The Down East Wood Ducks are a
Minor League Baseball team of the
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...
and the owned-and-operated
Single-A
Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classif ...
affiliate of the
Texas Rangers. They are located in
Kinston, North Carolina
Kinston is a city in Lenoir County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 21,677 as of the 2010 census. It has been the county seat of Lenoir County since its formation in 1791. Kinston is located in the coastal plains region of e ...
, and are named for the
wood duck
The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a species of perching duck found in North America. The drake wood duck is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl.
Description
The wood duck is a medium-sized perching duck. A typi ...
, a local colorful waterfowl. Established in 2017, the team plays its home games at
Grainger Stadium
Grainger Stadium is a sports venue located in Kinston, North Carolina. It is the home ballpark for the Down East Wood Ducks, which joined the Carolina League starting in the 2017 season, and was placed in the Low-A East for only the 2021 season. G ...
, which opened in 1949 and holds 4,100 people.
The Rangers signed a 12-year contract with the city to provide a team to play at Grainger Stadium beginning with the 2017 season. They were members of the Carolina League from 2017 to 2020. With the 2021 restructuring of the minor leagues, Wood Ducks were placed in the Low-A East, though this was renamed the Carolina League and reclassified as Single-A in 2022. Their lone
Carolina League title was won in 2017.
Kinston has hosted
farm club
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
s for 11 different
major league franchises and one minor league club in its history.
Professional baseball
Professional baseball 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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
in Kinston dates back to a 1908 squad in the
Eastern Carolina League
The Eastern Carolina League was a minor league baseball affiliation which operated in the Eastern part of North Carolina. The league had two distinct periods of operation: 1908 to 1910 and a revival of the league in 1928 and 1929. It was classifi ...
.
History
Kinston's
Grainger Stadium
Grainger Stadium is a sports venue located in Kinston, North Carolina. It is the home ballpark for the Down East Wood Ducks, which joined the Carolina League starting in the 2017 season, and was placed in the Low-A East for only the 2021 season. G ...
hosted
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...
baseball every season from 1962 to 2011, bar a three-season gap in the mid-1970s. But in late 2010,
Carolina Mudcats
The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games a ...
owner Steve Bryant announced his purchase of the
Kinston Indians
The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949.
The team began play in 1978 as the Ki ...
franchise to replace his
Southern League club in
Zebulon
Zebulun (; also ''Zebulon'', ''Zabulon'', or ''Zaboules'') was, according to the Books of Book of Genesis, Genesis and Book of Numbers, Numbers,Genesis 46:14 the last of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's tenth son), and the founder of the ...
for 2012. League travel rules combined with the gradual shift of other franchises further south and west had made a Southern League franchise in eastern North Carolina untenable, and a
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...
-based ownership group purchased the club to move to a new stadium there for 2012, arranging Bryant's deal to replace them with a Carolina League club under the same branding at the same time. The Indians' move left Kinston without affiliated professional baseball for the first time since 1977. Prior to that, the area was served by the
Kinston Expos
The Kinston Expos were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL), and the High-A affiliate of the Montreal Expos. They were located in Kinston, North Carolina, and were named for their parent club. The team played its home games at ...
franchise that operated as an affiliate of four different
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), ...
clubs from 1962 to 1974.
Meanwhile, there were reports as early as 2008 that two Class A-Advanced franchises could eventually move from the
California League
The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...
to the Carolina League, most likely the
Bakersfield Blaze
The Bakersfield Blaze were a minor league baseball team in Bakersfield, California. They played in the Class A – Advanced California League. They played their home games at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Opened in 1941, the stadium is well known for facin ...
and
High Desert Mavericks
The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eight ...
. After the Indians' departure, Kinston became an obvious destination; by 2013, rumors suggested strongly that one club would be earmarked for Kinston in any California–Carolina shift. In July 2015, the
Texas Rangers signed a tentative lease agreement with the city of Kinston should a franchise become available, but the Rangers needed a move partner before
Minor League Baseball would permit a switch. Such a partner emerged in April 2016 when the
Houston 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) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
, affiliated with the California League's
Lancaster JetHawks
The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League ...
only through the end of that season, began discussions with
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city.
Fayetteville has received the All-America C ...
, about siting their affiliate at a new stadium.
During the 2016 season, the Astros and Rangers worked to secure ownership of the Bakersfield and High Desert franchises to prepare for relocation. On August 22, the Rangers announced that they would indeed site an owned-and-operated High-A affiliate in Kinston for the 2017 season. The Astros would eventually announce their own stadium deal in Fayetteville, but with no suitable facility available until the 2019 season, the Astros temporarily placed their club at
Campbell University
Campbell University is a private Baptist university in Buies Creek, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (Southern Baptist Convention). Southern Baptist ConventionColleges and Universities sbc.net ...
as the
Buies Creek Astros
The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and play their home games at Segra Stadium. From 2017 to ...
. Both clubs officially entered the Carolina League as expansion franchises, with their predecessor California League franchises terminated rather than relocated.
The new ownership group, Rangers Kinston, LLC, filed a trademark application for the name Wood Ducks on August 15, 2016. One week later, on August 22, the ownership group announced that the Rangers were bringing a team to Kinston and that there would be a naming contest for the fans.
On September 16, the team announced the finalists in the contest: Down East Eagles, Down East HamHawks, Down East Hogzillas, Down East Shaggers, and Down East Wood Ducks. At first, the names drew negative reaction from fans who were upset that the team would not be known by the town name, that Kinston was not part of
"Down East" North Carolina, and that some of the names were demeaning. This backlash later subsided as the community grew to embrace the moniker.
