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Clinton LumberKings

(Redirected from Clinton Pilots)
For the 1937–1941 Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League team known as the Clinton Giants and Clinton Owls, see Clinton Owls.

The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest League. With Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minor leagues after the 2020 season, Clinton was not selected to continue in affiliated baseball.

Clinton LumberKings
Team logo Cap insignia
Information
LeagueProspect League (2021–present) (Western Conference – Northwest Division)
LocationClinton, Iowa
BallparkNelsonCorp Field (1937–present)
Founded1954
Nickname(s)Clinton LumberKings (1994–present)
League championships2 (1963, 1991)
Division championships6 (1991, 1993, 2010, 2016, 2019, 2021)
Former name(s)
  • Clinton Giants (1939–1941; 1980–1993)
  • Clinton Dodgers (1977–1979)
  • Clinton Pilots (1914–1916; 1966–1976)
  • Clinton C-Sox (1960–1965)
  • Clinton White Sox (1959)
  • Clinton Pirates (1954–1958)
  • Clinton Steers (1949)
  • Clinton Cubs (1947–1948)
  • Clinton Owls (1937–1938)
  • Clinton Champs (1910–1912)
  • Clinton Teddies (1910)
  • Clinton Infants (1907–1908)
  • Clinton Minors (1906)
  • Clinton Bridegrooms (1895)
Former league(s)
MascotLouie the Lumberking
OwnershipCommunity owned[2]
ManagerJack Dahm
General ManagerNate Vander Bleek[3]

The LumberKings play in the Prospect League's Western Conference – Northwest Division along with the Burlington Bees, Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp, and Springfield Lucky Horseshoes.[4]

Clinton baseball history

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After beginning play in 1895, Clinton had sporadic teams in various leagues over the next few decades, as the Great Depression, World War I and World War II affected many baseball franchises. However, Clinton joined the Midwest League in 1956 and is now the oldest franchise in the league.[1] The team has had several different major league affiliations: the Brooklyn Dodgers (1937–38), New York Giants (1939–41), Chicago Cubs (1947–49), Pirates (1954–58 and 1966–68), White Sox (1959–65), Pilots/Brewers (1969–70), Tigers (1971–75), Tigers/White Sox co-op (1976), Dodgers (1977–79), Giants (1980–94), Padres (1995–98), Reds (1999–2000), Expos (2001–02), and Rangers (2003–08), and Mariners (2009–18). In September 2018, they entered into a two-year player development contract with the Miami Marlins.[5]

Aside from its time as the C-Sox (1960–65) and the Pilots (1966–76), the team used the parent major league team's nickname before adopting the LumberKings name for the 1994 season.

The 2010 LumberKings season was the subject of the 2013 book "Class A: Baseball in the Middle of Everywhere" by Lucas Mann.[6][7]

In 2016, led by first year manager Mitch Canham, the LumberKings won 86 games to set the mark for most in a regular season by any team in Clinton franchise history. The squad went on to sweep the Peoria Chiefs in the first round of the playoffs before defeating the Cedar Rapids Kernels in a thrilling three-game series. Game three of the Western Division final ended with a Ricky Eusebio walk off hit to win 1–0 in extra innings. The LumberKings would fall, however, in the Midwest League Championship in four games to the Great Lakes Loons.

In addition to playing host to the franchise record setting LumberKings (86-54), the LumberKings transformed their ballpark overnight following game two of the Midwest League Championship to become a football field. The LumberKings played host to Camanche High School Football in the inaugural "LumberBowl." Camanche hosted Williamsburg High School in the game on September 16, 2016. The Raiders of Williamsburg defeated the Indians 55–7.

