The Southern Illinois Miners were a professional baseball team based in Marion, Illinois . The Miners were members of the West Division of the independent Frontier League . From 2007 to 2021, the Miners played their home games at Rent One Park .
38-531: The "Miners" name refers to the Southern Illinois region's history of coal mining. The Miners won their first and only Frontier League championship in 2012. Following the 2021 season, the team owners announced their retirement would also come with the folding of the franchise. The city of Marion had not hosted any professional baseball team since the departure of the Marion Indians after
76-551: A 1.86 ERA to become the second-straight Miners hurler to win the league's Pitcher of the Year Award. The Miners also retired number 13 for all-time wins and strikeouts leader Ryan Bird in 2015, the second retired number in team history. In 2016, the Miners celebrated their 10th anniversary season with more on-field success, with a second-straight 63–33 regular season. They won their third-straight division championship (this time in
114-483: A 2.48 ERA and league-best 152 strikeouts), Southern Illinois went 58–38, making the postseason as a wild card entrant. On September 8, they won their first playoff game in team history, defeating the Windy City ThunderBolts 4–2 at home. They ultimately fell in the division series to the eventual league champion ThunderBolts in four games. The 2010 Season was historic season for the Miners as they set
152-405: A 3–1 lead. Florence would rally to tie the score with two runs in the sixth, but two Freedom errors in the seventh brought home the eventual winning run. The Miners added an RBI double in the eighth by Gregory to complete the scoring as they won 5–3. In Game 2, Southern Illinois used home runs from Gregory, Lester and shortstop Jake Kaase to jump out to a 5–2 lead after six innings. Florence made it
190-456: A 53–43 record, their 12th winning season in 13 years. They also had their first postseason all-star players since 2016, with Chase Cunningham going 10–5 with a 3.23 ERA and 132 strikeouts in a team-record 136 + 2 ⁄ 3 innings pitched to become their fifth Frontier League Pitcher of the Year, and outfielder Kyle Davis also taking home postseason all-star honors. Cunningham finished atop
228-564: A Frontier League record with a 20-game winning streak from June 9 – June 28, and with 64 total wins tied the record for second-most wins in a season in league history. That year, Rent One Park hosted its first-ever Frontier League All-Star Game, with the Miners sending 10 players to the midseason showcase while sporting a 39–9 record at the All-Star break. Thanks to a league-best 64–32 overall record, they also claimed their first-ever division title and made their second playoff appearance, falling in
266-411: A Frontier League record. The team has sent a total of 66 players to the league's All-Star game in 13 seasons, with 17 postseason all-stars in their history including five Pitchers of the Year (2008: Ryan Bird, 2010: Joe Augustine, 2014: Matt Bywater, 2015: Adam Lopez, 2019: Chase Cunningham), one league Most Valuable Player (2009: Joey Metropoulos) and one Rookie of the Year (2016: Shane Kennedy). As of
304-627: A company that specialize in the manufacturing of cards for Minor League teams . Mike Pinto was the Miners Manager and this was his 14th season . It was also his 4th year in the dual role of Chief Operating Officer of the Miners. The Miners have won the Frontier League Organization Of The Year Award three times (2007, 2009, 2010). Southern Illinois finished with a winning record in each of their first ten seasons, from 2007 to 2016, representing
342-684: A hotly contested five-game series to the River City Rascals three games to two. After again making the postseason in 2011 with a 58–38 record, but again falling to River City in the Division Series, Southern Illinois made the playoffs as a wild card entrant at 55–39, finishing one win ahead of Windy City and the Schaumburg Boomers . The Miners faced the Traverse City Beach Bums , who finished with
380-465: A one-run game with a two-run seventh inning, but the Miners responded with four runs in the eighth, including a three-run home run by outfielder Chad Maddox, to pull away and win 9–4. Florence denied the Miners a clean sweep of the postseason with a slim 4–3 victory in Game 3 at Rent One Park, setting up Game 4 on September 16 at home. After taking a 3–0 lead thanks to a three-run fourth inning that included
418-514: A two-run blast by Maddox, Florence rallied to tie the game with two runs in the seventh and one run in the eighth. The game remained knotted at 3–3 into extra innings, with neither team being able to break through until the bottom of the 12th. With the bases loaded and two outs, Kaase drew a walk from Florence's Brent Choban to force in the championship-winning run as the Miners claimed their first league title in team history. Lester, who hit .500 (8-for-16) with two doubles, two home runs and three RBIs in
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#1732771971920456-705: Is often applied as an umbrella term for all leagues — major and minor — under the authority of the Commissioner of Baseball . Operating outside the Minor League Baseball organization are many independent minor leagues such as the Atlantic League , American Association , Frontier League , and the feeder league to these the Empire Professional Baseball League . Japan has had professional baseball since
494-609: Is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada consists of the National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901). Historically, teams in one league never played teams in
