The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks are a professional minor-league baseball team based in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo ( /ˈfɑɹɡoʊ/) is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in ...

, in the United States. The RedHawks are members of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

, an official Partner League of

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), ...

. The RedHawks have played their home games at

Newman Outdoor Field Newman Outdoor Field is a baseball stadium in Fargo, North Dakota. It is located on the campus of North Dakota State University and is the home of the independent American Association's Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks and the North Dakota State Bison bas ...

since 1996, when the team started as members of the Northern League.

History

The team was created as a Northern League expansion franchise in 1996 along with the now-defunct

Madison Black Wolf The Madison Black Wolf was a Northern League baseball club located in Madison, Wisconsin from 1996 to 2000. They played their home games at Warner Park which was then nicknamed "The Wolf Den". The club was owned by Madison Baseball, LLC, which fo ...

Chris Coste Christopher Robert Coste (born February 4, 1973), is an American author and former professional baseball catcher, who first played in Major League Baseball (MLB) at age 33, after twelve seasons of independent and minor league baseball. He was an a ...

is probably the most well-known former RedHawks player and was a member of the 2008 World Series-winning

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. The RedHawks, along with the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They prev ...

, have been one of the most stable and successful independent baseball teams over the past 15 years. They are reported to have had the first broadcast by minor league professional baseball on the internet. In fifteen seasons in the Northern League, the RedHawks set the modern Northern League best single-season record for winning percentage with a 64–21 (.753) mark in 1998, set the record for most wins in a season with 68 in 2005, made it to the playoffs in 14 of 15 seasons, won five Northern League titles, and were named ''Baseball America's'' Independent Team of the Decade for the 1990s. The 1998 team recorded a combined record of 70 wins and 22 losses during the regular season and playoffs (.761). On October 13, 2010, the RedHawks left the Northern League, along with the

Gary SouthShore RailCats The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a professional baseball team based in Gary, Indiana, in the United States. The RailCats are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The Rai ...

Kansas City T-Bones The Kansas City Monarchs are a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Kansas. Formerly known as the Kansas City T-Bones, they are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball; which, in 2020, became designated as a Majo ...

, and the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Norther ...

to join the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

for the 2011 season. The four remaining Northern League teams all folded or left the league. Accordingly, the Northern League ceased operations and folded in October 2010. As a result, the RedHawks have the distinction of being the last league champion. They have won the 2012 and 2013 American Association North Division championship. On August 13, 2017, the Redhawks relieved Doug Simunic of his duties as field manager. Simunic had served in the position for all 22 years of the team's existence. He was replaced by pitching coach Michael Schlact, who after finishing the season on an interim basis was named the permanent manager on September 7, 2017. Michael Schlact managed one season with the RedHawks, before stepping down in February 2019 to take a coaching position within the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

minor league system. On March 20, 2019, Jim Bennett was named as the franchise's third manager. The team went on to a 63–37 record and lost in the North Division championship series to St. Paul 3–2 in the best-of-five series. Bennett was named the American Association's Manager of the Year. In 2020, the RedHawks were one of six teams selected to compete in the condensed 60-game season due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

served as one of the hubs where games were played; the team shared their home field with the

. Prior to the start of the season on July 3, the team announced that Jim Bennett would not return as manager and named hitting coach

interim manager.

Fast facts

:Franchise record (through 2022): 1546–1095 (.586) :Northern League record (1996–2010): 898–553 (.618) :American Association record (2011–2022): 648-542 (.545) :Northern League playoff appearances: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 :American Association playoff appearances: 2012, 2013, 2019, 2021, 2022 :Northern League division titles: 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 :American Association division titles: 2012, 2013, 2021, 2022 :Northern League championships: 1998, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010 :American Association championships: 2022

Season-by-season records

Roster

Retired numbers

* 42

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

* 8

Roger Maris Roger Eugene Maris (September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is best known for setting a new MLB single-season home run record with 61 ...

* 35 Jeff Bittiger * 7 Joe Mathis * 19 Jake Laber

Notable alumni

Billy Ashley Billy Manual Ashley (born July 11, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Minor leagues Ashley was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 3rd round of the 1988 MLB Draft. He started his professional career with the Gul ...

(2000) *

Rich Becker Richard Godhard "Rich" Becker (born February 1, 1972) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletic ...