Following the 2020 season, the LumberKings were cut from the Midwest League and affiliated baseball as part of Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minor leagues.[8] They later joined the Prospect League, a collegiate summer baseball league, for 2021.[9]

NelsonCorp Field

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Ashford Field. Formerly Alliant Energy Field and Riverview Stadium

The home park for the LumberKings is NelsonCorp Field in Clinton, Iowa. The stadium was built in 1937 as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project[10] and named Riverview Stadium, due to its location on the banks of the Mississippi River. It was renamed Alliant Energy Field in 2002 and renovated in 2005–2006 to a capacity of 4,000. It was renamed to Ashford University Field in 2011 and NelsonCorp Field in 2019. The Dimensions are: LF – 330, CF – 401, RF – 325.[11][12][13][14]

No-hitters

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Clinton has tossed 25 no-hitters. The list includes the following no-hitters:[15]

Date Pitcher(s) Opponent Score
August 20, 1957 Dick Lines Decatur 6–0 (7 innings)
June 2, 1959 Thomas Fisher Paris 1–0
June 19, 1960 Scott Seger Quincy 3–0 (7 innings)
May 23, 1963 Bill Dawson Fox Cities 10–0 (7 innings)
June 23, 1964 Norbert Rodgers Quincy 2–0 (7 innings)
June 11, 1967 John Lamb Quad City 3–0 (7 innings)
June 19, 1967 Joe Barnett Quincy 2–0 (7 innings)
August 25, 1967 Bill Laxton Waterloo 2–1 (7 innings)
August 7, 1970 John Conzatti Quad Cities 2–0 (6 innings)
May 3, 1972 Larry Bracco Waterloo 0–1 (7 innings)
May 15, 1978 Russell McDonald Wausau 1–0 (7 innings)
July 16, 1978 Jim Nobles Wisconsin Rapids 7–1 (7 innings)
June 4, 1980 Jerry Stovall Wausau 2–0 (7 innings)
April 20, 1981 Greg Bangert Burlington 4–1 (7 innings)
August 12, 1981 Mark Grant Danville 9–0
May 9, 1983 Ramon Bautista Appleton 2–0 (7 innings)
June 6, 1989 Chris Hancock, Chris Fye Burlington 11–0[16]
May 14, 1992 Chuck Wanke Peoria 5–3
August 4, 1996 Jim Sak, Todd Bussa Burlington 3–0
August 3, 2000 Scott Dunn Lansing 7–0 (Perfect Game)
July 9, 2003 Domingo Valdez Kane County 4–0 (7 innings - G2)
July 11, 2012 Jordan Shipers West Michigan 10–0[17]
July 17, 2013 Víctor Sánchez Lansing 1–0 [18]
May 1, 2015 Daniel Missaki, Kody Kerski, Troy Scott Cedar Rapids 1–0[19]
August 9, 2016 Pedro Vasquez, Joey Strain, Lukas Schiraldi, Matt Walker Beloit 2–0

Playoffs

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Clinton LumberKings of the Midwest League
Season Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
1987 – L, 2–1, Springfield –
1991 – W, 2–0, Burlington W, 3–0, Madison
1993 – W, 2–0, Springfield L, 3–1, South Bend
1998 W, 2–1, Quad Cities L, 2–0, West Michigan –
1999 L, 2–1, Burlington – –
2000 L, 2–1, Beloit – –
2003 W, 2–1, Kane County L, 2–1, Beloit –
2004 W, 2–0, Cedar Rapids L, 2–0, Kane County –
2005 W, 2–0, Quad Cities L, 2–0, Wisconsin –
2007 W, 2–1, Cedar Rapids L, 2–0, Beloit –
2008 L, 2–0, Cedar Rapids – –
2010 W, 2–1, Cedar Rapids W, 2–1, Kane County L, 3–2, Lake County
2011 L, 2–0, Quad Cities – –
2012 W, 2–1, Beloit L, 2–0, Wisconsin –
2013 L, 2–0, Beloit – –
2016 W, 2–0, Peoria W, 2–1, Cedar Rapids L, 3–1, Great Lakes
2019 W, 2–0, Kane County W, 2–1, Cedar Rapids L, 3–0, South Bend
Clinton LumberKings of the Prospect League
Season Division Championship Conference Championship Prospect League Championship Series
2021 W, 4–3, Normal L, 3–7, Cape –
2023 L, 5–6, Quincy – –

