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24-667: After a long minor league hiatus in Grand Rapids, the West Michigan Whitecaps of the Midwest League began play in Comstock Park, Michigan , just outside Grand Rapids, in 1994. Early Grand Rapids teams played at Recreation Park for weekdays games and at Alger Park on Reeds Lake for the weekends. Later, the teams played at Bigelow Field on South Division Avenue. A McDonald's restaurant occupies

48-639: A portion of the site today. This article about a baseball team in Michigan is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers . They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan , a suburb of Grand Rapids , and play their home games at LMCU Ballpark . The Midwest League came to

72-636: Is a list of West Michigan Whitecaps who have played in the major leagues. In February 2019, the Whitecaps extended their broadcasting contract with Cumulus Media , but switched radio frequencies to air games on the newly-launched "The Ticket" for the 2019 season with radio simulcast on four stations: 106.1-FM and 1340-AM in Grand Rapids, and 99.1-FM and 1490-AM in Muskegon. Select games are aired in Holland, Michigan, on WHTC on 1450-AM and 99.7-FM. Dan Hasty

96-743: Is the Voice of the Whitecaps and also serves as the Host of the Detroit Tigers' Road to Detroit podcast, as well as serving as radio voice of Men's Basketball for the University of Detroit Mercy . B-Roll footage of a game between the Whitecaps and South Bend Silver Hawks at Fifth Third Ballpark , was aired in Champ's Whammy! home runs scene in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues . Officials with

120-997: The Beloit Snappers in 2007, and the Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2015. West Michigan is 55–32 all-time in playoff games. Since 1994, the Whitecaps have had nine managers. In 2007, former Tigers' third baseman Tom Brookens became the fifth manager in the history of the Whitecaps. Listed here is each manager and their won/loss record: Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches 60-day injured list [REDACTED] 7-day injured list * On Detroit Tigers 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated November 6, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB  •  Midwest League → Detroit Tigers minor league players Below

144-625: The Paducah Chiefs . In 1954, the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League expanded, adding teams in Clinton and Dubuque, Iowa . The Mississippi-Ohio Valley League was then renamed Midwest League in 1956. The original teams in 1956, the first year of Midwest League play, were: Clinton Pirates , Decatur Commodores , Dubuque Packers , Kokomo Dodgers , Lafayette Red Sox , Mattoon Phillies , Michigan City White Caps and

168-773: The Paris Lakers . Mattoon is the oldest franchise in the MWL, evolving into today's Fort Wayne TinCaps , while Clinton is the oldest MWL locale. In 1960, the Davenport, Iowa based Quad City Braves joined the league as an expansion team. In 1962, Appleton , Burlington , and Cedar Rapids joined the Midwest League from the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League which folded operations when those franchises switched leagues. All those franchised remain in

192-502: The 1990s several teams changed cities as Major League Baseball placed higher standards on minor league baseball facilities; franchises in smaller cities were sold to new owners who moved those teams to new ballparks in larger cities. Kenosha , Madison, Rockford, Springfield, Waterloo , and Wausau lost teams during this decade while Battle Creek , Dayton , Fort Wayne , Grand Rapids (West Michigan), Kane County , and Lansing gained teams. The 1978 Appleton Foxes are ranked #93 on

216-579: The 2006 season. The team posted the second best record in franchise history, going 89–48, including going 23–6 in July. Michael Hollimon hit 3 home runs in one game. Cameron Maybin hit 2 grand slams in the season. Michael Hernandez became the first person in the history of the Midwest League to hit for the cycle twice. The Whitecaps went on to defeat the Kane County Cougars in four games to win their fourth Midwest League Championship. In 2009,

240-868: The 2007 season. On September 2, 2008, Minor League Baseball announced that two teams would transfer from the fellow Class A South Atlantic League to the Midwest League: the Lake County Captains (an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians playing in Eastlake, Ohio ) and the Bowling Green Hot Rods (an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays playing in Bowling Green, Kentucky ). The start of the 2020 season

264-585: The Grand Rapids area in 1994 upon the arrival of the former Madison Muskies . The Whitecaps were brought to West Michigan by local businessmen Lew Chamberlin and Dennis Baxter. The Whitecaps were affiliated with the Oakland Athletics before they joined the Tigers' farm system in 1997. Their home ballpark is LMCU Ballpark in Comstock Park. Before the 2002 season it was known as Old Kent Park;

