The Cape Catfish are a franchise of the
Prospect League
The Prospect League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams of college players from North America and beyond. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. So as to maintain their colleg ...
that plays in
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Cape Girardeau ( , french: Cap-Girardeau ; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Girardeau and Scott Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 census, the population was 39,540. The city is one of two principal citie ...
.
The Catfish play in the Prospect League's Western conference in the Prairie Land division, along with the
Alton River Dragons
The Alton River Dragons are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Alton, Illinois. They were founded in 2020 and began play in 2021 as members of the Prospect League.
History
On January 29, 2020, the Prospect League of collegiate summer ba ...
,
O'Fallon Hoots, and
Springfield Lucky Horseshoes
The Springfield Lucky Horseshoes are a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer league baseball team of the Prospect League. They play at Robin Roberts Stadium at Lanphier Park and are based in the city of Springfield, IL, Springfield, Illino ...
.
Ownership
The team is owned by a partnership group that includes Anand "Andy" Patel, Mark Hogan, Kishan Patel and James Limbaugh. Hogan, a retired former baseball coach at
Southeast Missouri State University
Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing the Holland Col ...
, will also serve as the team's
General manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...
.
Name origin
The Catfish name, a reference to the
state fish of Missouri, was chosen by potential fans of the new team from a list of names that also included the Cape Bluebirds, in reference to the
Eastern bluebird
The eastern bluebird (''Sialia sialis'') is a small North American migratory thrush found in open woodlands, farmlands, and orchards.
The bright-blue breeding plumage of the male, easily observed on a wire or open perch, makes this species a ...
, which is the
state bird of
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
, and the Cape Steamboats, in honor of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
city's history as a port on the river. "Catfish" received about 37% of the vote fan vote, beating out "Bluebirds" and "Steamboats", which received 32% and 31% of the vote, respectively.
Stadium
The Catfish play in 2,000 seat
Capaha Field
Capaha Field is a baseball venue in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, United States. It is home to the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks college baseball team of the NCAA Division I Ohio Valley Conference. The field is located two blocks away from th ...
. The stadium, also home to
Southeast Missouri State University
Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing the Holland Col ...
's baseball team, received significant renovations prior to the beginning of the team's first season.
Inaugural season
On October 16, 2018, the team announced that former
Texas Rangers and
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
farmhand Steve Larkin will serve as the manager for the 2019 season. The team clinched the league's West Division championship on August 1, tying the league record for wins in a season in the process.
Seasons
Roster
References
Amateur baseball teams in Missouri
Prospect League teams
Baseball teams established in 2018
2018 establishments in Missouri
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
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