On November 2, the team announced that the new name would be the name that they trademarked on August 15, Down East Wood Ducks, without naming a winning fan. A similar situation happened when Kinston joined the
Virginia League
The Virginia League was a minor league baseball affiliation which operated in Virginia and North Carolina from 1906 to 1928. It was classified as a "C" league from 1906 to 1919 and as a "B" league from 1920 to 1928.
The most famous alumni to c ...
in 1925. The owners of that club decided that none of the submitted names in a name the team contest were satisfactory and picked a name of their own choosing, the
Eagles
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
.
During the Wood Ducks' inaugural season in 2017, they were crowned co-champions of the Carolina League by defeating the
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...
. Down East and the
Lynchburg Hillcats
The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...
were declared co-champions as a result of the playoffs being called off because of
Hurricane Irma
Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread destruction across its path in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Maria two ...
.
In September 2017, the Down East Wood Ducks were named by ''Ballpark Digest'' as the best logo/branding for Minor League Baseball in 2017.
During the 2018 season, Down East wore uniforms of the Kinston Indians at seven "Throwback Thursday" games to honor the history of baseball at Grainger Stadium.
The 2019 Wood Ducks won the first half of the season with a 50–20 record,
but lost to the
Fayetteville Woodpeckers
The Fayetteville Woodpeckers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and play their home games at Segra Stadium. From 2017 to ...
, 3–2, in the South Division finals.
Corey Ragsdale was selected for the league's Manager of the Year Award.
In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Wood Ducks were organized into the
Low-A East
The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unt ...
. In 2022, the Low-A East became known as the Carolina League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.
Season-by-season results
Ballpark
![Compressed374](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Compressed374.jpg)
The Down East Wood Ducks play their home games at
Grainger Stadium
Grainger Stadium is a sports venue located in Kinston, North Carolina. It is the home ballpark for the Down East Wood Ducks, which joined the Carolina League starting in the 2017 season, and was placed in the Low-A East for only the 2021 season. G ...
, located at 400 East Grainger Avenue in Kinston. The original structure was built by architect John J. Rowland in 1949 at a cost of $170,000 inclusive of everything except the land, with $150,000 raised by bond issue. The stadium is owned by the city and leased by the team. A dedicatory plaque identifies the structure as "Municipal Stadium," but it has been called Grainger Stadium since it was first built.
Kinston Indians ownership referred to it as "Historic Grainger Stadium" due to its age relative to other fields in the Carolina League. It is the second-oldest stadium in the circuit. The name Grainger comes from its location on Grainger Avenue as well as its use early on by Grainger High School. Grainger is a prominent old family name in
Lenoir County. The Texas Rangers have invested in a multi-year renovation project to improve the 4,100-seat facility.
Roster
Major league alumni
As of the completion of the 2020 season, 24 Wood Ducks players have also played in at least one game for a Major League Baseball team. These players are:
*
Sherten Apostel
Sherten Wimbert Ramiro Apostel (born March 11, 1999) is a Curaçaoan professional baseball third baseman and first baseman who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers.
Career ...
(2019)
*
Wes Benjamin
Wesley Scott Benjamin (born July 26, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the KT Wiz of the KBO League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers.
Amateur career
Benjamin attended St. Charles East High ...
(2017)
*
Emmanuel Clase
Emmanuel Clase (; born March 18, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB).
He signed with the San Diego Padres as an international free agent in 2015. He made his MLB debut in ...
(2019)
*
Kyle Cody
Kyle David Cody (born August 9, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Texas Rangers organization. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2020. He played college baseball for the Kentucky Wildcats of the University o ...
(2017)
*
Brett Eibner
Brett William Eibner (born December 2, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher and outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami ...
(2018)
*
Demarcus Evans (2019)
*
Pete Fairbanks (2017, 2019)
*
Anthony Gose
Anthony Robert Gose (; born August 10, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher and outfielder in the Cleveland Guardians organization. Originally an outfielder, Gose transitioned from a center fielder to a pitcher, following the 2016 s ...
(2018)
*
Jonathan Hernández (2017–2018)
*
Sam Huff
Robert Lee "Sam" Huff (October 4, 1934 – November 13, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins. He played college foot ...
(2019)
*
James Jones (2018)
*
John King (2019)
*
Brett Martin (2017)
*
Yohander Méndez (2018)
*
Joe Palumbo (2017–2018)
*
Pedro Payano
Pedro Julio Payano (born September 27, 1994) is a Dominican-American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers.
Career Texas Rangers
Payano was born in New York City bu ...
(2017)
*
C. D. Pelham (2018)
*
Ricardo Rodriguez (2017)
*
Adrian Sampson
Adrian David Sampson (born October 7, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, and in ...
(2017)
*
Jeffrey Springs (2017)
*
Locke St. John (2018)
*
Leody Taveras (2018)
*
Anderson Tejeda (2018–2019)
*
Justin Topa
Justin Robert Topa (born March 7, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2020 with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Amateur career
Topa was a four-year letter w ...
(2018–2019)
References
External links
*
Statistics from ''Baseball-Reference''
{{North Carolina Sports
2017 establishments in North Carolina
Baseball teams established in 2017
Carolina League teams
Professional baseball teams in North Carolina
Texas Rangers minor league affiliates