Hickory Crawdads

Hickory Crawdads Founded in 1993 Hickory, North Carolina
Team logo Cap insignia
Class-level
Current	Single-A
Minor league affiliations
League	South Atlantic League
Division	Northern Division
Major league affiliations
Current	Texas Rangers (2009–present)
Previous	Pittsburgh Pirates (1999–2008) Chicago White Sox (1993–1998) Texas Rangers (1987–1992) Detroit Tigers (1986) Co-op (1985) Montreal Expos (1983–1984) St. Louis Cardinals (1977–1982)
Minor league titles
League titles (3)	2002 2004 2015
Division titles (10)	1994 1997 1999 2002 2003 2004 2007 2010 2011 2015
Team data
Nickname	Hickory Crawdads (1993–present)
Previous names	Gastonia Rangers (1987–1992) Gastonia Tigers (1986) Gastonia Jets (1985) Gastonia Expos (1983–1984) Gastonia Cardinals (1977–1982)
Colors	Red, black, white, Crawdad blue
Ballpark	L. P. Frans Stadium (1993–present)
Previous parks	Sims Legion Park (1977–1992)
Owner(s)/ Operator(s)	Hickory Baseball, Inc.
Manager	Steve Mintz
General Manager	Mark Seaman

The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team in Hickory, North Carolina. They are a Class A team in the South Atlantic League, and have been a farm team of the Texas Rangers since 2009. From 1999–2008, they were a Class A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and from their inception in 1993 until 1998 they were a Class A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. The Crawdads play home games at L. P. Frans Stadium. Opened in 1993, Frans Stadium seats 5,092 fans. The Crawdads won the South Atlantic League Championship in 2002, 2004, and 2015. The team has appeared in the SAL finals three times, and the SAL playoffs ten times.

Notable alumni

• José Bautista
• Joe Beimel
• Matt Capps
• Joe Crede
• Zach Duke
• John Grabow
• Carlos Lee
• Andrew McCutchen
• Nate McLouth
• Nyjer Morgan
• Magglio Ordóñez
• Aaron Rowand
• Jurickson Profar
• Joe Bauserman
• Chris Young

Roster

Hickory Crawdads roster
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 28 Blake Bass 12 Wes Benjamin 38 Adam Choplick 23 Peter Fairbanks -- Tyler Ferguson -- Nick Gardewine 33 Jonathan Hernandez 36 Johan Juan 11 Omarlin Lopez 31 Brett Martin -- Michael Matuella 25 Joe Palumbo 40 Pedro Payano 37 Erik Swanson 17 Dillon Tate 30 John Werner		Catchers 22 Chuck Moorman  9 Tyler Sanchez Infielders  4 Frandy de la Rosa 10 Ti'Quan Forbes  7 Andy Ibáñez  6 Dylan Moore  2 Yeyson Yrizarri Outfielders 16 Jose Almonte  8 LeDarious Clark  3 Darius Day 15 Chris Garia  5 Eric Jenkins  1 Eduard Pinto †		Manager 13 Steve Mintz Coaches 39 Matt Hagen (field) 20 Jose Jaimes (pitching) 32 Francisco Matos (hitting) 60-day disabled list -- Dario Beltre -- Jacob Lemoine 7-day disabled list * On Texas Rangers 40-man roster # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list † Temporary inactive list Roster updated May 4, 2016 Transactions → More MiLB rosters → Texas Rangers minor league players

Mascot

Conrad the Crawdad (established in 1993) is the official mascot of the Crawdads. Conrad, along with his partner Candy Crawdad entertain fans of the team.

Upon purchasing a minor league baseball team from Gastonia, North Carolina, Don Beaver moved the team to his hometown of Hickory, North Carolina. Todd Teague named the team "Hickory Crawdads." Shortly after, Beaver launched a contest requesting the community to assist him in naming the team's mascot. Ryan Windam, a native of Hickory, won the contest with the name "Conrad." Thus, Conrad the Crawdad was born. Standing at approximately six feet tall, Conrad has not missed a single pitch since the team's inception in 1993.^[1]

References

1. Conrad & The Hickory Crawdads

External links

• Hickory Crawdads official website