The Montgomery Biscuits are a
Minor League Baseball team based in
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
. They are the
Double-A affiliate of the
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...
and play in the
Southern League. The team was founded in
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins, an affiliate of the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
. After remaining in the Minnesota minor league organization for 20 seasons, the team became an affiliate of the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
for four seasons and then the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
for one. In 1999, the team became an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, and they have remained in the organization ever since. They became members of the Double-A South in 2021, though this was renamed the Southern League in 2022.
Over the years, the club changed names several times. They were the Orlando Twins for 17 seasons, then were known as the SunRays, Cubs, and Rays. The club became known as the Biscuits when it moved from the Orlando area to Montgomery in 2004.
The club played at
Tinker Field
Tinker Field was an outdoor baseball stadium in Orlando, Florida, United States. Named after Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Tinker, it was located in the West Lakes neighborhoods of Downtown Orlando, adjacent to the Camping World Stadium and one mil ...
near downtown Orlando from 1973 until 2000, when they moved to
Champion Stadium
{{Infobox venue
, stadium_name = The Stadium at the ESPN Wide World of Sports
, image = ESPN Wide World of Sports baseball stadium.jpg
, location = Walt Disney World Resort700 S. Victory WayKissimmee, Florida 34747
, broke_ground = {{dts, 1995 ...
in nearby
Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Lake Buena Vista () is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being the mailing address for Walt Disney World—although almost all of the resort facilities, including all four theme parks, are physically located i ...
. Since moving to Montgomery in 2004, the Biscuits have played at
Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium
Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium is the home of the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League. The minor league baseball ballpark opened in Montgomery, Alabama in 2004. Located in downtown Montgomery, the stadium can host up to 7,000 people a night ...
, a 7,000-seat facility which was built for the club in the downtown area.
Franchise history
Orlando
The franchise joined the
Southern League in 1973 as the Orlando Twins, a minor-league affiliate of the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
, which held
spring training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...
in
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
at the time. The Orlando Twins played at
Tinker Field
Tinker Field was an outdoor baseball stadium in Orlando, Florida, United States. Named after Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Tinker, it was located in the West Lakes neighborhoods of Downtown Orlando, adjacent to the Camping World Stadium and one mil ...
in downtown Orlando, near the Florida
Citrus Bowl Stadium. In 1990, the team was renamed the Orlando Sun Rays. In 1993, the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
became the team's new major-league affiliate, and the team was renamed the Orlando Cubs. While still a Chicago Cubs affiliate, the team renamed itself again in 1997 and became the Orlando Rays. The following year, for one season only, the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
were the Rays' major-league affiliate. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays, an
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
expansion team in 1998, assumed the Orlando Rays' major-league affiliation the following year.
The Orlando Rays' last season at
Tinker Field
Tinker Field was an outdoor baseball stadium in Orlando, Florida, United States. Named after Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Tinker, it was located in the West Lakes neighborhoods of Downtown Orlando, adjacent to the Camping World Stadium and one mil ...
was 1999. From 2000 to 2003, the Orlando Rays played in
Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Lake Buena Vista () is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being the mailing address for Walt Disney World—although almost all of the resort facilities, including all four theme parks, are physically located i ...
, in
Champion Stadium
{{Infobox venue
, stadium_name = The Stadium at the ESPN Wide World of Sports
, image = ESPN Wide World of Sports baseball stadium.jpg
, location = Walt Disney World Resort700 S. Victory WayKissimmee, Florida 34747
, broke_ground = {{dts, 1995 ...
at
Walt Disney World Resort
The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake, Florida, Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando ...
. Despite the fact that the team played in a state-of-the-art stadium that was built in 1997 and used during spring training by the
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...
, attendance did not meet expectations; after trailing the Southern League in attendance in multiple years, the Rays' owners announced the team would move to Montgomery in 2004 (terminating their 10-year lease with Disney after four seasons).
While in Orlando, the franchise won three Southern League championships: in 1981 (as the Twins), 1991 (as the Sun Rays), and 1999 (as the Rays).
