I-40 Cup Series

I-40 Cup Series
Sport Baseball
Teams
First meeting June 11, 2012
AutoZone Park
Latest meeting August 9, 2015
First Tennessee Park
Next meeting May 6, 2016
First Tennessee Park
Statistics
Meetings total 64
Most player appearances
Regular season series 32–32, tie
Largest victory 13–3, Redbirds
(July 7, 2013)
Longest win streak
  • Redbirds: 5
  • Sounds: 6
Current win streak Redbirds: 1
The 1885 Nashville Americans
The 1906 Memphis Egyptians

The I-40 Cup Series is a minor league baseball rivalry between Tennessee's two Triple-A baseball franchises, the Memphis Redbirds and the Nashville Sounds. The Series was established in 2012 as a season-long, 16-game series between the clubs. Whichever of the two wins the most games played between them is declared the winner and gets to keep the trophy cup until the next season. The losing team donates game tickets to a charity selected by the winner. If the season series is tied following the final game of the season between the two teams, the previous season's winner will remain champion.[1]

Though the Series was formally created in 2012, competition between minor league teams from Memphis and Nashville began in 1885, and the Redbirds and Sounds have competed against one another in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) since 1998.

History

Separated by an approximately 200-mile (320 km) stretch of Interstate 40, Memphis and Nashville have fielded several teams which have competed in the same leagues since the late 19th century. The first meeting between Nashville and Memphis teams occurred in 1885 when the Memphis Reds, the city's second professional team, played in the original Southern League against the Nashville Americans, the city's first professional team.[2] In 1886, the Americans competed against the Memphis Grays.[3] The Memphis Browns played against the Nashville Blues in 1887.[4] The Nashville Tigers competed with the Memphis Fever Germs in 1893 and the Memphis Giants in 1894.[5][6] In 1895, the Giants/Lambs played with the Nashville Seraphs.[7] From 1901 to 1960, the Nashville Vols, originally known as the Nashville Baseball Club from 1901 to 1907,[8] faced competition in the Memphis Egyptians (1901–08),[9] Memphis Turtles (1909–11),[10] and Memphis Chickasaws (1912–60).[11]

On September 8, 1906, George Suggs of the visiting Memphis Egyptians pitched an 11-inning no-hitter against the Nashville Baseball Club at Athletic Park. Suggs struck out six batters in the first game of a doubleheader, a 1–0 win.[12] Memphis' George Granger tossed a perfect game against the Vols at Russwood Park on August 25, 1932, in the second game of a doubleheader. He struck out two Vols batters over the course of the seven-inning contest which the Chicks won 1–0.[12]

The 1939 Volunteers defeated the Chicks in the Southern Association playoff semi-finals before going on to win the championship. In 1944, they defeated the Chicks to win the championship, 4–3. The 1948 Vols won the Southern Association pennant by three games over the second-place Chicks. Roles were reversed in 1953 when Memphis won the pennant by two games over the Vols. Nashville defeated Memphis in the 1957 championship semi-finals, but was defeated in the finals.[13]

During this period, several Negro league teams from the two cities competed in the Negro Southern League. The Memphis Red Sox competed against the Nashville White Sox from 1920 to 1922.[14] In 1926 and from 1930 to 1932 and 1935 to 1936, the Red Sox faced off against the Nashville Elite Giants.[14] The Nashville Cubs competed with the Memphis Blues in 1947 and the Red Sox in 1950.[14]

After 60 continuous years of minor league baseball games being played between Memphis and Nashville, a lapse occurred in the rivalry from 1961 to 1977. Competition resumed when the Nashville Sounds became a part of the Double-A Southern League in 1978.[15] The Sounds played in the West Division against the Memphis Chicks. In 1979, the Chicks won the first half of the season and the Sounds won the second half. In the best-of-three division finals, the Sounds defeated the Chicks in two out of three games before going on to win the Southern League Championship.[16] Memphis and Nashville each won the first and second halves, respectively, of the 1980 season. This time, however, Memphis won the Western Division title, defeating Nashville in three out of four games.[16] The teams met again under the same circumstances in 1981. The Sounds swept the Chicks in three straight games to win the Western Division finals.[16]

The interstate rivalry was interrupted again when Nashville moved to the American Association in 1985, but was renewed in 1998 when the Sounds joined the Pacific Coast League and the Memphis Redbirds were created as an expansion team.[17] The Sounds and Redbirds were division rivals in the American Conference East Division from 1998 to 2004,[17] the American Conference North Division from 2005 to 2013,[18] and the American Conference Southern Division since 2014.[19]

