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The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the
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 ...
and the Triple-A affiliate of the
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
. They are located in
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
,
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
, and are named for the city's association with the
music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...
, specifically the "
Nashville sound The Nashville Sound originated during the mid-1950s as a subgenre of American country music, replacing the chart dominance of the rough honky tonk music, which was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s, with "smooth strings and choruses", "sophist ...
", a subgenre of
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
which originated in the city and became popular in the mid-1950s. The team plays their home games at
First Horizon Park First Horizon Park, formerly known as First Tennessee Park, is a baseball park in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The home of the Triple-A Nashville Sounds of the International League, it opened on April 17, 2015, and can seat u ...
, which opened in 2015 on the site of the historic
Sulphur Dell Sulphur Dell, formerly known as Sulphur Spring Park and Athletic Park, was a baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It was located just north of the Tennessee State Capitol building in the block bounded by modern-day Jackson Street, ...
ballpark. The Sounds previously played at
Herschel Greer Stadium Herschel Greer Stadium was a Minor League Baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee, on the grounds of Fort Negley, an American Civil War fortification, approximately south of the city's downtown district. The facility closed at the end of the 20 ...
from its opening in 1978 until the end of the 2014 season. They are the oldest active professional sports franchise in Nashville. Established as an
expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
of the Double-A Southern League in 1978, the Sounds led all of Minor League Baseball in attendance in their inaugural season and continued to draw the Southern League's largest crowds in each of their seven years as members of the league. On the field, the team won six consecutive second-half division titles from 1979 to 1984 and won the Southern League championship twice: in 1979 as the Double-A affiliate of the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
and again in 1982 as the Double-A affiliate of the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
. The Sounds were replaced by a Triple-A
American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...
team in 1985. The Triple-A Sounds carried on the history of the Double-A team that preceded them. Nashville rarely contended for the American Association championship, making only three appearances in the
postseason The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
during their 13 years in the league. They joined the Triple-A
Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
in 1998 following the dissolution of the American Association after the 1997 season. Over 23 years in the Pacific Coast League, the team qualified for the postseason on five occasions. They won their lone
Pacific Coast League championship The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball. A champion has been determined at the end of each season since the league ...
in 2005 as the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. In conjunction 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), ...
's reorganization of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Sounds were placed in the Triple-A East, which became the International League in 2022. Nashville has served as a
farm club In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...
for eight Major League Baseball franchises. A total of 29 
managers Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
have led the club and its more than 1,400 players. As of the completion of the 2022 season, their 45th year in Nashville, the Sounds have played 6,272 regular-season games and compiled a
win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
of 3,237–3,035. They have a postseason record of 49–44. Combining all 6,365 regular-season and postseason games, the Sounds have an all-time record of 3,286–3,079.


