The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in

Johnson City, Tennessee Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it the eighth largest city in Tennessee. J ...

. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the

Rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

-level

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from J ...

. The team won 10 league championships, most recently in 2019. They played their home games at TVA Credit Union Ballpark. Before 1975, the team operated under several other names and affiliations. The start of the 2020 season was postponed 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 identified ...

before ultimately being cancelled on June 30. In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was reorganized as a collegiate summer baseball league, and the Cardinals were replaced by the Johnson City Doughboys, a new franchise in the revamped league designed for rising college freshmen and sophomores.

Playoffs

In 1955, Johnson City and the Salem Rebels were declared co-champions of the

when their final playoff series was canceled due to rain. From 1986 to 2019, Johnson City reached the playoffs by virtue of winning their division or clinching a playoff spot eight times. The results of their postseason play during this time was as follows. *1986: Lost to

Pulaski Pulaski may refer to: Places * Pulaski Heights, a section of the city of Little Rock, Arkansas * Pulaski Shoal, an underwater landform west of the Florida Keys * Pulaski, Georgia, a town * Pulaski Square, one of the "Squares of Savannah" in t ...

2–1 in finals. *1987: Lost to Burlington 2–0 in finals. *1994: Lost to

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

2–1 in finals. *2010: Defeated Burlington 2–0 in semifinals; defeated

Elizabethton Elizabethton is a city in, and the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is the historical site of the first independent American government (known as the Watauga Association, created in 1772) located west of both th ...

2–0 to win championship. *2011: Defeated Danville 2–1 in semifinals; defeated Bluefield 2–1 to win championship. *2012: Lost to Burlington 2–1 in semifinals. *2014: Defeated

2–1 in semifinals; defeated Danville 2–1 to win championship. *2016: Defeated

2–1 in semifinals; defeated Burlington 2–0 to win championship. *2019: Defeated

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...

2–1 in semifinals; defeated Burlington 2–1 to win championship.

Notable alumni

Many of the players fielded by Johnson City have gone on to distinguish themselves in

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) ...

. * Matt Adams (2009) * Rick Ankiel (2001) *

Ron Blomberg Ronald Mark Blomberg (born August 23, 1948), nicknamed "Boomer", is an American former professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a designated hitter, first baseman, and right fielder. He playe ...

(1967) * Glenn Brummer (1975) *

Danny Cater Danny Anderson Cater (born February 25, 1940) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies at the age of 18, on June 8, 1958. Cater played in ...

(1958) *

Vince Coleman Vince Coleman may refer to: *Vince Coleman (train dispatcher) (1872–1917), Canadian train dispatcher killed in the Halifax Explosion *Vince Coleman (baseball) Vincent Maurice Coleman (born September 22, 1961) is an American former Major League ...

(1982) 2 x MLB All-Star; 1985 NL Rookie of the Year * Pat Corrales (1959) * Danny Cox (1981) * Coco Crisp (1999) * Tony Cruz (2007) * Ray Culp (1959) 2 x MLB All-Star * Joe Cunningham (1949) 2 x MLB All-Star *

Jeff Fassero Jeffrey Joseph Fassero (born January 5, 1963) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Professional career Montreal Expos Fassero was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 22nd round of the amateur draft, but he bounced around in the min ...

(1984) *

Curt Ford Curtis Glenn Ford (born October 11, 1960), is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Philadelphia Phillies, from through . Career Ford attended Murrah Hig ...

(1981) *

Ron Guidry Ronald Ames Guidry (; born August 28, 1950), nicknamed "Louisiana Lightning" and "Gator", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Guidry was also the pitch ...

(1971) 4 x MLB All-Star; 2 x AL ERA Leader (1978-1979); 1978 AL CY Young Award * Cesar Geronimo (1967) * Mike Heath (1974) * Tom Herr (1975) MLB All-Star * LaMarr Hoyt (1973) MLB All-Star; 1983 AL Cy Young Award * Stan Javier (1981-82) * Terry Kennedy (1977) 4 x MLB All-Star *

Ray Lankford Raymond Lewis Lankford (born June 5, 1967) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres from 1990 to 2004. He was known for his combination of power, speed, and defensive prowe ...

(1987) MLB All-Star * Joe Magrane (1985) 1988 NL ERA Leader *

Yadier Molina Yadier Benjamín Molina (; born July 13, 1982), nicknamed "Yadi", is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely considered one of the grea ...

(2001) 8 x Gold Glove; 9 x MLB All-Star * Bill Monbouquette (1969, MGR) 4 x MLB All-Star * Jason Motte (2003) 2012 NL Saves Leader *

Bobby Murcer Bobby Ray Murcer (May 20, 1946 – July 12, 2008) was an American professional baseball outfielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball between 1965 and 1983. He played the majority of his career for the New York Yankees, whom he later ...

(1964) 5 x MLB All-Star * Ken Oberkfell (1975) * Terry Pendleton (1982) MLB All-Star; 1991 NL Most Valuable Player * David Peralta (2006-07) Gold Glove, Silver Slugger * Tommy Pham (2006) * Ryan Sherriff (2011) * Chris Short (1957) 2 x MLB All-Star * Oscar Taveras (2010) Died, age 22 *

Otto Velez Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

(1970) * Jack Wilson (1998) 2004 MLB All-Star * Bobby Wine (1957) Gold Glove * Dmitri Young (1991) 2 x MLB All-Star

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.milb.com/johnson-city
Statistics from Baseball-Reference
Defunct Appalachian League teams Baseball teams established in 1937 Baseball teams disestablished in 2020 Professional baseball teams in Tennessee 1937 establishments in Tennessee 2020 disestablishments in Tennessee Johnson City, Tennessee