Quincy Gems | |
---|---|
Team Logo | |
Information | |
League | Prospect League |
Location | Quincy, Illinois |
Ballpark | Quincy Stadium |
Founded | 1996 |
Disbanded | 2023 |
League championships | 6 (1996, 1998, 2005, 2009, 2011, 2014) |
Division championships | 10 (1998, 1999, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2022, 2023) |
Former name(s) | Quincy Gems (1996–2023) |
Former league(s) | Central Illinois Collegiate League (1996–2008) |
Ownership | Jimmie & Julie Louthan |
Management | Jacob Hollensteiner (GM) & Andie Belme (AGM) |
Media | Quincy Herald Whig, WGEM, KRRY |
Website | quincygems.com |
The Quincy Gems were a collegiate summer league baseball team located in Quincy, Illinois.
The Gems were originally a part of the Central Illinois Collegiate League and joined the Prospect League with several other CICL teams prior to the 2009 season. The team's original owners, the Quincy Civic Center Authority, sold the Gems to its current owners in September 2014 for $120,000. [1]
On August 29, 2023, the team announced that they would not return for the 2024 season and will seek relocation [2]
The Gems played at QU Stadium, a 2,500 seat facility owned and operated by Quincy University. The facility was built in 1938 [3] and is located at 1800 Sycamore Street in Quincy. [4]
Season | Manager | Record | Win % | Division | GB | Post-season record | Post-season win % | Post-season result | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | Chris Martin [5] | 36–20 | .643 | 1st | – | 2–0 | 1.000 | Won Prospect League Championship (Chillicothe) | |
2010 | Chris Martin | 29–24 | .547 | 2nd | 5.5 | 1–1 | .500 | Won West Division Championship (Springfield) Lost Semifinals (Danville) | |
2011 | Chris Martin | 38–18 | .679 | 1st | – | 2–0 | 1.000 | Won West Division Championship (Terre Haute) Won Prospect League Championship (West Virginia) | |
2012 | Chris Martin | 34–26 | .567 | 3rd | 4.0 | 0–0 | .000 | Did not qualify | |
2013 | Chris Martin | 34–25 | .576 | 2nd | 6.5 | 2–2 | .500 | Won West Division Championship (Danville) Lost Prospect League Championship (West Virginia) | |
2014 | Chris Martin | 39–20 | .661 | 1st | – | 4–2 | .667 | Won West Division Championship (Danville) Won Prospect League Championship (Chillicothe) | |
2015 | Chris Martin | 27–33 | .450 | 5th | 16.0 | 0–0 | .000 | Did not qualify | |
2016 | Zach Getsee [6] | 27–33 | .450 | 5th | 12.5 | 2–2 | .500 | Won West Division Championship (Springfield) Lost Prospect League Championship (West Virginia) | Made playoffs as a result of 1st Half division title |
2017 | Adam Hightower and Rick Fraire [7] | 21–39 | .350 | 5th | 15.0 | 0–0 | .000 | Did not qualify | Hightower and Fraire were co-managers |
2018 | Rick Fraire [8] | 33–27 | .550 | 3rd | 3.0 | 0–0 | .000 | Did not qualify | |
2019 | Pat Robles | 34–26 | .567 | 3rd | 9.0 | 0–0 | .000 | Did not qualify | |
2020 | Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) | ||||||||
2021 | Justin Paulsen | 27–32 | .458 | 4th | 3.5 | 0–0 | .000 | Did not qualify | |
2022 | Brad Gyorkos | 31–29 | .517 | 2nd | 0.5 | 1–1 | .500 | Won Great Rivers Division Championship (Normal) Lost Western Conference Championship (Alton) | |
2023 | Brad Gyorkos | 31–26 | .544 | 2nd | 1.5 | 3–2 | .526 | Won Great River Division Championship (Clinton) Won Western Conference Championship (Thrillville) Lost Prospect League Championship (Chillicothe) | |
Totals | 441–378 | .538 | 17–10 | .630 |
The Chillicothe Paints are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chillicothe, Ohio, in the United States. The team is a member of the summer collegiate Prospect League. The Paints previously played in the professional independent Frontier League from 1993 to 2008. The Paints play their home games at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe.
Quincy University (QU) is a private Franciscan university founded in 1860 in Quincy, Illinois.
WGEM-TV is a television station licensed to Quincy, Illinois, United States, serving the Quincy, Illinois–Hannibal, Missouri–Keokuk, Iowa market as an affiliate of NBC, The CW Plus, and Fox. Owned by Gray Television, it is sister to the company's sole radio property, sports station WGEM-FM (105.1). Both stations share studios in the New Tremont Apartments on Hampshire Street in downtown Quincy. WGEM-TV's transmitter is located east of the city on Cannonball Road near I-172.
