Beloit Snappers
Beloit Snappers Founded in 1982 Beloit, Wisconsin | |||||
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Class-level | |||||
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Current | Class A | ||||
Minor league affiliations | |||||
League | Midwest League | ||||
Division | Western Division | ||||
Major league affiliations | |||||
Current | Oakland Athletics (2013–present) | ||||
Previous |
Minnesota Twins (2005–2012) | ||||
Minor league titles | |||||
League titles (1) |
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Division titles (8) |
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First half titles (4) |
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Second half titles (3) |
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Team data | |||||
Nickname | Beloit Snappers (1995–present) | ||||
Previous names | Beloit Brewers (1982–1994) | ||||
Colors |
green, navy blue, & yellow | ||||
Mascot | Snappy D. Turtle | ||||
Ballpark | Harry C. Pohlman Field | ||||
Owner(s)/ Operator(s) | Beloit Professional Baseball Association | ||||
Manager | Scott Steinmann | ||||
General Manager | Dennis Conerton |
The Beloit Snappers are a Class A minor league baseball team affiliated with the Oakland Athletics,[1] that plays in the Midwest League and is based in Beloit, Wisconsin.[2] The Snappers play their home games at Harry C. Pohlman Field at Telfer Park; built in 1982, the franchise attendance record of 10,127 was set in 1986. Beloit joined the Midwest League as an expansion franchise in 1982. The club was a Milwaukee Brewers farm team from its inception through 2004. Beloit switched to the Minnesota Twins' farm system for the 2005 season. The organization adopted the Snappers nickname in 1995 after using its parent team's nickname for its first 13 seasons. The name derives from the snapping turtle, because Beloit was formerly known as Turtle Village and there is still a Turtle Creek and a town of Turtle. All of these are named for a turtle-shaped Indian mound on the campus of Beloit College.
The 2003 team included two sons of former major league players. Prince Fielder, the son of former American League home run champion Cecil Fielder and Tony Gwynn, Jr., son of Tony Gwynn. Future major leaguer Danny Valencia played for the 2007 team. Another noted Major Leaguer, Jim Morris of The Rookie fame played for the Beloit Brewers when he came out of college in the 1980s. Other former Snappers players who moved on to Major League ball include Greg Vaughn, Geoff Jenkins, Jeff D'Amico Ron Belliard, and Yovani Gallardo. Minnesota Twins players that have come through include Matt Garza and Kevin Slowey.
After the Milwaukee Brewers withdrew their affiliation with Beloit due to the lack of a new stadium, efforts were started to build one similar to facilities used by the Rockford RiverHawks or the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. One possible scenario involved construction on a site near Janesville, which could have included renaming the team to reflect a broader Rock County audience.[3] However, no new stadium was built and improvements, including redoing the entire field and repairing the concrete concourse, have been made to the existing site in recent years. After the 2012 season, the city of Beloit appropriated $100,000 in order to completely redo the outfield. The outfield was raised and leveled with the infield and a new sprinkler system was installed.[4][5]
Roster
Beloit Snappers roster | ||||
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Players | Coaches/Other | |||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Notable alumni
- Minnesota Twins Affiliate Players
- Eddie Rosario (2012) 2015 AL Triples Leader
- Miguel Sano (2012)
- Brian Dozier (2010) MLB AS
- J.J. Hardy (2010) 3 x GG; 2 x MLB AS
- Aaron Hicks (2010)
- Danny Santana (2010)
- Liam Hendriks (2009)
- Alexi Casilla (2008)
- Ben Revere (2008) 2014 NL Hits Leader
- Yangervis Solarte (2008)
- Wilson Ramos (2007) 2014 Tony Conigliaro Award
- Danny Valencia (2007)
- Brian Duensing (2006)
- Chris Parmelee (2006)
- Matt Garza (2005) 2008 ALCS MVP
- Evan Meek (2005) MLB AS
- Trevor Plouffe (2005)
- Carlos Silva (2005)
- Kevin Slowey (2005)
- Milwaukee Brewers Affiliate Players
- Chris Capuano (2004) MLB AS
- Carlos Corporan (2004)
- Dana Eveland (2004)
- Yovani Gallardo (2004) MLB AS
- Carlos Villanueva (2004)
- Craig Breslow (2003)
- Tony Gwynn, Jr. (2003)
- Manny Parra (2003)
- Rickie Weeks (2003) MLB AS
- Tom Wilhelmsen (2003)
- Mike Adams (2002)
- Prince Fielder (2002-03) 6 x MLB AS; 2007 NL Home Run Leader; 2009 NL RBI Leader
- Geoff Jenkins (2001) MLB AS
- Mark Leiter (2001)
- Bill Hall (2000)
- Don Money (2000-04, MGR) 4 x MLB AS
- Fernando Vina (1999) 2 x GG: MLB AS
- Chad Fox (1998)
- Mike Matheny (1998) 4 x GG; MLB MGR: St. Louis Cardinals (2012-Present)
- José Valentín (1997)
- Ronnie Belliard (1995) MLB AS
- Jeff D'Amico (1995, 1997)
- Turner Ward (1995)
- Kevin Seitzer (1994) 2 x MLB AS; 1987 AL Hits Leader
- Cory Lidle (1996) Died: Age 34
- Greg Vaughn (1994) 4 x MLB AS
- Mike Boddicker (1993) GG; MLB AS
- Jeff Cirillo (1992) MLB AS
- Teddy Higuera (1992) MLB AS
- Darren Holmes (1991) 13 MLB Seasons
- Greg Mathews (1991)
- Ed Nunez (1991)
- Jim Gantner (1990)
- Bill Krueger (1990)
- Paul Molitor (1990) 7 x MLB AS; 3,319 Career Hits; 3 x AL Hits Leader (1991, 1993, 1996); Baseball Hall of Fame (2004)
- Greg Brock
- Cal Eldred (1989)
- Paul Mirabella (1989)
- Troy O'Leary (1989-1990)
- Dale Sveum (1989) MLB MGR
- Pat Listach (1988) 1992 AL Rookie of the Year
- Dave Nilsson (1988, 1998) MLB AS
- Steve Sparks (1988)
- John Jaha (1987, 1995, 1998) MLB AS
- Bill Spiers (1987, 1992)
- Greg Vaughn (1987)
- Doug Henry (1986)
- Randy Veres (1986)
- B.J. Surhoff (1985) MLB AS
- Tom Candiotti (1984) MLB AS
- Jim Morris (1984-85) Subject of 2002 Movie The Rookie
- Jeff Parrett (1984)
- Mike Birkbeck (1983
- Chris Bosio (1983-84, 1990) MLB AS
- Chuck Crim (1983, 1990)
- Juan Nieves (1983)
- Billy Jo Robidoux (1983)
- Bill Wegman (1982, 1990) 11 MLB Seasons
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Beloit Snappers. |
- ↑ Meisel, Zach. "A's make Beloit Snappers their Class A affiliate". Major League Baseball. Retrieved September 26, 2012.
- ↑ "Midwest League Teams". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 26, 2014.
- ↑ "Beloit Snappers". Archived from the original on August 1, 2008. Retrieved July 24, 2008.
- ↑ Zinck, Shaun (December 8, 2012). "Pohlman Field's Makeover Done". Beloit Daily News. Retrieved June 1, 2014.
- ↑ Zinck, Shaun (October 3, 2013). "Pohlman Field Work Nears Completion". Beloit Daily News. Retrieved June 1, 2014.