(2002) * Harry Berrios (2006) * Jeff Bittiger (1996-2002) *

Brent Bowers Brent Raymond Bowers (born May 2, 1971) is an American former professional baseball player. Bowers played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the Baltimore Orioles in the 1996 season. He also played in the Korea Baseball Organization i ...

(2001) * Mike Busch (1999) *

Ozzie Canseco Osvaldo "Ozzie" Canseco Capas (born July 2, 1964) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player. He is the identical twin brother of former Major League Baseball player José Canseco. He was manager for the Brownsville Charros of the ...

(1998) * Cris Colón (2000-2001) *

(1996-1999) *

Enrique Cruz Enrique Manuel Cruz (born November 21, 1981) is a former Dominican baseball player. He spent two seasons at the major league level, playing for the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cincinnati Reds. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New Yo ...

(2012) *

Yurendell DeCaster Yurendell Eithel DeCaster (born September 26, 1979) is a Dutch professional baseball third baseman. He played part of one season in Major League Baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He played for Team Netherlands in the 2019 European Baseball ...

(2009) *

Mike Figga Michael Anthony Figga (born July 31, 1970) is a retired catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles. In a three-year career, Figga hit .213 with one home run. Early life and education Born in ...

(2002) * Tim Flakoll (founding employee) *

Tyler Graham Tyler Lewis Graham (born January 25, 1984) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Career Graham went to Charles M. Russell High School in G ...

(2013) *

Bradin Hagens Bradin Carl Hagens (born May 12, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and for the H ...

(2019-2020) *

Tyler Herron Tyler Daschiel Herron (August 5, 1986 – October 22, 2021) was an American right-handed professional baseball pitcher. As a senior at Wellington High School in Florida, Herron led the nation with a 0.25 ERA. He was drafted by the St. Louis Ca ...

(2012, 2015-2017, 2021) * Jimmy Hurst (2008) *

Blaise Ilsley Blaise Francis Ilsley (born April 9, 1964), is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher who played in with the Chicago Cubs, and was bullpen coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. Early and personal life Ilsley was born on Apri ...

(1998) *

Brandon Mann Brandon Michael Mann (born May 16, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Yokohama BayStars/Yokohama DeNA BayStars and Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and the Texas Rangers of Majo ...

(2015) *

Donzell McDonald Donzell McDonald (born February 20, 1975) is a former outfielder who played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball from 2001 to 2002. Early life Born in Long Beach, California, McDonald grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado. He attended Ch ...

(2009) * Juan Melo (2003, 2007) *

Darryl Motley Darryl DeWayne Motley (born January 21, 1960) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played six seasons for the Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves between and . In his MLB career, Motley played in 413 games, hit 44 home runs, 324 hi ...

(1996-1999) *

Jordan Patterson Jordan A. Patterson (born February 12, 1992) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies. Amateur career At Baker High School in Mobile County, A ...

(2020) *

Jason Pearson Jason Trent Pearson (August 29, 1970 – December 19, 2022) was an American comic book creator, known for his series '' Body Bags'' and for his dynamic illustration work on books featuring characters such as the Legion of Super-Heroes, Spider-M ...

(2000) *

Zach Penprase Zachary William Penprase (born February 16, 1985) is an American-Israeli baseball player who plays shortstop, second base, and left field who is currently a free agent.Dante Powell (2002) *

Dan Rohrmeier Daniel Rohrmeier (born September 27, 1965) is a former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners in , and in the Korea Baseball Organization from to for the Hanwha Eagles and LG Twins. Roh ...

(2002) *

Randall Simon Randall Carlito Simon (born May 25, 1975) is a Curaçaoan former professional baseball first baseman. He has played all or parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), LVBP and one in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) between 1997 a ...

(2009) * Brian Traxler (1996-1997) * Jon Weber (2002-2003, 2007) * Eddie Williams (2002) *

Maury Wills Maurice Morning Wills (October 2, 1932 – September 19, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) primarily for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1959 through 1966 and the latter part of ...

(coach, 1996-1997)

References

External links

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks websiteAmerican Association of Professional Baseball websitenlfan.com Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks' Guide
{{Authority control American Association of Professional Baseball teams Sports in Fargo, North Dakota Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010) teams Professional baseball teams in North Dakota