The Michigan Battle Cats were a Minor League Baseball team which began playing 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 ...

in 1995 and called C.O. Brown Stadium in

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which en ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, home. The franchise had previously been located in Madison,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, in 1994 where they were called the Madison Hatters. Prior to that the team was located in Springfield,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, and was known as the

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They compete as a member of the Texas League's North Division. The Cardinals began play in 2005. The team is owned by the 11-time Major League Baseball ...

. Upon moving to Battle Creek the team initially sought the name Battle Creek Golden Kazoos to help create a regional tie-in with the city of

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropoli ...

, Michigan, but legal disputes led to the adoption of the Battle Cats moniker. The team became known as the

Battle Creek Yankees The Michigan Battle Cats of the Midwest League became the Battle Creek Yankees for the 2003 season. In 2005, their affiliation with the New York Yankees ended. They became an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays known as the Southwest Michigan D ...

beginning with their affiliation with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

in 2003, and again changed names and affiliations in 2005 and became the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays. In 2007, citing declining attendance, the team moved to Midland, Michigan and became the

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Histor ...

Team history

Boston Red Sox affiliate: 1995 to 1998

By September 1994, the city of Battle Creek had committed to stadium improvements in order to bring the Madison Hatters franchise to their city. C.O. Brown Stadium had been constructed in 1989 for amateur baseball, and it was substantially improved prior to obtaining the Midwest League franchise. After temporarily being known as the Battle Creek Golden Kazoos, the team adopted the name of Michigan Battle Cats. The team agreed to become an affiliate of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

(the Madison Hatters had been affiliated with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, but St. Louis switched its Midwest League affiliate to Peoria). The league also reorganized its 14 franchises from two divisions to three and adopted a three-round post-season playoff including first- and second-half winners from each division plus wildcards. Michigan played in the Eastern Division. The league's records recognize both the winner of the post-season playoffs and the team with the highest overall season record as champions. In 1995, their first season, the Battle Cats won the first half division championship with a 36–32 record, while their second half record of 39–31 left them one game behind the

Fort Wayne Wizards A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. Their overall season record of 75–63 was fourth in the league. In the first round of playoffs they beat Fort Wayne two games to none, and in the second round they defeated the

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 Ballpa ...

two games to one. In the championship round, however, they were swept in three games by the Beloit Snappers. Battle Cats manager DeMarlo Hale was named the league's Manager of the Year. Shortstop

Donnie Sadler Donnie Lamont Sadler (born June 17, 1975) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998–2007. Career An alumnus of Valley Mills High School in Valley Mills, Texas (where he was a ...

hit .283 with 9 home runs, led the league in runs scored with 103, and was named to the post-season all-star team. Pitcher

Carl Pavano Carl Anthony Pavano (born January 8, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Pavano played in Major League Baseball from 1998 to 2012 for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, New York Yankees, Clevel ...

went 6–6 with a 3.44 earned run average and 138 strikeouts. The team's attendance, 171,794, was eighth in the 14-team league and a marked improvement over the Madison Hatters' attendance of 69,060 the year before. The 1996 season was less successful, as the Battle Cats finished in fourth place in the five-team division in both the first and second halves, with a 31–38 in the first half and 29–40 in the second half. The only player from the 1996 team who went on to a long major league career was their weak-hitting shortstop,

Rafael Betancourt Rafael Jose Betancourt (born April 29, 1975) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians and Colorado Rockies, as well as in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) ...

(who hit just .167); he would later find success as a relief pitcher. In 1997 the Battle Cats went 38–31 in the first half, but that was only good for second place, 11 games behind West Michigan. In the second half they dropped to fourth place with a 32–36 record. They nevertheless qualified for the playoffs as a wildcard team, but they lost in the first round to the

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field. The Midwest League came to Lans ...

two games to one. Second baseman Jim Chamblee hit .300 with 22 home runs and 73 runs batted in and led the league with 112 runs scored. First baseman

Shea Hillenbrand Shea Matthew Hillenbrand (born July 27, 1975) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Gia ...

hit .290 with 3 home runs. Pitcher Chris Reitsma went 4–1 with a 2.90 earned run average and 41 strikeouts. In the first half of the 1998 season, the Battle Cats went 36–36 and finished in fourth place in the Eastern Division. In the second half, though, they improved to 43–25 and won the division. For the overall season they finished tied for second place in the standings for the entire league, four games behind the West Michigan Whitecaps. In the playoffs the Battle Cats lost to West Michigan in the first round, two games to one. Manager Billy Gardner, Jr. won the league's Manager of the Year award.

moved to catcher and hit .349 with 19 home runs, leading the league with a .546 slugging percentage.

