The Wichita Wingnuts were an independent baseball team based in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

, 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 ...

. The Wingnuts were members of the South Division 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 expansion franchise in the 2008 season, the Wingnuts played their home games at

Lawrence–Dumont Stadium Lawrence–Dumont Stadium, previously known as Lawrence Stadium, was a baseball stadium in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It was located on the northwest corner of McLean Boulevard and Maple Street, along the west bank of the Arkansas River, in ...

through the end of the 2018 season. The Wingnuts replaced the

Wichita Wranglers The Wichita Wranglers were a minor league baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team, which played in the Texas League, was the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres from 1987 to 1994 and the Kansas City Royals fro ...

, the former Double-A affiliate of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. The first Wichita Wingnuts manager was

Kash Beauchamp James Kash Beauchamp (born January 8, 1963 in Grove, Oklahoma) is an American professional baseball coach (baseball), coach. He is currently the manager for the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer Baseball League. Career Beauchamp is the son of late Ma ...

, who gained notoriety for his tirade during a game on July 9. Beauchamp's contract was not renewed at the end of the 2008 season. Kevin Hooper replaced Beauchamp as the manager for the 2009 season. The Wingnuts finished the first half of 2008 in second place, but a slide in the second half left them with an overall record of 45–50 in their inaugural season. In 2016, Hooper left to coach as an infield coordinator in the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

farm system.

Pete Rose Jr. Peter Edward "PJ" Rose Jr. (born November 16, 1969) is a former professional baseball player and manager. The son of Major League Baseball's all-time Hit (baseball), hits leader Pete Rose, Pete Rose Sr., Rose Jr. played in the Minor League Baseba ...

took over as manager following Hooper's departure. In 2009, the Wingnuts won the North Division title for the first half of the season, and in 2010 hosted the American Association All-Star Game at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. The Wingnuts were named the 2010 American Association Organization of the Year. In 2012, the Wingnuts completed of 3-game sweep of the

Laredo Lemurs The Laredo Lemurs were a professional baseball team based in Laredo, Texas, that played in the independent American Association from 2012 to 2016. The team played their home games at the Uni-Trade Stadium in Laredo, replacing the Laredo Broncos o ...

to advance to the American Association Championship Series against the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Norther ...

. In 2013, they defeated the

Grand Prairie AirHogs The Texas AirHogs were a professional baseball team based in Grand Prairie, Texas from 2008 to 2020. The AirHogs were members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Be ...

, but lost to 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 ...

in the American Association Championship Series. In 2014, they defeated the Laredo Lemurs in 4 games, and swept the

Lincoln Saltdogs The Lincoln Saltdogs are a professional baseball team based in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the United States. The Saltdogs are in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. Since the 2001 sea ...

in the final to win their first American Association Championship. In September 2018, the city of Wichita paid $2.2 million to the Wingnuts to break their lease at

, with plans to demolish it and build a larger ballpark on the site to host an affiliated Minor League Baseball team. Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell later announced that a new $81 million stadium would be built to host the Triple-A

New Orleans Baby Cakes The New Orleans Baby Cakes (formerly the New Orleans Zephyrs) were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They were located in Metairie, Louisiana, a sub ...

, who agreed to relocate to Wichita starting in 2020. Following the cancellation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2021 reorganization of Minor League Baseball, the team began play as the

Wichita Wind Surge The Wichita Wind Surge are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Wichita, Kansas, and began play in 2021 at Riverfront Stadium. The Wind Surge were supposed to b ...

, Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, in 2021.

Season-by-season record

Playoffs

*2009 season: Lost to

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

3–2 in semifinals. *2011 season: Lost to Grand Prairie 3–1 in semifinals. *2012 season: Defeated Laredo 3–0 in semifinals; lost to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

3–0 in championship. *2013 season: Defeated Grand Prairie 3–0 in semifinals; lost to Gary SouthShore 3–1 in championship. *2014 season: Defeated Laredo 3–1 in semifinals; defeated

3–0 to win championship. *2015 season: Lost to Laredo 3–2 in semifinals. *2016 season: Defeated

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

3–1 in semifinals; lost to

3–2 in championship. *2017 season: Defeated Gary SouthShore 3–0 in semifinals; lost to

3–2 in championship.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Wichita Wingnuts

American Assoc. of Baseball standings
Professional baseball teams in Kansas Sports in Wichita, Kansas 2008 establishments in Kansas 2018 disestablishments in Kansas Defunct American Association of Professional Baseball teams Baseball teams established in 2008 Baseball teams disestablished in 2018 Defunct baseball teams in Kansas