The Cedar Rapids Kernels are Minor League Baseball team of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

and the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

affiliate of the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. They are located in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Kernels are owned by Cedar Rapids Ball Club, Inc. (also known as Cedar Rapids Baseball Club, Inc.).

Cedar Rapids baseball history

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. ...

first began play in 1890 and have played 110 seasons through 2015. The franchise has been a member of various leagues preceding the Midwest League. They have been a member of the

Central Association The Central Association was an American minor league baseball league. It began operations in 1908, as it was essentially renamed from the 1907 Iowa State League. The Central Association ran continuously through 1917. It was reorganized thirty yea ...

(1949), Western League (1934–1937),

Mississippi Valley League The Mississippi Valley League (MVL) was a baseball Class D level minor league that operated from 1922 through 1933. Playing its last year as a Class B level league, the league franchises were based in Iowa and Illinois. Like many leagues at the ...

(1922–1932),

(1913–1917),

Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League The Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League was a Minor League Baseball organization that operated for the better part of 60 seasons, with teams based in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The league began pla ...

(1901–1909, 1920–1921, 1938–1942, 1950–1961),

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Western ...

(1896–1899), Eastern Iowa League (1895) and the

Illinois–Iowa League The Illinois–Iowa League was a Minor league baseball league which operated in Illinois, Iowa and Indiana from 1890 to 1892. History The Illinois–Iowa League began play in 1890 and was nicknamed as the "Two I League". The Aurora Hoodoos, ...

(1890–1891). The team also had numerous nicknames prior to joining the Midwest League: Cedar Rapids Braves (1958–1962), Cedar Rapids Raiders (1953–1957), Cedar Rapids Indians (1950–1952), Cedar Rapids Rockets (1949), Cedar Rapids Raiders (1934–1942), Cedar Rapids Red Raiders (1963–1964), Cedar Rapids Bunnies (1904–1932), Cedar Rapids Rabbits (1896–1903) and Cedar Rapids Canaries (1890–1891). When Cedar Rapids was awarded a Midwest League franchise in 1962, the franchise switched back to the Red Raiders (1962–1964) nickname. Subsequently, the team used the name of the major league franchise it affiliated with: the

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

(1965–1972), the

Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division, having moved to the div ...

(1973–1974), the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

(1975–1979), and the

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863 * USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...

(1980–1992). The team adopted the current "Kernels" nickname before the 1993 season. On the field, the franchise won Midwest League championships in 1988, 1992, and 1994. In conjunction with

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Kernels were organized into the

High-A Central The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. In 2022, the High-A Central became known as the Midwest League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.

Ballpark

The team's first home ballpark was Belden Hill Park, followed by the original Veterans Memorial Stadium, which opened in 1949. In August 2000 voters approved a referendum to build a new ballpark adjacent to the old one, which was demolished after the 2001 season. The new Veterans Memorial Stadium was completed in time for the opening of the 2002 season, and the Kernels set a franchise attendance record of 196,066 in the new park's inaugural year.

Roster

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

alumni *

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(1938) Inducted, (1970) *

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(1991) Inducted, (2018) *

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(1891) Inducted, (1937) *

Ted Simmons Ted Lyle Simmons (born August 9, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. A switch-hitter, Simmons was a catcher for most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the St. Louis Cardinals (1968–1980), the Milwau ...

(1967) Inducted, (2020) Notable alumni *

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(1903) *

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(1913) *

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(1932) *

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(1940–41) 5 x MLB All-Star; 1952 AL ERA Leader *

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(1952) 6 x MLB All-Star; 1959 AL Home Run Leader; 1965 AL RBI Leader *

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(1955) 4 x MLB All-Star *

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(1958–59) 2 x MLB All-Star *

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(1959) *

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(1960) *

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(1960–61) 2 x MLB All-Star *

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(1965) 3 x MLB All-Star *

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(1966) *

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(1967) 2 x MLB All-Star *

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(1969) GG; MLB All-Star *

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(1970) *

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(1972) MLB All-Star *

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(1972) *

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(1974) MLB All-Star *

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(1977) MLB All-Star; MGR: 2001 World Series Champions – Arizona Diamondbacks *

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(1978) 3 x MLB All-Star *

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(1979) * Eric Davis (1982) 2 x MLB All-Star * Paul O'Neill (1982) 5 x MLB All-Star *

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(1983) 3 x MLB AS; 1988 NL Rookie of the Year *

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(1984) MLB All-Star *

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(1985) 2 x MLB All-Star *

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(1990) MLB All-Star *

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(1994–95) *

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(1995) MLB All-Star *

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(1995) *

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(1997) * Ken Hill (1998) MLB All-Star *

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(2000) MLB All-Star; 2007 AL ERA Leader *

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(2001) 2 x MLB All-Star *

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(2001–02) MLB All-Star *

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(2002) *

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(2002) *

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(2002) *

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(2003) *

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(2003) MLB All-Star *

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(2004–05) * Miguel González (2005) *

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(2006) Died Age 22 *

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(2008) MLB All-Star *

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(2010) MLB All-Star *

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(2012) *

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References

Sources

* Dinda, Joel (2003),
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the Midwest League
* Koolbeck, Mike, "History of Cedar Rapids Professional Baseball", published in the ''Cedar Rapids Kernels Souvenir Program'', 2001

External links