Great Lakes Loons
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| Great Lakes Loons | ||
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| League | Midwest League | |
| Division | Eastern Division | |
| Year founded | 1995 | |
| Major League affiliation | Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Home ballpark | Dow Diamond | |
| Previous home ballparks | C.O. Brown Stadium | |
| City | Midland, Michigan | |
| Current uniform colors | red, black, green, silver | |
| Previous uniform colors | green, black | |
| Logo design | The wordmark "Loons" in red outlined in black. Centered above the wordmark is a loon in red with green shadowing and a silver beak. The words "Great Lakes" are between the wordmark and the loon in silver letters. | |
| Division titles | ||
| League titles | ||
| Manager | ||
| Owner | ||
The Great Lakes Loons, based in Midland, Michigan, is a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team plays in the Midwest League and their home park is Dow Diamond, which will open in April 2007.
The Loons played as the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays in the 2006 season at C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle Creek.
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[edit] History
The Midwest League came to Battle Creek, in 1995 after a franchise previously based in Springfield, Illinois (1982-93) and Madison, Wisconsin (1994) moved. The team was first known as the Battle Creek Golden Kazoos. Due to a trademark dispute and general fan dissatisfaction with the name (which is a nickname for the nearby city of Kalamazoo), the name was changed to the Michigan Battle Cats on March 9, 1995.
The team was affiliated with the Boston Red Sox (1995-98) and Houston Astros (1999-2002). The team changed its name to the Battle Creek Yankees after becoming an affiliate of the New York Yankees in 2003. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays took over affiliation of the team in September 2004, changing the team name to Southwest Michigan Devil Rays. In September 2006, the team announced its affiliation with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In January of 2006, it was confirmed that the Devil Rays would be sold to the non-profit Michigan Baseball Foundation and relocated to Midland, Michigan. The team has been renamed the Great Lakes Loons. The main reason the team is relocating is because of the lack of interest in the Battle Creek community. Even reduced tickets and a night when the fans actually were paid a dollar to come to that night's game failed to pique the interest of local residents.
Shortly after noon on October 2, 2006, at a private event for the company's employees, contractors, and their families, Andrew Liveris - chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical, which had purchased the naming rights for the Loons' Midland stadium - announced the name for the Loons' still-under-construction Midland stadium: the "Dow Diamond".
[edit] Alumni
Notable alumni of the Midwest League, Battle Creek franchise include Rafael Betancourt, Justin Duchscherer, David Eckstein, Shea Hillenbrand, Matt Kinney, Jason Lane, Aaron Miles, Melky Cabrera, Roy Oswalt, Carl Pavano, Tim Redding, Chris Reitsma, Donnie Sadler, Johan Santana and Wilton Veras.
[edit] Sources
- Dinda, J. (2003), "Battle Creek, Michigan, in the Midwest League" [1]
[edit] External link
| Los Angeles Dodgers Franchise | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | AA | A | Rookie |
| Las Vegas 51s | Jacksonville Suns |
Inland Empire 66ers Great Lakes Loons |
Ogden Raptors Gulf Coast Dodgers |
| Midwest League | ||
| Eastern Division | Western Division | |
|---|---|---|
| Dayton Dragons | Fort Wayne Wizards | Great Lakes Loons | Lansing Lugnuts | South Bend Silver Hawks | West Michigan Whitecaps | Beloit Snappers | Burlington Bees | Cedar Rapids Kernels | Clinton LumberKings | Kane County Cougars | Peoria Chiefs | Swing of the Quad Cities | Wisconsin Timber Rattlers | |