History


Prior professional baseball in Nashville

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
has been home to Minor League Baseball teams since the late 19th century. The city's
professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...
history dates back to 1884 with the formation of the
Nashville Americans The Nashville Americans were a minor league baseball team that played in the Class B Southern League from 1885 to 1886. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Sulphur Spring Park, later known as Sulphur Dell. ...
, who were charter members of the original Southern League from 1885 to 1886 and played their home games at Sulphur Spring Park, later renamed Athletic Park and
Sulphur Dell Sulphur Dell, formerly known as Sulphur Spring Park and Athletic Park, was a baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It was located just north of the Tennessee State Capitol building in the block bounded by modern-day Jackson Street, ...
. This ballpark was the home of Nashville's minor league teams through 1963. In 1887, Nashville's Southern League team was called the
Nashville Blues The Nashville Blues were a minor league baseball team that played in the Southern League in 1887. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Sulphur Spring Park, later known as Sulphur Dell. Managed by George B ...
. The
Nashville Tigers The Nashville Tigers were a minor league baseball team that played in the Class B (baseball), Class B Southern League (1885–1899), Southern League from 1893 to 1894. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Athle ...
competed in the same league from 1893 to 1894. In 1895, the
Nashville Seraphs The Nashville Seraphs, often known as the Nashvilles, were a minor league baseball team that played in the Class B Southern League in 1895. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Athletic Park, later known ...
won the city's first professional championship in the Southern League. The
Nashville Centennials The Nashville Centennials were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Class C (baseball), Class C Central League (1897), Central League in 1897. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and were named in reference to the celebration o ...
played in the
Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...
in 1897 but relocated to
Henderson, Kentucky Henderson is a home rule-class city along the Ohio River and is the county seat of Henderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,757 at the 2010 U.S. census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area, locally known as the ...
, during the season before the league's collapse. The city's longest-operating baseball team, first known only as the Nashville Baseball Club and later renamed the
Nashville Vols The Nashville Vols were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1901 to 1963. Known only as the Nashville Baseball Club during their first seven seasons, they were officially named the Nashville Volunteers (often sh ...
(short for Volunteers, the state nickname), was formed in 1901 as a charter member of the
Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cl ...
. They remained in the league through 1961, winning eight pennants, nine playoff
championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
, and four
Dixie Series The Dixie Series was an interleague postseason series between the playoff champions of Minor League Baseball's Southern Association (SA) and Texas League (TL). The best-of-seven series was held at the conclusion of each season from 1920 to 19 ...
titles. The Southern Association disbanded after the 1961 season, and no team was fielded in 1962, but the Vols played one final season in the
South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...
in 1963. Sulphur Dell was demolished in 1969, and the city had no professional baseball team for 14 years until 1978.


Getting a team and building a ballpark

Larry Schmittou Larry Schmittou (born July 19, 1940) is an American entrepreneur and former baseball executive and coach. He owns S&S Family Entertainment LLC, which operates a chain of bowling centers in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. From 1968 to 1978 ...
, head coach of the
Vanderbilt Commodores baseball The Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team is an American National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) college baseball team. From Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, the team participates in the Eastern division of the Southeastern Co ...
team from 1968 to 1978, was instrumental in bringing professional baseball back to Nashville. Along with help from
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
ian
Conway Twitty Harold Lloyd Jenkins (September 1, 1933 – June 5, 1993), better known by his stage name Conway Twitty, was an American singer and songwriter. Initially a part of the 1950s rockabilly scene, Twitty was best known as a country music performer. ...
, Schmittou put together a group of investors including other country artists
Cal Smith Calvin Grant Shofner (April 7, 1932 – October 10, 2013), known professionally as Cal Smith, was an American country musician, most famous for his 1974 hits " Country Bumpkin" and " It's Time to Pay the Fiddler". Career Calvin Grant Shofner wa ...
and
Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008) was an American singer, guitarist, composer, and songwriter as well as an actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Guitar Man", " U.S. Male", "A Thi ...
, as well as other Nashvillians, to finance a stadium and a minor league team. The Metro Parks Board agreed to lease to Schmittou the site of Nashville's former softball fields on the grounds of
Fort Negley Fort Negley was a fortification built by Union troops after the capture of Nashville, Tennessee during the American Civil War, located approximately south of the city center. It was the largest inland fort built in the United States during the wa ...
, a
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
fortification approximately south of downtown, on which to build. The US$1.5 million ballpark was to be named
Herschel Greer Stadium Herschel Greer Stadium was a Minor League Baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee, on the grounds of Fort Negley, an American Civil War fortification, approximately south of the city's downtown district. The facility closed at the end of the 20 ...
in posthumous honor of Herschel Lynn Greer, a prominent Nashville businessman and president of the Nashville Vols. Schmittou and
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 ...
Farrell Owens landed the
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
as a
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), ...
affiliate after meeting with
Sheldon "Chief" Bender Sheldon "Chief" Bender (November 25, 1919 – February 27, 2008) was an American player and manager in minor league baseball and a scout, scouting director and farm system director in Major League Baseball who spent 64 years in the game. Bender i ...
, Cincinnati's farm director, at the 1976
Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...
. The new team was then granted membership in the Southern League, which operated at the Double-A classification. The team was called the Sounds in reference to the "
Nashville sound The Nashville Sound originated during the mid-1950s as a subgenre of American country music, replacing the chart dominance of the rough honky tonk music, which was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s, with "smooth strings and choruses", "sophist ...
", a subgenre of American country music that traces its roots to the area in the late 1950s. The team's
wordmark __notoc__ A wordmark, word mark, or logotype, is usually a distinct text-only typographic treatment of the name of a company, institution, or product name used for purposes of identification and branding. Examples can be found in the graphic iden ...
and color scheme were lifted from the defunct
Memphis Sounds The Memphis Sounds were an American professional sports franchise that played in Memphis, Tennessee from 1970 until 1975 as a member of the American Basketball Association. The team was founded as the New Orleans Buccaneers in 1967. Known durin ...
of the
American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...
, who used them from 1974 to 1975. The color blue was added to Memphis' red and white palette. Nashville's original logo, which was used from 1978 into 1998, reflected the city's long-standing association with country music. It depicted a mustachioed baseball player, nicknamed "Slugger", swinging at a
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
with an
acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...
, a staple of country music, in place of a
bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
. Further illustrating the city's musical ties was the typeface, with letters that resembled
G-clef A clef (from French: 'key') is a Musical notation, musical symbol used to indicate which Musical note, notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical staff (music), stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to ...
s, used to display the team name and the cap logo which resembled an
eighth note 180px, Figure 1. An eighth note with stem extending up, an eighth note with stem extending down, and an eighth rest. 180px, Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together. An eighth note (American) or a quaver (British) is a musical note play ...
.


