997)

Maxwell Carter Schuemann is an American professional baseball infielder and outfielder for the Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2024.

The Lansing Senators were a long running minor league baseball team based in Lansing, Michigan. Between 1895 and 1941, the Lansing Senators teams played as members of the Michigan State League, Southern Michigan League (1907–1914) and Central League (1921–1922) before a final Michigan State League season in 1941. The Senators won the Southern Michigan League pennant in 1910 and hosted home minor league games at multiple ballparks in their years of play. Lansing played home games at Parshall Park, Waverly Park (1906–1915), Community Park (1921–1922) and Municipal Park (1941).

Minor league baseball teams were based in Lafayette, Indiana in various seasons between 1909 and 1994. Lafayette teams played as members of the Northern State of Indiana League from 1909 to 1911, the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League in 1955, the Midwest League in 1956 and 1957 and 1994 Great Central League, winning two league championships. Lafayette was a minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Indians in 1955 and Boston Red Sox in 1956 and 1957.

References

Notes
  1. ↑ "Tyler Parsons New Durham Bulls GM; Zac Clark Promoted in Lansing as Replacement". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  2. ↑ Weiss, Bill; Wright, Marshall. "Top 100 Teams | MiLB.com History | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  3. ↑ Nicholson-Smith, Ben (September 23, 2014). "Gibbons: Jays like what Pompey offers". Sportsnet . Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  4. ↑ Calloway, Brian (October 4, 2016). "Lugnuts to remain affiliated with Toronto Blue Jays". USA Today High School Sports. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  5. ↑ Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  7. ↑ Solari, Chris (April 9, 2015). "Solari: Crosstown Showdown a flashback to Lugnuts debut". Lansing State Journal .
  8. ↑ "Spartans Fall to Lugnuts Tuesday in 11th Annual Crosstown Showdown". Michigan State Spartans . September 5, 2017.
  9. ↑ Goldberg-Strassler, Jesse (September 4, 2018). "Pearson impresses in return, Lugnuts win 7th straight Showdown". MiLB.com .
  10. ↑ Goldberg-Strassler, Jesse (September 3, 2019). "Hiraldo, Perez HRs power Lugs to 8th straight win over Michigan State". MiLB.com .
  11. ↑ "Spartans Edged By Lugnuts, 3-2, In Crosstown Showdown Wednesday". Michigan State Spartans. April 6, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Spartans Topped By Lugnuts In 2023 Crosstown Showdown". Michigan State Spartans. April 4, 2023.
  13. ↑ Soverinsky, Melanie (April 4, 2023). "MSU baseball falls to Lansing Lugnuts in 15th annual Crosstown Showdown Tuesday". The State News . East Lansing, Michigan . Retrieved April 22, 2023.
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.