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28-501: The team's logo was changed to a Grasshopper prior to the inaugural season at the new ballpark. Fans selected the name "Guilford" (Greensboro's county's name) for the team's mascot, a giant grasshopper. Prior to that, all home games for the Hornets and Bats were held at World War Memorial Stadium , just northeast of downtown Greensboro. Greensboro has fielded professional teams since the early 1900s, in several different leagues. Early on,

56-884: A couple of years, with another Piedmont League entry called the Greensboro Red Sox , which played during 1941–1942. After the Piedmont League years, another Greensboro team operated in the Carolina League during 1945–1968. The club was known variously as the Patriots (1945–1951), the Greensboro Pirates (1952–1954), the Patriots again (1955–1957), the Greensboro Yankees (1958–67), and the Patriots once again (1968). Following

84-516: A new ballpark. Their efforts finally succeeded in the early 2000s, and the new First Horizon Park (now known as First National Bank Field ) opened downtown in spring 2005. One of the stadium's notable features is an ornate, triple-arched entrance, which made a cameo appearance during the "road trip" segment of the 1988 movie Bull Durham . During the minor league club's tenure, the three arches were decorated with quarter-sphere awnings covered in red, white, and blue cloth respectively. The stadium has

112-448: A notable problem for the minor league club once the minor league explosion of the late 1980s and early 1990s was under way. Various cosmetic renovations were made, such as building a kind of stadium club ("The Grandstand") in the left field corner seats, as well as a fairly large concession stand outside the third base stands. The stadium also received many seats from Philadelphia's old Shibe Park after Shibe's demolition. Another issue

140-402: A pair of bronze plaques framing the archway and listing the area's war dead during 1917–1919. Close examination of the right-side plaque reveals that there were actually two alphabetical lists. Some sources say that this was a separation of white from "colored" in the conventional practice of the segregation era. The marker between the two lists was later roughly chiseled away. It was listed on

168-707: Is a baseball park in Greensboro, North Carolina , United States. It is situated on the northeast corner of Lindsay Street and Yanceyville Avenue, northeast of the downtown area and near the campus of North Carolina A&T University . It is currently the home of the NC A&;T baseball team of the NCAA Division I Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). It was the home of various local minor league baseball clubs off-and-on from 1930 through 2004. It also continues to be used for other amateur baseball events. It

196-754: The Carolina Association as charter members in 1908 and began a run of 10 straight seasons in pro ball. The league was reorganized as the North Carolina Association for 1913 and renamed itself the North Carolina State League in 1916. The league played one more season and then disbanded after 1917. By then, America's involvement in World War I was well under way, and many minor leagues folded after 1917. With peacetime, interest in professional baseball and

224-974: The Columbia Fireflies . Formerly known as the Savannah Cardinals , the team played their inaugural season in 1984, affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals . In 1996, the team changed its name to the Sand Gnats, and became an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers . The team was affiliated with the Texas Rangers from 1998 to 2002 and the Montreal Expos / Washington Nationals from 2003 to 2006. The Sand Gnats played their home games at Grayson Stadium . Opened in 1927, Grayson Stadium seated 4,700 fans during its time as

252-710: The National Register of Historic Places in 2001. After the field was rotated... Savannah Sand Gnats The Savannah Sand Gnats were a minor league baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia . They were a member of the A-level South Atlantic League . The Sand Gnats were an affiliate of the New York Mets in their final nine seasons. The team relocated to Columbia, South Carolina , in 2016 where they are now known as

280-553: The 1968 season, Greensboro dropped out of professional ball for the next ten years, during a time when minor league baseball had lost popularity. That situation would start to change for the better in the late 1970s, and Greensboro would benefit from it. The minors returned to Greensboro in 1979, with a new entry in the Western Carolinas League . The WCL renamed itself as the South Atlantic League

308-565: The 2018 season, the Grasshoppers went 60-76 under manager Todd Pratt for a 13th-place finish in the South Atlantic League. For 2019, the Pirates organization made Miguel Perez head coach, who managed the Grasshoppers to an improved 79-59 for a 3rd-place finish. For 2020 Perez was moved to the Pirates' Bradenton Marauders club, and the Pirates announced Kieran Mattison would be the Grasshoppers' new manager. However, all minor league baseball

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336-817: The Grasshoppers won the SAL Northern Division first half championship by posting a record of 46–24. They went on to win the Northern Division title with a 2–0 sweep of the Hagerstown Suns in the first round of the playoffs, but lost the Championship Series 3–1 to the Asheville Tourists . In September 2018, the Grasshoppers signed a 2-year affiliation agreement with the Pittsburgh Pirates . For

364-691: The Savannah Sand Gnats. Among their notable alumni are Adrián Beltré , Jacob DeGrom , Éric Gagné , Edwin Encarnación , Michael Fulmer , Travis Hafner , Hank Blalock , Steven Matz , Collin McHugh , Brandon Nimmo , Josh Whitesell , Josh Satin , and Ryan Zimmerman . Note: W = Wins, L = Losses 1984–1995: Savannah Cardinals The Sand Gnats had a in-state rivalry with the Augusta GreenJackets , an affiliate of

