Mankato MoonDogs

Mankato MoonDogs
Logo
Information
League	Northwoods League  (Great Plains West, 2019-present) (North Division, 1999-2018)
Location	Mankato, Minnesota
Ballpark	ISG Field (1999–present)
Division championships	3 (2011, 2012, 2014)
Former name(s)	Mankato Mashers (1999–2001)
Colors	Black, Orange, White
Ownership	Chad Surprenant and Kyle Smith
Management	Ben Kapanke (Vice President)
President	Chris Goodell
General manager	Walker Regier
Manager	Danny Kneeland, Bethany Lutheran College
Website	www.mankatomoondogs.com

The Mankato MoonDogs are an American amateur baseball team that plays in the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league. Their home games are played at ISG Field in Mankato, Minnesota. ^[1] The MoonDogs have been active in the Mankato community with frequent player and mascot appearances at local events and through the MoonDogs Fit Program.

History

The team started play in 1999 as the Mankato Mashers and were renamed in 2002 when the franchise was acquired by Joe Schwei. ^{[2] [3]} The Moondogs were again sold in January 2013 to Mark Ogren. ^[4] The current ownership group of Chad Superenant and Kyle Smith took over the club in 2018. ^[5]

From 2008 to 2018 the MoonDogs made the playoffs eight of eleven season, making it to the NWL Summer Collegiate World Series on three occasions. In 2014 the MoonDogs were defeated by the Lakeshore Chinooks in a two-game series sweep. ^[6]

Season-by-season

Season	W	L	Result	Playoffs
1999	28	34
2000	27	37
2001	36	28
2002	33	31
2003	27	37
2004	21	43
2005	34	34
2006	32	35
2007	35	32
2008	41	27
2009	39	29	2nd of 7	Lost division finals vs Rochester Honkers
2010	29	41	8th of 8	DNQ
2011	42	28	2nd of 8	Won division finals vs Alexandria Beetles Lost finals vs Battle Creek Bombers
2012	42	27	1st of 8	Won division finals vs Willmar Stingers Lost finals vs La Crosse Loggers
2013	38	32	4th of 8	DNQ
2014	42	30	3rd of 10	Won division finals vs Willmar Stingers Lost finals vs Lakeshore Chinooks
2015	33	39	6th of 9	DNQ
2016	46	26	2nd of 9	Lost division semifinals vs Willmar Stingers
2017	44	28	1st of 10	Won division semifinals vs Eau Claire Express Lost division finals vs St. Cloud Rox
2018	46	26	3rd of 10	Lost division semifinals vs Willmar Stingers
2019	36	36	4th of 5	DNQ
2020	17	25	4th of 5	DNQ
2021	44	24	2nd of 5	Lost sub-division series vs St. Cloud Rox
2022	40	28	3rd of 5	DNQ
2023	38	30	3rd of 5	DNQ
2024	38	32	3rd of 5	DNQ
2025	38	32	3rd of 5	Won sub-division series vs St. Cloud Rox Lost division finals vs Duluth Huskies

Notable alumni (played in MLB)

Name	MLB team	Mankato team	Mankato year
Jack Hannahan	Cincinnati Reds	Mashers	1999
Paul McAnulty	Los Angeles Angels	Mashers	2001
Curtis Granderson	New York Mets	Mashers	2001
Neil Wagner	Toronto Blue Jays	MoonDogs	2004
Cole De Vries	Minnesota Twins	MoonDogs	2004
Brandon Crawford	San Francisco Giants	MoonDogs	2005
Cody Decker	San Diego Padres	MoonDogs	2006
Sean Halton	Milwaukee Brewers	MoonDogs	2006
Erik Hamren	San Diego Padres	MoonDogs	2008
John Brebbia	San Francisco Giants	Moondogs	2009
Jake Petricka	Chicago White Sox	MoonDogs	2009
Nick Goody	Cleveland Indians	MoonDogs	2011