Roster

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Clinton LumberKings roster
Active roster Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 41 Kieran Bailey
  • 70 Jackson Bruno ‡
  • 31 Jimmy Burke
  • 45 Owen Coffman
  • 61 Hunter Dierksen ‡
  • 50 Ean DiPasquale
  • 27 Ian Dittmer
  • 16 Drew Duckhorn
  • 92 Patrick Gardner
  •  6 Sam George
  • 36 Elijah Green
  • 25 Jai Jensen
  • 18 Carson Knebel
  •  2 Sam Lavin
  • 60 Parker Mangelsen ‡
  • 19 Brenden Martin
  • 13 Daniel Mosarah
  • 26 Garrett Siemsen
  • 35 Jack Surdey
  • 17 Jack Turgasen
  •  8 Cade Turner
  •  7 Hayden Vickroy
  • 29 Jake Weissenberger



  

Catchers

  • 15 Brayden Buchanan
  • 10 Mason McCurdy
  • 97 Kyle Odeshoo ‡
  • 39 Noah Thein

Infielders

  • 32 Bryan Belo
  •  3 Jesse Contreras
  • 24 Cougar Cooke
  • 98 Jack Funke ‡
  • 28 Karson Grout
  •  9 Rayth Petersen
  • 12 RJ Ruais
  • 14 Ben Swails
  • 34 JD Swarbrick
  • 20 Chase Womack

Outfielders

  • 40 Gage Franck
  • 44 Danny Gavin
  • 11 James Hackett
  •  5 Clay Jacobs
  • 33 Jalen Martinez
  • 23 RJ Sherwood
  • 21 Will Stark
  •  4 Blake Timmons
  

Manager

Coaches

  • -- Trevor Burkhart (hitting/third base)
  • -- Walker Gentz (pitching)
  • -- Terry McGinn (first base)

  Disabled list
‡ Inactive list
§ Suspended list

 updated June 13, 2024

Notable alumni

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Ian Kinsler
 
Orel Hershiser

References

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  1. ^ a b "Clinton, Iowa Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "Board of Directors". Clinton LumberKings. milb.com. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  3. ^ "LUMBERKINGS ANNOUNCE NEW GENERAL MANAGER". lumberkings.com. 9 February 2024. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  4. ^ "2024 Prospect League Standings – Prospect League Baseball". www.prospectleague.com. Retrieved 2023-11-16.
  5. ^ "Clinton, Miami Announce New Player Development Contract". Ballpark Digest. September 20, 2018. Retrieved September 20, 2018.
  6. ^ McAlpin, Heller (May 9, 2013). "Farm Team Saga 'Class A' Hits It Out Of The Park". NPR. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  7. ^ "Class A".
  8. ^ "Full MLB Press Release: MLB cuts Clinton LumberKings". Clinton Herald. December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  9. ^ Reichard, Kevin (January 13, 2021). "Clinton LumberKings join Prospect League". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  10. ^ "Fund-raising campaign will support L-King efforts". Clinton Herald. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  11. ^ "General Information - Clinton LumberKings Ashford University Field". Clinton LumberKings.
  12. ^ "History - Clinton LumberKings Content". Clinton LumberKings.
  13. ^ "LumberKings to call NelsonCorp Field home". Clinton Herald. May 28, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  14. ^ "New for 2019: NelsonCorp Field". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. May 27, 2019. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
  15. ^ "No Hitters". Midwest League Archives.
  16. ^ "Burlington Braves at Clinton Giants, June 6th, 1989". Midwest League Archives.
  17. ^ "Shipers hurls complete-game no-hitter". MiLB.com.
  18. ^ "Lansing vs. Clinton - July 17, 2013 - Midwest League Box". Midwest League.
  19. ^ Batterson, Steve (13 May 2015). "Clinton pitcher goes from no-hitter to Tommy John in two weeks". The Quad-City Times.
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