The Oakland County Cruisers were a professional baseball team based in

Waterford Township, Michigan Waterford Township is a charter township in the geographic center of Oakland County, Michigan, United States. In 2020, the population of Waterford Township was 70,565. Communities Waterford Township has five unincorporated communities: * Clint ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. They were a member of the East Division of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

, which is not affiliated with

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), ...

. The team became the

London Rippers The London Rippers were a professional baseball team based in London, Ontario, in Canada. The Rippers were a member of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. They played their home games at Labatt Park, and were th ...

in 2012. The name "Cruisers" is a reference to

Oakland County Oakland County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Metro Detroit, metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, its population was 1, ...

's location in

Metropolitan Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...

, home of the three major American automobile companies:

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

, and

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

. All three companies have significant investments in Oakland County. Each August, the county hosts the

Woodward Dream Cruise The Woodward Dream Cruise event is an automotive enthusiast event held annually on the third Saturday of August in Metropolitan Detroit, Michigan, along Woodward Avenue, a major thoroughfare built in the early 20th century. The WDC Event spans muc ...

History

The Slippery Rock Sliders were formed for the 2007 season to ensure an even number of teams with the Frontier League's addition of the

Southern Illinois Miners The Southern Illinois Miners were a professional baseball team based in Marion, Illinois. The Miners were members of the West Division of the independent Frontier League. From 2007 to 2021, the Miners played their home games at Rent One Park. Th ...

. The Sliders played 32 home games at Jack Critchfield Park in

Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania Slippery Rock is a borough in Butler County, Pennsylvania. The population was 3,081 at the 2020 census. Slippery Rock is included in the Greater Pittsburgh Region. It is home to Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, attended by nearly 9,000 ...

, with the remaining 64 played on the road. For the 2008 season, the Sliders became a traveling team, playing all of their games on the road under the geographical moniker, ''Midwest''. The Sliders' 2009 season began on May 29, at

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

Oestrike Stadium Oestrike Stadium is a stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan at Eastern Michigan University. It is named after Ron Oestrike, a former baseball coach at EMU. It is primarily used for baseball, and serves as the Eastern Michigan University Eagles baseball ...

located in

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and ...

. The Sliders played strong - a 33-33 record after 66 games. However, countless injuries and the sale of top starting pitching led to a late-season slump. Pitcher James Albury was sold to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

and pitcher Caleb Graham was sold to the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. The Sliders had 42 scheduled home dates with 54 scheduled road dates. The Oakland County Cruisers were scheduled move into Diamond at The Summit on July 16, 2010, after playing three three-game series (nine games total) at

during the first half of the 2010

season, however, the organization was unable to obtain funding in time for this to occur. The Cruisers played 78 of its 96 regular-season games on the road. The Cruisers led the Frontier League East for better than two months. However, the high number of road games (30 more than any other team) and the solid play of the

Windy City Thunderbolts The Windy City ThunderBolts are a professional baseball team based in the Chicago suburb of Crestwood, Illinois, in the United States. The ThunderBolts are a member of the Frontier League, which is a partner league of Major League Baseball. Sinc ...

and

Traverse City Beach Bums The Traverse City Beach Bums were a professional baseball team based in the Traverse City, Michigan suburb of Blair Township from 2006-2018. The Beach Bums played in the independent Frontier League. The Beach Bums were established in 2006 when ...

down the stretch led to a third-place finish - only four games out. Interim Manager Gera Alvarez won 2010 Frontier League Manager of the Year. Pitcher P.J. Zocchi and first baseman Joash Brodin were named to the Frontier League End-of-Year All-Star Team. Zocchi tied the Frontier League record for saves in a season with 26 (matched Matt Petty of the Windy City Thunderbolts in 2007) and was named Frontier League Relief Pitcher of the Year. Construction on Diamond at The Summit was supposed to begin in October 2010 with the stadium completed in June 2011. The complex would hold approximately 4,000 fans and function as a year-sound sports and entertainment complex in Waterford Township. After a groundbreaking ceremony with officials of Waterford Township, the area still sits as a vacant parking lot to the adjoining and vacant Summit Place Mall. A small sign touting the construction project sits on the corner of two shopping mall "streets" with fading color in a sea of weeds.

Baseball in Ypsilanti

The Sliders were Ypsilanti's first pro baseball team in nearly a century, since they were awarded a franchise in the Class D

Border League The Border League, is the oldest established rugby union league in the World, having been formed in 1901. Currently known as the Booker Border League, after its sponsors, teams from all over the Scottish Borders as well as Berwick RFC from Nor ...

in 1913. The Border League was sometimes called a "trolley league" because its six franchises (in southeastern

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and

Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

) were located on the

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...

lines; they played a limited schedule of games, primarily on weekends. Managed by former major-leaguer

Ducky Pearce William Charles Pearce (March 17, 1885 – May 22, 1933) was a professional baseball player. He was a catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, ...

, the unnamed Ypsilanti team took the pennant with a 24-10 record, then folded with the rest of the league. Ypsilanti thus held the distinction of being one of the few cities to win a championship in its only season hosting a pro ballclub. College baseball remains popular in Ypsilanti:

won a NAIA national championship in 1970 and made it all the way to the championship game of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

in 1976 before losing to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. The Hurons (now Eagles) were the last northern school to play for the CWS title until 2019, when cross-county rivals

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

made it to the finals before losing to Vanderbilt.

Seasons

References

External links

Official websites

Oakland County CruisersFrontier League

Media

* Mlive.com Sports Blog - "Cruisers Central" *Facebook page under "Oakland County Cruisers Professional Baseball Club" {{Frontier League Frontier League teams Defunct baseball teams in Michigan Sports in Oakland County, Michigan Slippery Rock Sliders 2010 disestablishments in Michigan Defunct independent baseball league teams Baseball teams established in 2007 Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 2010 Baseball teams disestablished in 2010