The Milwaukee Milkmen are an
independent baseball
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independen ...
team based in
Franklin, Wisconsin. They 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), ...
. They began play in 2019
and play home games at
Franklin Field
Franklin Field is a sports stadium in Philadelphia, United States, at the eastern edge of the University of Pennsylvania's campus. It is the home stadium for the Penn Relays, and the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, track and fi ...
(formerly known as Routine Field).
History
Inception 2018
The Milwaukee Milkmen were announced in February 2018, as an expansion team in the American Association of professional baseball, scheduled to begin play for the 2019 season. The team was originally announced as the thirteenth team in the league,
but upon the conclusion of the 2018 season the
Wichita Wingnuts
The Wichita Wingnuts were an independent baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas, in the United States. The Wingnuts were members of the South Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball.
An expansion franchise in the 2008 seas ...
suspended operations after they lost their stadium to make way for a new stadium for the
MiLB AA
Witchita Wind Surge. The Milkmen nickname was chosen to reflect Wisconsin's reputation as "America's Dairyland." Milkmen was among ten finalists in a "Name the Team" contest which also included: Barn Owls, Bovines, Broilers, Cheesers, Cow Tippers, Crop Dusters, Farmhands, Haymakers, and War Pigs.
First season
May 16, 2019, the Milwaukee Milkmen began their first season. Their first game was a 13-inning affair against 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 ...
. The game included a delay due to a power failure at
CHS Field
CHS Field is a baseball park in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is home to the St. Paul Saints of the International League of Minor League Baseball, as well as home to Hamline University's baseball team. With the Saints' affiliation to the M ...
. In the end, the Milkmen walked away from game with their first win, 5-4.
Due to construction delays on their new stadium
Routine Field, the Milwaukee Milkmen played their first 13 home games at
Kokomo Municipal Stadium
Kokomo Municipal Stadium is a baseball stadium in Kokomo, Indiana, United States. The Kokomo Jackrabbits of the college summer Northwoods League, and the Kokomo Wildkats (local high school) use Kokomo Municipal Stadium as their home field. Othe ...
in
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. Kokomo is the home to the
Kokomo Jackrabbits
The Kokomo Jackrabbits are a college summer baseball team based in Kokomo, Indiana. They are a member of the summer collegiate Northwoods League, beginning with the 2019 season. Previously, the team played in the Prospect League. The Jackrabbits p ...
of the
Northwoods league
The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur, and players are not paid, so as to maintain their college el ...
, and are owned by the parent company of Milwaukee Milkmen. The Milkmen also hired the former Jackrabbits Manager
Gary McClure
Gary McClure is a former American college baseball coach, formerly serving as head coach of the Austin Peay Governors baseball program. He was named to that position prior to the 1988 season. With 847 wins, McClure is the winningest coach in Au ...
to be their first manager. The Milkmen's Kokomo opener was May 24, where the fell to the Chicago Dogs 5-4.
The Milkmen opened Routine field on June 24 against 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 ...
. The Milkmen lost the game, 3-2 in 11 innings.
The team finished their first season with a record of 38–62. Routine field was renamed after the 2019 season to Franklin Field after a naming rights dispute. (See .)
First championship
![Bo Vine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Bo_Vine.jpg)
The Milkmen began their second year with new manager Anthony Barone at the helm,
and the 2020 season in question 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 ...
. The league, determined to hold a season, was able to find a way for six teams to play a 60 game shortened season. The Milkmen were one of the six American Association teams that continued forward with the season. There was a dispersal draft of the players on the six teams that sat out the season, allowing them the opportunity to play, and return to their original team at the end of the season. The league also suspended the leagues roster years of service rules for the season. While 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 ...
were playing across town with no fans in the stands, the American Association had a unique policy to allow fans. Due to this the Milkmen were able to play in front of limited capacity crowds throughout the regular season and championship. The season got off to a rocky start with the third game of the opening series with the
Chicago Dogs
The Chicago Dogs are an independent professional baseball team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. They began play in 2018 and p ...
getting canceled due to a positive COVID-19 test. The Milkmen finished the season with a record of 34-26, and won their first championship over
Sioux Falls
Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up t ...
in five games.
Mascot
The Milkmen official
mascot
A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
is an
anthropomorphic
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.
Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...
bull named Bo Vine. He wears a white pinstriped uniform with the number 2% in reference to
2% milk. Bo Vine's name is based on the word
bovine
Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The evolutionary relationship betwee ...
pertaining to cattle.
Season-by-season records
Roster
Notable alumni
*
Manny Corpas
Manuel Corpas (born December 3, 1982) is a Panamanian professional baseball pitcher for the Martinez Sturgeon of the Pecos League. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs.
Career
Colorado ...
(2019)
*
TJ House
Glenn Anthony "TJ" House (born September 29, 1989) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays from 2014 to 2017.
Early life
House was born in Slide ...
(2019)
*
Joey Wagman (2019)
*
Henderson Álvarez
Henderson Javier Álvarez (born April 18, 1990) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Leones de Yucatán of the Mexican League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays from 2011 through 2012, the Mi ...
(2020)
*
Anthony Bender
Anthony Wayne Bender (born February 3, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for Santa Rosa Junior College. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals wi ...
(2020)
*
Tim Dillard
Timothy Charles Dillard (born July 19, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers. He is a pregame and postgame analyst for Brewers television broadcasts on Bally ...
(2020)
*
Drew Hutchison (2020)
*
A. J. Schugel (2020)
*
David Washington (2020–2021)
*
David Holmberg
David A. Holmberg (born July 19, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, and Chicago White Sox.
Career Chicago White Sox
...
(2020–2021)
*
Adam Brett Walker
Adam Brett Walker II (born October 18, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 2012 Major League Baseball d ...
(2019–2021)
*
Brian Johnson
Brian Johnson (born 5 October 1947) is an English singer and songwriter. In 1980, after the death of Bon Scott, he became the third lead singer of the Australian rock band AC/DC. He and the rest of the band were inducted into the Rock and Rol ...
(2021)
*
Misael Siverio (2021)
Managers
Player awards
*
Adam Brett Walker
Adam Brett Walker II (born October 18, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 2012 Major League Baseball d ...
— 2020 Player of the year
*Peyton Gray — 2020 Rookie of the year
*Brett Vertigan — 2020 Defensive player of the year
*
Adam Brett Walker
Adam Brett Walker II (born October 18, 1991) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 2012 Major League Baseball d ...
— 2021 Player of the year
References
External links
*
*
{{Wisconsin Sports
American Association of Professional Baseball teams
Professional baseball teams in Wisconsin
2018 establishments in Wisconsin
Baseball teams established in 2018
Baseball in Milwaukee
Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Sports in the Milwaukee metropolitan area