On July 15, 2006, Sounds pitchers Carlos Villanueva (6 IP), Mike Meyers (2 IP), and Alec Zumwalt (1 IP) combined to no-hit the Redbirds, 2–0, at Herschel Greer Stadium in Nashville.[20] In 2009, Memphis clinched the American Conference North Division title, finishing the season just two games ahead of Nashville which spent the majority of the season in first place.[21] Similarly, Nashville finished the 2014 season two-and-a-half games behind Memphis after having led the division for most of the season.[19]

Teams timeline

Nashville vs. Memphis Timeline
Year(s) League Memphis Nashville
1885 Southern League Reds Americans
1886 Grays
1887 Browns Blues
1893 Fever Germs Tigers
1894 Giants/Lambs
1895 Seraphs
1901–08 Southern Association Egyptians Volunteers
1909–11 Turtles
1912–60 Chickasaws
1978–84 Southern League Chicks Sounds
1998–present Pacific Coast League Redbirds

Results

All-time results

As of the completion of the 2015 series, Memphis leads the all-time series against Nashville with a record of 897–872 (.507).[22] This record encompasses all 91 years of competition in the original Southern League, Southern Association, Southern League, and Pacific Coast League. Nashville, however, leads the all-time 18-year PCL series with a record of 154–132 (.538).[1][23]

All-Time Pacific Coast League Series
Year Series Winner Memphis Wins Nashville Wins
1998 Sounds 6 10
1999 Tie 8 8
2000 Tie 7 7
2001 Sounds 6 10
2002 Sounds 5 11
2003 Sounds 7 9
2004 Redbirds 9 7
2005 Tie 8 8
2006 Sounds 6 10
2007 Sounds 5 11
2008 Redbirds 10 6
2009 Sounds 6 10
2010 Sounds 7 9
2011 Redbirds 10 6
2012 Sounds 7 9
2013 Redbirds 9 7
2014 Tie 8 8
2015 Tie 8 8
2016 In progress 0 0
Overall Sounds (9–4–5) 132 154

I-40 Cup Series results

The Sounds won the inaugural 2012 contest (9–7), and Memphis won the 2013 series (7–9).[1] The teams tied the 2014 and 2015 series (both 8–8), but the Redbirds retained the title in both instances.[24] The teams are tied with a 32–32 game record, but Memphis leads the I-40 Cup Series with a 3–1 record.[1]

I-40 Cup Series
Year Series Winner Memphis Wins Nashville Wins Notes
2012 Sounds 7 9 First Nashville win
2013 Redbirds 9 7 First Memphis win
2014 Redbirds 8 8 Series tied; Memphis retains cup
2015 Redbirds 8 8 Series tied; Memphis retains cup
2016 In progress 0 0 —
Overall Redbirds (3–1) 32 32

References

General
Specific
  1. 1 2 3 4 "Tennessee Lottery I-40 Cup Series". Nashville Sounds. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  2. ↑ "1885 Southern League Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  3. ↑ "1886 Southern Association Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  4. ↑ "1887 Southern League Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  5. ↑ "1893 Southern Association Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  6. ↑ "1894 Southern Association Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  7. ↑ "1895 Southern Association Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  8. ↑ Nipper, Skip (October 1, 2013). "Name That Team". 262 Down Right. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  9. ↑ "1901 Southern Association Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  10. ↑ "1909 Southern Association Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  11. ↑ "1912 Southern Association Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  12. 1 2 McGill, Chuck. "Minor League No-Hitters". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Timeline" (PDF). Southern Association Baseball. Retrieved September 18, 2015.
  14. 1 2 3 "Negro Southern League (1920-1951)" (PDF). Center for Negro League Baseball Research. Retrieved January 31, 2015.
  15. ↑ "1978 Southern League Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  16. 1 2 3 "Postseason History" (PDF). Nashville Sounds 2015 Media Guide. Minor League Baseball. pp. 167–168. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  17. 1 2 "1998 Pacific Coast League Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  18. ↑ "2005 Pacific Coast League Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  19. 1 2 "2014 Pacific Coast League Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  20. ↑ Rega, Marissa (July 15, 2006). "Nashville Trio Combines on No-hitter". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  21. ↑ "2009 Pacific Coast League Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Memphis All-Time Record Vs. Cities" (PDF). 2015 Memphis Redbirds Media Guide. Minor League Baseball. 2015. p. 163. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 1, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Memphis Redbirds" (PDF). Nashville Sounds 2015 Media Guide. Minor League Baseball. p. 133. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Redbirds Retain I-40 Cup With 11-2 Win Over Sounds". Memphis Redbirds. Minor League Baseball. August 9, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
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