392-1020: The Stadium. The various Greensboro clubs would call the Stadium "home" for the next 75 years. The franchise moved from 80-year-old War Memorial Stadium to First National Bank Field in 2005. Hall of Fame alumni Notable alumni Greensboro alumni who are currently on Major League active rosters as of 8/4/2023: Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches 60-day injured list [REDACTED] 7-day injured list * On Pittsburgh Pirates 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated September 19, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB  •  South Atlantic League → Pittsburgh Pirates minor league players World War Memorial Stadium World War Memorial Stadium , more commonly known as War Memorial Stadium ,

420-474: The home of the Sand Gnats. The Sand Gnats won four SAL championships (1993, 1994, 1996, 2013). On January 11, 2007, the Sand Gnats named Tim Teufel as manager for the 2007 season. On May 8, 2007, Jorge Reyes, a pitcher for the Sand Gnats, was suspended for violating Minor League Baseball 's substance abuse policy. Reyes was the first player to receive a 100-game suspension for his second violation. On March 20, 2008, Atlanta-based Hardball Capital purchased

448-507: The minor leagues revived. The Greensboro Patriots were revived as well, joining the newly formed Piedmont League in 1920, winning its inaugural championship. The Patriots also won the league title in 1926. In 1930, the club began a five-year affiliation with the St. Louis Cardinals . After the Cardinals contract expired, the franchise transferred to Asheville Tourists in 1935. Five years later, minor league ball returned to Greensboro for

476-611: The new Greensboro team adopted it. Some naming rights complications arose when the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA began play in 1988. The nicknames co-existed in the state until 1994, when the Hornets settled with the NBA and changed their name to the punning nickname Greensboro Bats . Consequently, the team mascot switched from a hornet to a flying bat wielding a baseball bat . With the move from 80-year-old War Memorial Stadium to

504-506: The new park in 2005, the club further expanded its corporate face-lift by changing nicknames again, to the alliterative Greensboro Grasshoppers . In the 2008 season 18-year-old Giancarlo Stanton , former second round pick by the Florida Marlins , set the single season record for home runs by a Greensboro player with 39. In 2009, Master Yogi Berra, a black Labrador who has been "a fixture" at Grasshoppers games since then, became

532-656: The next year, reviving the name once used by the Southern League . Abandoning the old nickname of "Patriots", which by then was best known for the New England Patriots of the NFL , the new club instead decided to adopt the nickname Greensboro Hornets . That nickname was better known for teams based in Charlotte , but the Charlotte Hornets baseball team had abandoned its nickname after the 1973 season, and

560-681: The nickname Greensboro Patriots was applied to those teams, in reference to the Battle of Guilford Court House . There were a few false starts. In 1902 local cotton broker Leon J. Brandt fielded a Greensboro team in the North Carolina League , but the league failed in mid-season. The Virginia-North Carolina League of 1905 included the Greensboro Farmers franchise, also owned by Brandt. The league completed its season but disbanded thereafter. The Greensboro Patriots joined

588-526: The only dog ever thrown out of a professional baseball game for "leaving a mess in the outfield." In 2011, the Grasshoppers won 13 of their last 15 regular season games to make the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. After winning the second half of the season in the Northern Division, the Grasshoppers went on to beat the Savannah Sand Gnats in five games to win the South Atlantic League championship, their first title in 29 years. In 2012,

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616-669: The playoffs. They lost the best-of-five championship series to the Bowling Green Hot Rods , 3–2. In 2022, the High-A East became known as the South Atlantic League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. On January 4, 2022, Temerity Baseball bought the team. Temerity Baseball also owns the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. Team owner Andy Sandler intends to develop mixed-use and multi-family development around

644-399: The stadium. The Greensboro clubs initially played their home games at Cone Athletic Park , better known as simply Cone Park. World War Memorial Stadium opened in 1926 (on Armistice Day ), but the Patriots continued to play at Cone Park until 1930, when the addition of lights and other improvements to the Stadium, spurred by the affiliation with the Cardinals, resulted in the team moving to

672-417: Was also the home of A&T football until Aggie Stadium was opened in 1981. Local high school Dudley High School held home football games at the stadium until the late 1970's when a stadium was constructed on its campus. World War Memorial Stadium was dedicated on the eighth anniversary of Armistice Day , on November 11, 1926. At the time, there had of course only been the one World War . The stadium

700-485: Was initially laid out with the diamond centered on the curved part of the "J", with short foul lines and a deep center field, like a very-scaled-down version of the Polo Grounds . Later the diamond was rotated clockwise and repositioned, and the field assumed a fairly normal shape except for right center, which was abnormally close due to the presence of a creek. The ballpark's age and its cramped quarters began to be

728-469: Was originally built mostly with American football in mind, resembling a backwards "J" and with a running track. In 1930 the Greensboro Patriots of the old Piedmont League set up shop there, after a few decades of off and on play at Cone Athletic Park (0.7-miles to the northeast), and made various improvements such as the installation of lights and a roof for the box seat area. The field

756-589: Was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In conjunction with Major League Baseball 's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Grasshoppers were organized into the High-A East . They finished the 2021 season in second place in the Southern Division with a record of 74–46. Despite not winning the division, their record was the second-best overall in the league, which qualified them for

784-435: Was the condition of the field. With so many games being played there by the Patriots (later renamed the "Hornets" and then the "Bats") along with the college teams, the turf took a serious beating during the long hot North Carolina summer, and required frequent replacement with new turf. In order to put the city in a position to possibly upgrade to AA level ball, in the early 1990s the minor league club owners began lobbying for

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