532-504: The China National Baseball League , Israel Baseball League , and Baseball Philippines . During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, players of black African descent were barred from playing the major leagues , though several did manage to play by claiming to be Cubans or Native Americans . As a result, a number of parallel Negro leagues were formed. However, after Jackie Robinson began playing with
570-569: The Evansville Otters , winning 9–6 in front of a crowd of 6,251. The team set a new Frontier League attendance record by hosting 259,392 fans (the prior record was 217,500 set by Gateway in 2004). The Miners also became the first team in Frontier League history to average over 5,000 fans per game for a season (5,086). In addition, Southern Illinois Miners fans contributed heavily to supporting their lead mascot, Big John, to become
608-738: The Grapes ) are a professional baseball team based in Avon, Ohio . They compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the Central Division in the Midwest Conference, and began play as an expansion team in 2009. The Crushers won the 2009 Frontier Cup in their inaugural season. They defeated the River City Rascals , three games to two, after losing the first two games of the series. Avon Professional Baseball unveiled
646-700: The 1930s. Nippon Professional Baseball consists of two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League , each with six teams. South Korea has had professional baseball since 1982. There are 10 teams in KBO League . Taiwan has had professional baseball since the 1990s. The Chinese Professional Baseball League absorbed Taiwan Major League in 2003. There are currently 6 teams in the CPBL. Other Asian leagues include three now defunct leagues,
684-626: The 1948 season. The Indians played for only two seasons in the Class D Illinois State League . John Simmons, an Illinois lawyer, proposed the Marion ballpark originally for an affiliated professional Minor League Baseball team, but that request was rejected by the Midwest League . However, Simmons remained interested in bringing professional baseball to Marion, so he petitioned several independent leagues for membership. In August 2006, Marion
722-657: The 2020 championship season due to the COVID-19 pandemic . On October 6, 2021, after going 54-42 (.563) and coming 3rd in the West Division but missing the playoffs, owners Jayne and John Simmons announced they would be retiring from professional baseball, ceasing the operations of the Southern Illinois Miners. 2021 would also see the final set of baseball cards produced for the Miners . These had previously been printed and distributed by Grandstand,
760-967: The City of Avon. The Kramig's sold the team to group headed by former Cleveland Cavaliers CEO Len Komoroski in March 2024. On March 15, 2017, the Lake Erie Crushers unveiled new logos and uniforms that allude to the viticulture of the Great Lakes region . Purple and white replaced the original colors of black and red. Pitchers Utility players Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches [REDACTED] Disabled list ‡ Inactive list § Suspended list updated July 16, 2024 Transactions The Crushers play at Crushers Stadium in Avon, Ohio , which has been their home since their inception in 2009. The stadium, built and owned by
798-588: The Frontier League postseason in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2019. They reached the Frontier League Championship Series once during that span, being swept by the Schaumburg Boomers, three games to none. In February 2016, Edelson sold the team to Tom & Jacqueline Kramig of Blue Dog Baseball LLC. The Kramigs are on-site owner/operators who initiated several significant upgrades to the team and the ballpark in conjunction with
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#1732771971920836-550: The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, oversees nearly all minor league baseball in the United States and Canada. The minor leagues are divided into classes AAA, AA, High-A, A, and Rookie. These minor-league divisions are affiliated with major league teams, and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major-leaguers. "Affiliated baseball" (archaically, " organized baseball ")
874-475: The West Division) by 7 + 1 ⁄ 2 games over the second-place Evansville Otters, becoming the second team in Frontier League history to win three straight division titles (after the 2005–2007 Washington Wild Things ) and the first team in league history to win 60 or more games in three consecutive seasons. The Miners retired number 20 for player/coach/instructor Ralph Santana in 2017. Santana
912-479: The circuit in wins and innings while finishing second by one in strikeouts, and Davis finished in the league's top-10 in home runs (15) and RBIs (62). Due to the Frontier League absorbing five teams from the former Can-Am League in October 2019, the Miners were placed in the new Midwestern Division of the league. The Miners' 2020 season was suspended on June 24 when the Frontier League announced it too would suspend
950-628: The club to their first-ever Frontier League championship series. In the championship series, the Miners took on the Florence Freedom, who had beaten the Gateway Grizzlies in a five-game series three games to two. Again, the Miners opened the series on the road, and again they took the first two games of the series. In Game 1, trailing 1–0 in the third inning, Southern Illinois got back-to-back home runs by catcher Chris Anderson (a two-run shot) and second baseman Cannon Lester to take
988-630: The end of the 2019 season, the Miners have had 59 former players signed by Major League Baseball organizations. Three former Miners ( Tanner Roark , Clay Zavada and Brandon Cunniff ) have made it to the major leagues. Mike Pinto is / was the only Manager that the Miners have ever had. He held the title as the All Time Leader in Frontier League history in managerial wins. Postseason All-Star: 3B Steve Marino Postseason All-Star: OF Shane Kennedy Postseason All-Star: DH Craig Massey Professional baseball Professional baseball