MoonDogs in the Minor Leagues

Name	Current Team	Professional Organization	Years
Tim Smith	Mississippi Braves	Atlanta Braves (AA)	2006
Nate Hanson	Rochester Red Wings	Minnesota Twins (AAA)	2006–2008
Adam Abraham	Akron RubberDucks	Cleveland Indians (AA)	2007
Sean Nicol	Harrisburg Senators	Washington Nationals (AA)	2008
Carlos Ramirez	Salt Lake Bees	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (AAA)	2008
Jimmy Reyes	Round Rock Express	Texas Rangers (AAA)	2008
Mike Kvasnicka	New Britain Rock Cats	Minnesota Twins (AA)	2008–2009
Kyle Knudson	New Britain Rock Cats	Minnesota Twins (AA)	2008–2009
Brenden Webb	Frederick Keys	Baltimore Orioles (A+)	2009
Lance Ray	New Britain Rock Cats	Minnesota Twins (AA)	2009
Jimmy Patterson	Durham Bulls	Tampa Bay Rays (AAA)	2009
Matt Swynenberg	Syracuse Chiefs	Washington Nationals (AAA)	2009
Xorge Carrillo	Binghamton Mets	New York Mets (AA)	2009
Taylor Black	Boise Hawks	Colorado Rockies (A)	2009
Alex Burgos	Jupiter Hammerheads	Miami Marlins (A+)	2009–2010
Jeremy Rodriguez	Lake Elsinore Storm	San Diego Padres (A+)	2010
Eric Wooten	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders	New York Yankees (AAA)	2011
Zach Borenstein	Reno Aces	Arizona Diamondbacks (AAA)	2011
Nick Goody	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders	New York Yankees (AAA)	2011
Sam Selman	Northwest Arkansas Naturals	Kansas City Royals (AA)	2011
Logan Taylor	St. Lucie Mets	New York Mets (A+)	2011
Alex Glenn	Mobile BayBears	Arizona Diamondbacks (AA)	2011
Blake Schwartz	Potomac Nationals	Washington Nationals (A+)	2011
Jordan Remer	Billings Mustangs	Cincinnati Reds (rookie)	2011
James Stokes	Mahoning Valley Scrappers	Cleveland Indians (A)	2011
Sam Eberle	Salem-Keizer Volcanoes	San Francisco Giants (A)	2011
Bryan Haar	Fort Myers Miracle	Minnesota Twins (A+)	2011
Joe Loftus	Hillsboro Hops	Arizona Diamondbacks (A)	2011
Blair Moore	Arizona League White Sox	Chicago White Sox (rookie)	2011–2012
Jorge Flores	New Hampshire Fisher Cats	Toronto Blue Jays (AA)	2012
John Walter	Wilmington Blue Rocks	Kansas City Royals (A+)	2012
Kyle McGrath	Fort Wayne TinCaps	San Diego Padres (A)	2012
Matt Borens	Staten Island Yankees	New York Yankees (A)	2012
Drew Stankiewicz	Lakewood BlueClaws	Philadelphia Phillies (A)	2012
Trevor Belicek	Danville Braves	Atlanta Braves (rookie)	2012
Austin Afenir	Pulaski Yankees	New York Yankees (rookie)	2012
Trever Allen	Burlington Bees	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (A)	2012
Chase Simpson	West Virginia Power	Pittsburgh Pirates (A)	2012–2013
Sam Clay	Cedar Rapids Kernels	Minnesota Twins (A)	2013
Zack Zehner	Staten Island Yankees	New York Yankees (A)	2013
Tim Arakawa	Burlington Bees	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (A)	2013
Jon Perrin	Wisconsin Timber Rattlers	Milwaukee Brewers (A)	2013
Quinnton Mack	Kane County Cougars	Arizona Diamondbacks (A)	2013
Bryan Bonnell	Princeton Rays	Tampa Bay Rays (rookie)	2013
Brock Dykxhoorn	Quad Cities River Bandits	Houston Astros (A)	2013–2014
Jake Yacinich	Burlington Bees	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (A)	2014
Trevor Lubking	AZL Brewers	Milwaukee Brewers (rookie)	2014
Tyler Mark	Hillsboro Hops	Arizona Diamondbacks (A)	2014
Tyler Sullivan	Arizona League White Sox	Chicago White Sox (rookie)	2014
James McMahon	Grand Junction Rockies	Colorado Rockies (rookie)	2014
Levi Scott	GCL Blue Jays	Toronto Blue Jays (rookie)	2014

Staff

The team's General Manager, Walker Regier, is from Southern Minnesota, he previously interned for the Willmar Stingers, another Northwoods League team.

The MoonDogs also have summer internships available for students looking for possible careers in sports. The positions include Media Relations, Promotions/Community Relations, Marketing, Sales, and Camera / Video Operations.

Muttnik

Listed at 6'3" and 210 lbs, the MoonDogs mascot throws and bats right pawed. ^[7] Muttnik can be seen mingling with the crowd during games or at various community events throughout the year.

References

1. Christensen, Joe (August 2, 2018). "Out of the backwoods: Northwoods League no longer a sleepy little summer outpost". Star Tribune .
2. McKenna, Tim (June 4, 1999). "Mankato welcomes its Northwoods team". Post-Bulletin .
3. Millea, John (July 27, 2004). "Fielding big dreams". Star Tribune .
4. Reichard, Kevin (January 10, 2013). "Mankato Moondogs sold". Ballpark Digest. August Publications.
5. Courrier, Chad (January 11, 2018). "New ownership, logo creates MoonDogs fever". The Free Press .
6. Wellens, Matt (August 19, 2014). "Morgan's 'special' summer ends with Northwoods League title". Duluth News Tribune .
7. "Muttnik - Mankato MoonDogs". Mankato MoonDogs. Retrieved April 21, 2015.

External links

• Mankato MoonDogs official site