Montgomery
The Biscuits became Montgomery's first
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), ...
-affiliated team since 1980, when the
Montgomery Rebels
The Montgomery Rebels was the name of several American minor league baseball franchises representing Montgomery, Alabama, playing in various leagues between and . ''Rebels'' was the predominant nickname of the Montgomery teams, but it was not the ...
, a
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
affiliate, played their final season in the Southern League at Montgomery's
Paterson Field {{Infobox venue
, name = Paterson Field
, former_names = Municipal Stadium
, logo_image =
, logo_caption =
, image =
, caption = The exterior of the stadium in February 2012
, fullname ...
. The Biscuits' owners, Sherrie Myers and Tom Dickson, were selected from six different ownership groups during an extensive search for a public-private partner by the City of Montgomery. Myers and Dickson selected the team's nickname from over 4,000 entries in a "name the team" contest, due in part to tying into indigenous affiliation and potential marketing and pun possibilities (for example, "Hey, Butter, Butter, Butter" or the team's souvenir store, the "Biscuit Basket"). Several successful minor league teams have campy, quirky names to relate to families and kids. During games,
biscuit
A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be ...
s are shot from an air cannon, into the stands. The official team colors are Butter and Blue.
On September 15, 2006, in just their third year of existence, the Biscuits defeated the
Huntsville Stars
The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Mil ...
to win the team's first Southern League championship in Montgomery. One year later, in 2007, the Biscuits again defeated the Huntsville Stars to win their second consecutive Southern League championship. They became the first team since the 1975 to 1977 Montgomery Rebels to win back-to-back championships.
The Biscuits were sold to a group of investors led by
Richmond Flying Squirrels
The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. Th ...
owner
Lou DiBella
Louis John DiBella Jr. (born May 17, 1960) is an American boxing promoter and television/film producer.
Education
DiBella is a graduate of Regis High School (New York City). He then continued his education at Tufts University before pursuing ...
in a transaction that closed on April 27, 2017.
[
In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Biscuits were organized into the ]Double-A South
AA, Aa, Double A, or Double-A may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''America's Army'', a 2002 computer game published by the U.S. Army
* '' Ancient Anguish'', a computer game in existence since 1992
* Aa!, a J-Pop musical group
* Do ...
. Though finishing the 2021 season in second place in the Southern Division at 62–55, the two teams with the highest winning percentages in the regular season competed in a best-of-five series to determine the league champion. With the circuit's second-best record, the Biscuits faced the Mississippi Braves
The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. T ...
in the best-of-five series but lost the championship, 3–2. Jonathan Aranda won the league Most Valuable Player Award. In 2022, the Double-A South became known as the Southern League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.
Mascot
Their 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 ...
s are "Big Mo", an orange beast that loves biscuits, and "Monty", an anthropomorphized
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 ...
buttermilk biscuit. Monty appears in the logo and on the hat. The mascot for the Orlando Rays was "Spike", a bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
. The origin of Spike is unknown but presumed to predate the Devil Rays, as the club has been controlled by the Cubs and by the Twins (who have a bear mascot, T.C. Bear).
In 2014, a new live mascot was introduced and also named with a contest in which 4,800 entries submitted ideas for a micro-mini pot belly pig which became Miss Gravy, Duchess of Pork. Miss Gravy retired to a farm in Wetumpka in 2016.Biscuits’ mascot Miss Gravy to retire to Wetumpka
/ref>
Notable alumni
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), ...
players who played for the Biscuits (or earlier incarnations) include:
*Dewon Brazelton
Dewon Cortez Brazelton (born June 16, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played professionally for the Tampa Bay Rays and the San Diego Padres. He last pitched in the major leagues in 2006.
Ea ...
*Jorge Cantu
Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (''Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker".
The Latin form ''Georgius'' ...
*Carl Crawford
Carl Demonte Crawford (born August 5, 1981), nicknamed "The Perfect Storm", is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. He ba ...
