The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...

, and the

Single-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classif ...

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 ...

. The Pelicans compete in the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which opened in 1999 and seats up to 6,599 people. The Pelicans have been members of the Carolina League since 1999 and most recently won the league's championship in 2016. On February 12, 2020,

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), ...

announced that the Pelicans had accepted a Professional Development League license to continue as the Cubs' Low-A affiliate in the Low-A East. This league was renamed the Carolina League and reclassified as Single-A in 2022. From their inaugural season through 2010, they were affiliated with 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 ...

, before spending four seasons as a Texas Rangers affiliate from 2011 to 2014. The team's current affiliation with the Chicago Cubs began in 2015.

History

Previously, this franchise was known as the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...

, but relocated following the 1997 season as a result of the expansion of the Triple-A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

into

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, where the new franchise assumed the "Bulls" name. It spent the 1998 season in

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity ...

, as the

Danville 97s The Danville 97s were a minor league baseball team based in Danville, Virginia for the 1998 season only. They were a baseball team that played in the Carolina League and were affiliated with the Atlanta Braves for their lone 1998 season. Prior to ...

, awaiting a move to Myrtle Beach while their new stadium,

Coastal Federal Field TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark (previously known as Coastal Federal Field and BB&T Coastal Field) is located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and is the home field of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, a minor league affiliate of the Chicago ...

, was under construction. When then their home ballpark opened its gates on April 12, 1999, for the franchise's first game, 5,521 fans came to see the Pelicans play the

Potomac Cannons The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were located in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to F ...

. In the first at bat, Pelicans pitcher Luis Rivera struck out Cannons hitter

Esix Snead Esix Snead (born June 7, 1976 in Fort Myers, Florida) is an American former professional baseball outfielder for the New York Mets of the Major League Baseball (MLB) (, ). Snead was known for his speed, with 507 stolen bases in only 9 minor league ...

looking. The first two hits at the stadium were home runs for each team, first by Potomac's Andy Bevins, and later that same game by Myrtle Beach's Ryan Lehr. Their ballpark has since been renamed TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark, which is a family-friendly stadium with a speed pitch, obstacle course, and moon bounce on the concourse. In 2004, ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' rated it the second-best Class-A level ballpark in the United States, and the best in the Carolina League in 2009. For four consecutive seasons (2011–2014), ''Stadium Journey'' ranked the Pelicans as the top stadium experience in the Carolina League, and one of the publication's "Top 50 Stadium Experiences" in all of sports, while '' TripAdvisor'' named the team the third-best attraction in Myrtle Beach.

Notable games

In their first season, the Pelicans advanced to the 1999 Carolina League Mills Cup Championship series. The best-of-five series against the

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

was tied 2–2, with the deciding Game 5 set to be played in Myrtle Beach, when the series was cancelled because of

Hurricane Floyd Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful Cape Verde hurricane which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd tr ...

. The two teams were named co-champions for that season. Myrtle Beach won both the first and second-half Southern Division titles in 2008 under

Rocket Wheeler Ralph Norman "Rocket" Wheeler (born January 11, 1955, at Houston, Texas) is a former minor league infielder and the current minor league manager for the Class A Short Season Auburn Doubledays. Wheeler attended the University of Houston where h ...

, who was named Carolina League Manager of the Year. The following season,

Jason Heyward Jason Alias Heyward (born August 9, 1989), nicknamed "J-Hey" is an American professional baseball right fielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals ...

played over half the year in Myrtle Beach en route to being named ''Baseball Americas 2009 Minor League Player of the Year. On July 3, 2014, the Pelicans home game with the

Winston-Salem Dash The Winston-Salem Dash are a Minor League Baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They are a High-A team in the South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Dash began playing their home games a ...

was broadcast on the

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American pay television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports Television also known as ...

, the first time the Pelicans were on live national television.

Front office changes

In early 2006, Capitol Broadcasting Company announced plans to sell the Pelicans. The current owner is Myrtle Beach Pelicans LP, a group led by lawyer Chuck Greenberg. On November 20, 2012,

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Scott Brown left to join the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

of the International League. A month later, on December 21, 2012, the Pelicans hired Andy Milovich to become the club's Vice President and General Manager. By January 14, 2015, Milovich was promoted to President and General Manager. On September 16, 2014, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans reached an agreement on a player development contract (PDC) with the

, beginning with the 2015 season. On December 2, 2021, Kristin Call, the team's former associate general manager, was promoted to general manager, making her the first female general manager in team history.

Reclassification

On February 12, 2020, it was announced that the Pelicans, who played at the Advanced-A level of minor league baseball since the team was started in 1999, would move to Low-A in a new Major League Baseball player development alignment. The Pelicans swapped places with the Chicago Cubs' affiliate in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

, which was feeding players to the Pelicans as they moved up in the Cubs' organization. The move meant that the Pelicans will predominantly get players who are in their first full seasons of pro ball. Dropping a level, the Pelicans were closer to their division opponents. The Pelicans were placed in the South Division of

Low-A East The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unt ...

, which comprises three divisions. The

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Hi ...

Columbia Fireflies The Columbia Fireflies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Columbia, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball. Their home stadium is Segra Park. The team was previously known as the ...

, and

Augusta GreenJackets The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina, which opened in April 2018. They previo ...

in North Augusta, South Carolina, are in the South Division as well. In 2022, the Low-A East became known as the Carolina League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization, and was reclassified as a Single-A circuit.

Playoffs

*1999 season: Defeated Kinston 2–1 in semifinals; tied Wilmington 2–2 in championship. *2000 season: Defeated Lynchburg 3–0 to win championship. *2002 season: Lost to Kinston 2–0 in semifinals. *2008 season: Defeated

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in ...

3–1 in semifinals; lost to Potomac 3–1 in championship. *2011 season: Lost to Kinston 3–1 in semifinals. *2012 season: Lost to

2–1 in semifinals. *2013 season: Lost to Salem 2–0 in semifinals. *2014 season: Defeated Salem 2–1 in semifinals; lost to Potomac 3–1 in championship. *2015 season: Defeated

2–1 in semifinals; defeated Wilmington 3–0 to win championship. *2016 season: Defeated Salem 2–1 in semifinals; defeated Lynchburg 3–1 to win championship. *2017 season: Lost to

Down East "Down East", also "Downeast", is a term for parts of eastern coastal New England and Canada, particularly the U.S. state of Maine and Canada's Maritime Provinces, an area that closely corresponds to the historical French territory of Acadia. Th ...

2-0 in semifinals.

Notable former players

Several Pelicans have gone on to play in the major leagues. Some of these are:

Retired numbers

Myrtle Beach has honored three of its members by retiring their uniform numbers.

Roster

References

External links

*
Statistics from Baseball-Reference
{{South Carolina Sports Baseball teams established in 1980 Sports in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Professional baseball teams in South Carolina Atlanta Braves minor league affiliates Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates Texas Rangers minor league affiliates Carolina League teams 1980 establishments in North Carolina 1999 establishments in South Carolina