The Madison Muskies were a Class A minor league baseball team that played in 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 ...

from

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

. In

, the team relocated to

Comstock Park, Michigan Comstock Park is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 10,088 at the 2010 census. The community is located within Alpine Township to the west and Plain ...

and became today's

West Michigan Whitecaps The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpark. ...

. The Muskies were an affiliate of the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. The team, which was founded by former Rochester Red Wing GM and announcer of professional baseball's longest game Bob Drew and Linda Drew played at

Breese Stevens Field Breese Stevens Municipal Athletic Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. Located eight blocks northeast of the Wisconsin State Capitol on the Madison Isthmus, it is the oldest extant masonry grandstand in Wisconsin. The field ...

and

Warner Park Warner Park is a community park on the northeast side of Madison, Wisconsin near Lake Mendota. Warner Park is also the home to the Madison Mallards baseball team, a member of the Northwoods League. Its stadium, nicknamed the "Duck Pond", was b ...

. The debut Muskies team had a league-best 87–52 record, 6.5 games ahead of the

Appleton Foxes Appleton may refer to: People *Appleton (surname) Places Australia * Appleton Dock Canada * Appleton, Newfoundland and Labrador * Appleton, Ontario United Kingdom * Appleton, a deserted medieval village site in the parish of Flitcham wi ...

in the North Division, however, they lost the

championship to the Foxes 2 games to 1. Romano, a Muskies outfielder, was the Midwest League Most Valuable Player in 1982. In 1991, they made their second and last championship appearance, this time losing to the

Clinton Giants Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

3 games to 0. The Muskies played their last home game in Madison against the Foxes in 1993. In a driving rainstorm, with Appleton leading 5–3 in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Foxes' pitcher slipped on the mound and his manager requested that the game be called. After a second slip, the umpire called the game, ending the Muskies' Madison tenure in anticlimactic fashion: Madison's final home game ended with one out in the bottom of the ninth, with the potential tying run coming to bat. They finished their 12-year run in Madison with an 860–786 record, .522 winning percentage, including three division titles and four second-place finishes.

Notable Madison alumni

Tim Belcher Timothy Wayne Belcher (born October 19, 1961) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1987 to 2000 for seven different teams. He was named ''The Sporting News'' Rookie Pitcher of the Year ...

(1984) *

Scott Brosius Scott David Brosius (born August 15, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman for the Oakland Athletics (–) and the New York Yankees (–). Early life Brosius grew up in Milwaukie, Oregon, where he attended Rex Pu ...

(1988) MLB All-Star; 1998 World Series Most Valuabale Player *

Jose Canseco José Canseco Capas Jr. (born July 2, 1964), nicknamed Parkway Jose, Mr. 40-40 and El Cañonero Cubano (The Cuban Cannon), is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and designated hitter. During his time with the Oaklan ...

(1983) 6 × MLB All-Star; 2 × MLB home run leader (1988, 1991); 1986 AL Rookie of the Year; 1988 AL Most Valuable Player *

Ron Coomer Ronald Bryan Coomer (born November 18, 1966), nicknamed "Coom Dawg", is a former first baseman and third baseman in Major League Baseball and the current color analyst and play-by-play broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs radio on WSCR 670 AM. Coomer ...

(1989) MLB All-Star *

Rick Honeycutt Frederick Wayne Honeycutt (born June 29, 1954) is an American former professional baseball coach and pitcher. Honeycutt pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for six different teams over 21 years, from 1977 to 1997. He pitched in 30 post-season ...

(1991) 2 x MLB All-Star; 1983 AL ERA Leader *

Tommy John Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22, 1943), nicknamed "The Bionic Man," is an American retired professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989. He played for the Cleveland Indians, Ch ...

(1985) 4 x MLB All-Star *

Luis Polonia Luis Andrew Polonia Almonte (born December 10, 1963) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He currently resides in Santiago, in the Dominican Republic, his hometown. Signed by the Oakland Athletics as an amateur fr ...

(1984) *

Darren Lewis Darren Joel Lewis (born August 28, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player who played center field in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (1990), San Francisco Giants (1991–1995), Cincinnati Reds (1995), Chic ...

(1988) *

Terry Steinbach Terry Lee Steinbach (born March 2, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher from 1986 to 1999, most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics team that won three ...

(1984) 3 x MLB All-Star *

Todd Van Poppel Todd Matthew Van Poppel (born December 9, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Oakland Athletics (, –), Detroit Tigers (1996), Texas Rangers (, –), Pittsburgh Pirates (1998), Chicago Cubs (–), and Cincinnati R ...

(1990) 1990 #1 Overall Draft Pick *

Walt Weiss Walter William Weiss (born November 28, 1963) is an American former professional baseball shortstop and manager and current bench coach for the Atlanta Braves. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1987 through 2000 for the Oakland Athlet ...

(1986) MLB All-Star; 1988 AL Rookie of the Year Tommy John 2008 bronx

References

Defunct Midwest League teams Professional baseball teams in Wisconsin Sports in Madison, Wisconsin Oakland Athletics minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Wisconsin Baseball teams disestablished in 1993 Baseball teams established in 1982 1982 establishments in Wisconsin 1993 disestablishments in Wisconsin {{Wisconsin-baseball-team-stub