*Matt Diaz
Matthew Edward Diaz ( ; born March 3, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins.
Amate ...
*Joey Gathright
Joey Renard Gathright (born April 27, 1981) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox. He was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Early life
Gathright attended ...
*Chad Gaudin
Chad Edward Gaudin (; born March 24, 1983) is a former American professional baseball pitcher. He has been used as both a starting pitcher and a reliever throughout his career, functioning as a "swingman."
Gaudin has pitched in Major League Ba ...
*Jonny Gomes
Jonathan Johnson Gomes (; born November 22, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and coach. He is the minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He playe ...
*Toby Hall
Toby Jason Hall (born October 21, 1975) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2000 to 2008, primarily with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Listed at and , he batted and threw right-handed.
...
*Jason Hammel
Jason Aaron Hammel (born September 2, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, ...
*Scott Kazmir
Scott Edward Kazmir (; born January 24, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He previously played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics ...
*Kevin Kiermaier
Kevin James Kiermaier (; born April 22, 1990) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2013 to 2022.
Kiermaier was part of amat ...
*Evan Longoria
Evan Michael Longoria (born October 7, 1985), nicknamed "Longo", is an American professional baseball third baseman who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2008 through 2017, and the S ...
*Seth McClung
Michael Seth McClung (born February 7, 1981), nicknamed Big Red, is an American former professional baseball pitcher. In his career, he pitched as a starting pitcher and as a relief pitcher.
Career
Tampa Bay Devil Rays
McClung began the season ...
* David Price
*Shawn Riggans
Shawn Willis Riggans (born July 25, 1980) is a former professional baseball catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays, spending parts of four seasons with the club from 2006 through 2009.
Personal life
Riggans was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida to John ...
*Juan Salas
Juan Salas (born November 7, 1978) is a professional baseball relief pitcher. Salas signed with Tampa Bay on July 8, , as an amateur free agent, and made his Major League debut September 5, .
Salas is notable for being converted from playing thi ...
* James Shields
*Blake Snell
Blake Ashton Snell (born December 4, 1992), is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Tampa Bay Rays selected Snell in the first round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft. ...
*Andy Sonnanstine
Andrew Michael Sonnanstine (born March 18, 1983) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays. Sonnanstine is a graduate of Wadsworth High School in ...
*B. J. Upton
Melvin Emanuel Upton Jr. (born August 21, 1984), known as B. J. Upton, is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Pad ...
*Delmon Young
Delmon Damarcus Young (born September 14, 1985) is an American professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter for the Melbourne Aces of the Australian Baseball League. He played in Major League Baseball for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Ray ...
* Stephen Vogt
*Mikie Mahtook
Michael Anthony Mahtook (; born November 30, 1989) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays and Detroit Tigers. Prior to beginning his professional c ...
*Taylor Motter
Taylor Davis Motter (born September 18, 1989) is an American professional baseball utility player who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, Colorado ...
Roster
Television and radio
All Montgomery Biscuits games are televised live on MiLB.TV and select games are also televised live on WSFA
WSFA (channel 12) is a television station in Montgomery, Alabama, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power, Class A Telemundo affiliate WBXM-CD (channel 15). The two stations share studios on ...
. WMSP
WMSP (740 AM, "Sports Radio 740") is a radio station licensed to serve Montgomery, Alabama, United States. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and the broadcast license is held by Cumulus Licensing LLC. Originally licensed in 1953 as WBAM, the ...
740 AM provides radio broadcasts of games. Since 2016, the Biscuits play-by-play commentator is Chris Adams-Wall.
References
External links
Official site
Video history of the team
{{Alabama Sports
Tampa Bay Rays minor league affiliates
Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates
Minnesota Twins minor league affiliates
Baseball teams established in 1973
Southern League (1964–present) teams
Professional baseball teams in Alabama
Sports in Montgomery, Alabama
1973 establishments in Florida
Double-A South teams