The Anderson Braves were a minor league baseball

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...

located in

Anderson, South Carolina Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 28,106 at the 2020 census, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 75,702. It is one of the principal cities in the Green ...

. The team played in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, and were affiliated with and owned by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

. Their home stadium was the

Anderson Memorial Stadium Anderson Memorial Stadium is a stadium in Anderson, South Carolina. It is primarily used for baseball and was the home of the Anderson Braves from 1980 to 1984, and the Anderson Joes in 2007. It is currently the home of Anderson University's ...

. The Anderson Braves started playing in 1980, with a roster featuring future major leaguers Brett Butler,

Brook Jacoby Brook Wallace Jacoby (born November 23, 1959) is an American former third baseman. He played in the major leagues from 1981 through 1992, and in Japan in 1993. His father, Brook Wallace Jacoby Sr., played in the Philadelphia Phillies organizati ...

and

Brad Komminsk Brad Lynn Komminsk (born April 4, 1961), is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He attended Shawnee High School in Lima, Ohio, where he played basketball and baseball and was an all-state linebacker in football. He received athle ...

. The Braves received a great deal of support from the community during the 1980 season. Local radio station

WANS WANS (1280 AM) is a southern gospel radio station located in Anderson, South Carolina, United States. The station is licensed by the FCC to broadcast with 5 kW. during the daytime and 1 kW. directional at night. Station history WANS 12 ...

AM/FM was a major sponsor. "

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...

Night" brought out many fans to the ballpark in August 1980. The team experienced relatively high attendance figures that were facilitated by numerous promotions and inexpensive concessions. Despite local support for the team, Atlanta Braves owner

Ted Turner Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and philanthropist. He founded the Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he fo ...

moved the team to Sumter, South Carolina after the 1984 season. The team then became the

Sumter Braves The Sumter Braves were a minor league baseball team located in Sumter, South Carolina. The team played in the South Atlantic League, and were affiliated with the Atlanta Braves. Their home stadium was Riley Park. History In 1984, the Anderson ...

The ballpark

The Braves played at

. The stadium was built in 1970 and is still in use today, as home to the Anderson University Trojans. The ballpark seats 2,500 and is located at 1921 White Street Extension, Anderson, SC 29624.

Notable alumni

* Brett Butler (1980) MLB All-Star *

Ron Gant Ronald Edwin Gant (born March 2, 1965) is an American television news anchor and former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves (1987–1993), Cincinnati Reds (1995), St. Louis Cardinals ...

(1984) 2 x MLB All-Star *

Sonny Jackson Roland Thomas "Sonny" Jackson (born July 9, 1944) is an American former baseball shortstop and outfielder for the Houston Colt .45's / Astros (1963–67) and Atlanta Braves (1968–74). Jackson led the National League in singles (160) and sacr ...

(1980-1981) *

(1980) 2 x MLB All-Star *

(1980) *

Mark Lemke Mark Alan Lemke (born August 13, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball player and current broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Lemmer", he was a popular second baseman for the Atlanta Braves from to . He won the 1995 World Series with the Braves over ...

(1984) * Zane Smith (1982) *

Brian Snitker Brian Gerald Snitker (born October 17, 1955) is an American professional baseball coach and former player who is the manager of the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Snitker has been in the Braves organization in different roles si ...

(1982) 2018 NL Manager of the Year

Year-by-year record

References

Defunct South Atlantic League teams 1980 establishments in South Carolina 1984 disestablishments in South Carolina Atlanta Braves minor league affiliates Professional baseball teams in South Carolina Defunct minor league baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in South Carolina Baseball teams disestablished in 1984 Baseball teams established in 1980 {{SouthCarolina-baseball-team-stub