1026-509: The first retired number in team history. Ace left-hander Matt Bywater won the team's second Frontier League Pitcher of the Year Award. In 2015, the Miners finished with the second-best record in team history, going 63–33 to finish with the league's best record. They also won their second-straight East Division championship, clinching it in memorable fashion on August 30 with a walk-off, two-run home run by third baseman Steve Marino against Traverse City. Right-handed starter Adam Lopez went 10–0 with
1064-545: The league's best record at 64–32, in the division series. In Game 1 on the road, the Miners shut out the Beach Bums 1–0 behind a solo home run by postseason all-star outfielder Javier Herrera (acquired in a trade with the Rockford RiverHawks earlier in the season) and eight shutout innings from ace right-hander David Harden. In the second game, Traverse City scored three runs in the first inning and led 4–0 in
1102-706: The major-league Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, the Negro leagues gradually faded. The process of integration did not go entirely smoothly; there were some ugly incidents, including pitchers who would try to throw directly at a black player's head. Now, however, baseball is fully integrated, and there is little to no racial tension between teammates. Between 1943 and 1954, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League fielded teams in several Midwestern towns. Lake Erie Crushers The Lake Erie Crushers (often referred as
1140-701: The name and logo on Thursday, December 4, 2008, of the Frontier League team that will begin play in Avon. The name was chosen from entries submitted in a "Name the Team" contest sponsored by The Morning Journal. The owner of the team, Steven Edelson, said more than 800 team name ideas were submitted. After years of talk, Frontier League officials decided to put a team in Lorain County . After initially hinting it would be in Lorain, they decided to go with Avon because, rumor
1178-570: The other until the World Series , in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other. This changed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play . The Philadelphia Phillies , founded in 1883, are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in both Major League Baseball and all of American professional sports. In addition to the major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams. An organization officially styled Minor League Baseball , formerly
Southern Illinois Miners - Misplaced Pages Continue
1216-541: The record-setting overall winner of the Best Logo in Minor League Baseball, awarded April 2, 2008, by CNBC following their largest online poll ever. After going 49–47 in their first season, the Miners made their first playoff appearance in 2008. Led by postseason all-star outfielder Joey Metropoulos (who hit .315 with 20 home runs and 66 RBIs) and Frontier League Pitcher of the Year Ryan Bird (who went 13–3 with
1254-615: The series, was named the championship series MVP. After the Miners missed the playoffs in 2013 for the first time since 2009, Southern Illinois finished with a 60–36 record in 2014, clinching the East Division title on September 3 (the second-to-last day of the regular season) with a road victory over the Lake Erie Crushers . It was the second divisional championship in team history. That year, they also retired uniform number 31 for 2009 Frontier League MVP Joey Metropoulos,
1292-429: The sixth before the Miners came back with three runs in the sixth and a game-tying RBI single by Cory Harrilchak in the eighth inning. With the score still tied at 4–4 in the tenth inning, outfielder Ken Gregory hit a go-ahead solo home run, which eventually proved to be the winning run in a 5–4 Miners extra-inning victory. Southern Illinois completed the sweep of the favored Beach Bums by winning Game 3 at home 4–3, sending
1330-554: The team name. In their inaugural season in 2009, the Lake Erie Crushers won the Frontier League championship after a 57-38 regular season. They rallied to eliminate the Kalamazoo Kings, three games to two, before rallying from a 2-0 series deficit to defeat the River City Rascals in the Frontier League Championship Series, 3-2, with a 13-10 Game 5 victory on the road on Sept. 23, 2009. The Crushers also reached
1368-509: Was officially announced as an expansion franchise of the Frontier League , to begin play in 2007. The region's close proximity to existing teams made Southern Illinois a natural fit for the Frontier League. The Miners began their inaugural season on May 23, 2007, on the road against the Gateway Grizzlies , with the franchise's first home run hit by Tim Dorn that same night. Six days later, they played their first home game against
1406-401: Was the team's first postseason all-star in 2007 as a second baseman, and served as hitting coach from 2008 to 2013, earning Frontier League Coach of the Year honors in 2012. They finished the year with a 39–57 record, their first (and to date, only) season with a losing record. The Miners posted a 48–47 mark in 2018, their 11th winning season in 12 years. In 2019 the Miners ended the year with
1444-528: Was they were not happy with the stadium Lorain was offering them, which is now known as The Pipe Yard. The "Name the Team" contest was launched in October, and the hundreds of entries were whittled down. Fans then voted on finalist selections, choosing from Ohio, Lorain County, Avon, Cleveland or Lake Erie for the team location name and the Groove, Ironmen, Red Tails, Artichokes, Crushers, Walleyes, and Woollies for
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