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288-646: The Mattoon Indians in 1947 and playing in Keokuk, Iowa ; Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin ; and Kenosha, Wisconsin , before moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana , in 1993. The Clinton LumberKings have been in one city longer than any Midwest League team, having called Clinton, Iowa , home since 1954. The Southwest Michigan Devil Rays moved to Midland, Michigan , and became the Great Lakes Loons prior to

312-520: The Top-100 All Time teams by MiLB.com. Led by future Cy Young Award winner LaMarr Hoyt , the team finished 97–40. Harry Chappas , Ross Baumgarten and Britt Burns were all called up to the parent Chicago White Sox at the conclusion of the MWL season. The 97 wins by the Foxes remains a Midwest League record. The Fort Wayne TinCaps are the oldest franchise in the league, having begun as

336-664: The West Michigan Whitecaps were unaware they would be featured in the movie and only found out after the movie was released in December 2013. Notes Sources Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States . A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball 's 2021 reorganization of

360-713: The Whitecaps were organized into the High-A Central . In 2022, the High-A Central became known as the Midwest League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. The Whitecaps won the best-of-five Midwest League championship six times in six opportunities. They defeated the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in 1996, the Rockford Cubbies in 1998, the Kane County Cougars twice (2004 and 2006),

384-512: The challenge. In 2012, The Whitecaps installed a new scoreboard and high resolution video display screen which was installed by TS Sports out of Dallas, Texas. On January 3, 2014, a fire started in one of the suites. It spread and caused extensive damage, close to one half of the suites and 1st base concourse were destroyed. Thanks to extensive work, the park was restored and up and running by opening day. In conjunction with Major League Baseball 's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021,

408-771: The league expanded from 8 to 12 teams, adding the Beloit Brewers , the Danville Suns , the Madison Muskies , and the Springfield Cardinals . The Peoria Suns relocated from Danville in 1983, and acquired their current name, Peoria Chiefs, the following year. In 1988, the league began splitting its season into two halves and expanded from 12 to 14 teams, with the addition of franchises in South Bend, Indiana , and Rockford, Illinois . During

432-514: The league today. In 1963, the Midwest League was designated as a Class A league, after the minor league classification structure was reorganized. The 1975 Waterloo Royals , led by future MLB All-Stars Willie Wilson and Dan Quisenberry , are ranked #60 on MiLB.com's Top 100 Teams. The Royals finished the season 93–35. In 1976, the Midwest League contracted from ten teams to eight, as franchises in Danville and Dubuque were eliminated. In 1982,

456-723: The minor leagues. The Midwest League began as the Illinois State League (1947–1948) and then became the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League (1949–1955). In 1956, the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League was renamed the Midwest League. The circuit temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the High-A Central before reassuming its original moniker in 2022. The Lansing Lugnuts and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers franchises jointly have won

480-659: The most Midwest League championships , with nine each. The Midwest League directly evolved from two earlier leagues in the region. In 1947, the Class D Illinois State League (ISL) began operation with six Illinois teams: the Belleville Stags , Centralia Cubs , Marion Indians , Mattoon Indians , Mount Vernon Braves , and West Frankfort Cardinals . In 1949, the ISL changed its name to the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League after Marion moved their franchise to Kentucky and became

504-614: The name was changed when the park's title sponsor, Old Kent Bank, was purchased by Fifth Third Bank. Before the 2021 season, the Lake Michigan Credit Union renamed the venue "LMCU Ballpark". The team's official mascots are Crash the River Rascal, Roxy the River Rascal and Franky the Swimming Pig. The franchise's attendance record of 547,401 was set in 1996. Several league and team records were set during

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528-546: The team drew the attention of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine after a 4-pound (1.8 kg), 4,800-calorie hamburger called the Fifth Third Burger was placed on the menu of the team's concession stand. It was so named in part for the ballpark sponsor and part for its 1.6666 (or 5/3) pounds of meat. The Committee requested that the team put a label on the burger indicating that it

552-429: Was a "dietary disaster". To date, more than 100 fans, or about a half of the people who have attempted the challenge, have conquered the burger and earned a commemorative T-shirt. On July 15, 2009, Travel Channel 's " Man v. Food " and its host Adam Richman came to Fifth Third Ballpark to attempt to conquer the burger in an episode of the popular show. The episode aired on September 30, 2009, wherein he successfully met

576-465: Was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before ultimately being cancelled on June 30. As part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, the Midwest League was promoted to High-A, reduced to 12 teams, and temporarily renamed the "High-A Central" for the 2021 season. Following MLB's acquisition of the rights to the names of the historical minor leagues, the High-A Central

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