Joshua Wayne Rabe is a former Major League Baseball outfielder with the Minnesota Twins and former head baseball coach for Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois. He is currently the athletic director for Quincy University.
The Central Illinois Collegiate League (CICL) was a collegiate wooden bat summer baseball league. It was composed of five teams from Illinois and Indiana. The CICL was founded in 1963 as a charter member of National Collegiate Athletic Association certified summer baseball. Although the NCAA dropped Summer baseball program in 2005, The CICL is one of ten summer collegiate baseball leagues affiliated with the National Association of Summer Collegiate Baseball (NASCB), which now takes over the duties of the NCAA and follows all NCAA requirements. The league was also is one of four summer college baseball leagues supported by Major League Baseball.
QU Stadium is a stadium in Quincy, Illinois originally known as Q Stadium. It is primarily used for baseball, but also has a separate football field. The baseball side of QU Stadium holds 2,000 people and the football/lacrosse side of holds 1,600 people. The football side of the stadium only has bleachers on one side of the field. The stadium is surrounded by its original limestone wall built in 1938. The stadium received a $4M renovation in 2015.
The Springfield Lucky Horseshoes are a collegiate summer league baseball team of the Prospect League. They play at Robin Roberts Stadium at Lanphier Park and are based in the city of Springfield, Illinois. The team was established in November 2007 as the Springfield Sliders and were an expansion franchise for the 2008 season. The Lucky Horseshoes and other collegiate summer leagues and teams exist to give top college players professional-like experience without affecting NCAA eligibility.
The Prospect League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams of college players from North America and beyond. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. So as to maintain their college eligibility, players are not paid. Beginning in 2012, the league added four games to the season, making a total of 60 games per team.
The Danville Dans are a collegiate summer league baseball team located in Danville, Illinois. The team plays in the Prospect League, which their former league, the NCAA-sanctioned Central Illinois Collegiate League, was absorbed into after the 2008 season.
The Hannibal Cavemen were a collegiate summer league baseball team located in Hannibal, Missouri, in the United States. They were a member of the West Division of the summer collegiate Prospect League from 2009–2016. The franchise began playing again as the Hannibal Hoots, in 2018.
The Normal CornBelters are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Normal, Illinois, which is part of the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area. The franchise was formerly a professional team, and was a member of the independent Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball.
The Quincy Gems was the primary name of the minor league baseball team in Quincy, Illinois, that played in various seasons from 1883 to 1973.
The Lafayette Aviators are a summer collegiate baseball team based in Lafayette, Indiana. They are a member of the Eastern Conference of the summer collegiate Prospect League. The Aviators play at Loeb Stadium in Columbian Park in Lafayette, which opened in May 2021.
Clemens Field is a baseball stadium located at 403 Warren Barrett Drive, at the south end of downtown Hannibal, Missouri, United States.
The Hannibal Hoots were a collegiate summer league baseball team in the United States Prospect League. The team played two seasons in the league, but only one of those seasons saw them use Hannibal as its home; flooding along the Mississippi River caused Bear Creek, which flows into the river and runs alongside the Hoots' home stadium, to flood the stadium. As a result, the Hoots played their 2019 home schedule in nearby Quincy, Illinois at the home stadium of the Quincy Gems. The Hoots formed in late 2017 and were an expansion franchise for the 2018 season. The Hoots and other collegiate summer leagues and teams exist to give top college players professional-like experience without affecting NCAA eligibility.
The Cape Catfish are a franchise of the Prospect League that plays in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
The O'Fallon Hoots are a collegiate summer league baseball team in the United States Prospect League. The team played the 2018 and 2019 seasons as the Hannibal Hoots, but only one of those seasons saw them use Hannibal, Missouri as their home; flooding of their stadium led the Hoots to play their 2019 home schedule in nearby Quincy, Illinois at the home stadium of the Quincy Gems. The Hoots formed in late 2017 and were an expansion franchise for the 2018 season. The Hoots and other collegiate summer leagues and teams exist to give top college players professional-like experience without affecting NCAA eligibility.
The Alton Blues were a minor league baseball team based in Alton, Illinois. In 1917, the Blues played as members of the Class B level Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League, hosting home games at Sportsman's Park. The league folded during the 1917 season with the Blues in last place.
The Alton River Dragons are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Alton, Illinois. They were founded in 2020 and began play in 2021 as members of the Prospect League.
The 2024 Prospect League season is the 15th season of collegiate summer baseball in the Prospect League, a collegiate summer baseball league in the Midwestern United States, since its creation in June 2009. There are 18 Prospect League teams, split evenly between Eastern and Western Conferences. These conferences are then split up between the Northeast, Central, Northwest, and South divisions.