Fort Wayne TinCaps

Fort Wayne TinCaps Founded in 1993 Fort Wayne, Indiana
100px Team logo Cap insignia
Class-level
Current	Single-A (1993–present)
Minor league affiliations
League	Midwest League (1993–present)
Division	Eastern Division
Major league affiliations
Current	San Diego Padres (1999–present)
Previous	Minnesota Twins (1993–1998)
Minor league titles
League titles (1)	2009
Division titles (1)	2009
Team data
Nickname	Fort Wayne TinCaps (2009–present) Fort Wayne Wizards (1993–2008)
Colors
Ballpark	Parkview Field (2009–present)
Previous parks	Memorial Stadium (1993–2008)
Owner(s)/ Operator(s)	Hardball Capital
Manager	Randy Ready
General Manager	Mike Nutter

The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the San Diego Padres, that plays in the Midwest League. They won their first Midwest League Championship in 2009.

History

The Midwest League came to Fort Wayne in 1993. The franchise dates back from the league's days as the Illinois State League, starting in 1947 in Mattoon, Illinois. In 1958 the team moved to Keokuk, Iowa, where it spent five seasons; it was based in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin (1963–1983) and Kenosha, Wisconsin (1984–1992) before moving to Fort Wayne. The team was a Minnesota Twins farm team before they affiliated with the Padres in 1999. When the team moved to Fort Wayne in 1993, it adopted a new name, the Wizards.

The name TinCaps was chosen following the 2008 season, alluding to John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. The Tin Cap refers to a fictionalized depiction of John Chapman wearing a cooking pot as a hat in the 1948 Walt Disney movie "Johnny Appleseed," though this depiction has been disputed by historians. Chapman spent his final years in Fort Wayne and is buried in the city.

The team's home park was Memorial Stadium, which opened in 1993; a franchise attendance record of 318,506 was also set that year. As part of the Harrison Square revitalization project, Parkview Field became the official home of the TinCaps at the start of the 2009 season. To coincide with the new ballpark, the team held a contest to determine a new name for the Wizards once that new ballpark opened, and "TinCaps" was the result.

The mascot of the TinCaps is Johnny. Previously, for the Wizards, it was Dinger the Dragon and prior to that, the Wizards were represented by Wayne the Wizard.

The team won the Midwest League 2009 championship by sweeping the Burlington Bees, 3–0. The first two games were played at Parkview Field and the final, decisive game was played in Burlington, Iowa. The team and its staff were honored at Parkview Field in a special victory rally on September 18, 2009. In addition to winning a franchise record-setting 94 games in their new home, fans shattered the previous attendance record for the season, with 378,529 coming through the turnstiles.

The TinCaps also clinched playoff spots in each of the following two seasons.

Awards and honors

• 2009 – Midwest League championship
• 2009 – This Year in Minor League Baseball Awards "Overall Team of the Year"

All-time team

On August 24, 2008, The Journal Gazette and the franchise selected the all-time Wizards team members.

• Manager
  • Randy Ready
• Catcher
  • Javier Valentín
• First Baseman:
  • John Scheschuk
• Second Baseman:
  • Josh Barfield

• Third Baseman:
  • Sean Burroughs
• Shortstop:
  • Luis Rivas
• Designated Hitter:
  • Josh Loggins

• Outfielders:
  • Torii Hunter
  • Jeremy Owens
  • Will Venable
  • Kevin Reese

• Starting Pitchers:
  • Jake Peavy
  • LaTroy Hawkins
  • Tom Mott
  • Mike Ekstrom
  • Gabe Ribas
• Relief Pitchers:
  • J. J. Trujillo
  • Dale Thayer

Roster

Fort Wayne TinCaps roster
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 26 Logan Allen 24 Elliot Ashbeck  4 Jean Cosme 30 Taylor Cox 21 Enyel De Los Santos 16 Louis Distasio  6 Will Headean 31 Jerry Keel 17 Brett Kennedy 20 Walter Lockett -- Seth Lucio 11 Phil Maton 34 Nick Monroe 33 Jacob Nix  8 Gerardo Reyes  9 Austin Smith -- Bryan Verbitsky -- Walker Weickel		Catchers 23 Austin Allen 29 A.J. Kennedy Infielders  7 Daniel Bravo 25 Ty France 12 Ruddy Giron  3 Kodie Tidwell  5 Peter Van Gansen 35 Brad Zunica Outfielders  1 Rod Boykin 28 Michael Gettys 18 Jhonatan Pena 22 Luis Tejada -- Jose Carlos Urena		Manager 10 Anthony Contreras Coaches 27 Lance Burkhart (hitting) 32 Burt Hooton (pitching) 15 Vinny Lopez (coach) 10px 7-day disabled list * On San Diego Padres 40-man roster # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporary inactive list Roster updated April 23, 2016 Transactions → More MiLB rosters → San Diego Padres minor league players

Former TinCaps/Wizards in the majors

Nate Freiman

Torii Hunter, Jake Peavy, Bobby Scales, Joakim Soria, Dale Thayer, Nate Freiman David Freese, Will Venable, Nick Hundley, Greg Burke, Matt Antonelli, Josh Geer, Josh Barfield, Éric Cyr, A.J. Pierzynski, Michael Cuddyer, Wade LeBlanc, Cliff Bartosh, Jack Cassel, Corey Koskie, Ben Johnson, Dennis Tankersley, JJ Trujillo, Dirk Hayhurst, Michael Thompson, Latroy Hawkins, Scott Watkins, Matt Lawton, Dan Naulty, Brandon Gomes, Mat Latos, Allan Dykstra, Brad Brach, Matt Wisler

See also

• History of sports in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Sources

• Dinda, J. (2003), "Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the Midwest League"
• http://journalgazette.net/article/20090918/SPORTS0604/309189873/1008/SPORTS

External links

• Fort Wayne TinCaps website
• MadFriars.com
• Baseball in Fort Wayne