Houston Astros affiliate: 1999 to 2002

In 1999, the Michigan Battle Cats switched their affiliation from the Boston Red Sox to the Houston Astros. Previously, the

Quad City River Bandits Quad as a word or prefix usually means 'four'. It may refer to: Government * Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan, and the United States * Quadrilateral group, an informal group which in ...

had been the Astros' Midwest League affiliate. The Battle Cats finished the first half of the season in second place with a 35–34 record, but went 41–28 in the second half to win the division. In the first round of the playoffs they lost two games to none to Lansing. First baseman Aaron McNeal hit .310, led the league in hits (with 166), home runs (with 38), and runs batted in (with 131), and captured the league's Most Valuable Player award. Second baseman

Aaron Miles Aaron Wade Miles (born December 15, 1976) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2003 to 2011 for the Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, Chica ...

hit .317 with 10 home runs and was named, along with McNeal, to the post-season all-star team. Pitcher

Roy Oswalt Roy Edward Oswalt (; born August 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Oswalt played for the majority of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Houston Astros. He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texa ...

went 13–4 with a 4.46 earned run average and 143 strikeouts, and Tim Redding went 8–6 with a 4.97 earned run average and 141 strikeouts. In 2000, the Midwest League reorganized into two divisions; Michigan played in the six-team Eastern Division, while the Western Division comprised the other eight teams. The playoffs continued to last three rounds and to include eight teams. In the first half, the Battle Cats' 34–34 record placed them in fourth place in their division, but in the second half they won the division with a 48–22 record. (Their overall season record of 82–56 was second in the league.) In the playoffs, they beat the

in the first round, two games to one, and the

Dayton Dragons The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark, formerly known as Fifth Third Field. I ...

in the second round, two games to none. In the championship round they swept the Beloit Snappers in three straight games to become the Midwest League champions. Catcher John Buck hit .282 with 10 home runs. Left fielder

Jason Lane Jason Dean Lane (born December 22, 1976) is an American professional baseball former player and current coach. He is the third base coach for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Houston Astros and San ...

hit .299 with 23 home runs and his 104 runs batted in tied for the league lead. Pitcher Carlos Hernández went 6–6 with a 3.82 earned run average and 115 strikeouts. On May 28, Hernández pitched a no-hitter, beating the West Michigan Whitecaps 2–0. The next season the Battle Cats finished the first half in second place in the division with a 38–30 record, two games behind. They won the division in the second half, 44–25. In the playoffs they lost in the first round to the

South Bend Silver Hawks South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

, two games to none. Shortstop Chris Burke hit .300 with 3 home runs. Pitcher

Chad Qualls Chad Michael Qualls (born August 17, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, New Yor ...

tied for the league lead in victories, going 15–6 with a 3.72 earned run average and 125 strikeouts. Despite the on-field success, attendance continued to drop, as it had almost every seasonsince the franchise had moved to Battle Creek, and only 66,088 fans attended. For the second straight summer the team was sold. In 2002, the Battle Cats won the Eastern Division's first half with a 42–28 record. They finished the second half tied for third with a 37–33 record. In the playoffs, they lost in the first round to Lansing, two games to one. Pitcher Mike Burns went 14–9 with a 2.49 earned run average, and D. J. Houlton went 14–5 with a 3.14 earned run average. The team was sold again and after the season they switched their affiliation to the

and renamed the franchise as the

Notable alumni

(1996) * Chris Burke (2001) *

Billy Gardner William Frederick Gardner (born July 19, 1927) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. During his ten-season active career in the major leagues, Gardner was a scrappy, light-hitting second baseman for the New Yo ...

(1997-1998, MGR) *

(1997) *

(1999) *

(1995) *

(2001) * Tim Redding (1999) *

Johan Santana Johan Alexander Santana Araque (; born March 13, 1979) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball starting pitcher. Santana pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins from 2000 to 2007 and for the New York Mets from 2008 ...

(1999) 2 × AL Cy Young Award (2004, 2006)

Year-by-year record

References

{{Midwest League Sports in Battle Creek, Michigan Defunct Midwest League teams Defunct baseball teams in Michigan Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates Houston Astros minor league affiliates Baseball teams disestablished in 2002 Baseball teams established in 1995