Southern League


Cincinnati Reds (1978–1979)

With a team in place and a stadium under construction, the Nashville Sounds were set to begin play in 1978 as an
expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...
of the Southern League. As the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, the Sounds played their first game on April 15, 1978, against the
Memphis Chicks Memphis Chicks may refer to: *Memphis Chicks (Southern Association), a Minor League Baseball team that played from 1901 to 1960 *Memphis Chicks (Southern League) The Memphis Chicks were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Southern Lea ...
at Memphis'
Tim McCarver Stadium Tim McCarver Stadium was a stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. It was primarily used for baseball and was the home of the Memphis Blues (1968–1976), the Memphis Chicks (1978–1997), and the Memphis Redbirds (1998–1999). The ballpark ...
, which they lost, 4–2. They recorded their first win the next evening, defeating Memphis, 3–0. Their home opener was scheduled to take place on April 25, but was rained out and rescheduled for the next night. On April 26, the Sounds played their first home game, a 12–4 victory, against the
Savannah Braves The Savannah Braves were a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–2020), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1971 to 1983. They were located in Savannah, Georgia, Savannah, G ...
before a sellout crowd of 8,156 fans at Greer Stadium. Nashville placed fourth of five teams in both halves of its inaugural season, which kept the team out of the championship playoffs. The Sounds had more success at the turnstiles than on the field as they led all of Minor League Baseball in attendance by drawing 380,000 fans to Greer Stadium in their debut season. Nashville went on to lead the Southern League in attendance in each of their seven seasons of membership. Schmittou's business philosophy revolved around earning profits not from ticket sales, but from the sale of souvenirs and concessions. This approach also involved promoting family-friendly entertainment rather than baseball games. Through the mid 1980s, the Sounds offered nightly promotions and treated fans to a carnival-like atmosphere between innings. The franchise was recognized with the
Larry MacPhail Award The Larry MacPhail Award was presented annually from 1966 to 2019 by Minor League Baseball to recognize "a club that demonstrates outstanding and creative marketing and promotional efforts within its community, its ballpark (including non-game da ...
for outstanding minor league promotions in 1978, 1980, and 1981.
Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
George Scherger George Richard Scherger (November 10, 1920October 13, 2011) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played as an infielder for 19 seasons in the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers minor league organization, serving as a ...
led the 1979 Sounds to win the second-half Western Division title, qualifying them for the postseason. After defeating first-half winners Memphis, three games to one, for the Western Division title, they advanced to the league championship series against the
Columbus Astros Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...
. Nashville won their first Southern League championship by defeating Columbus, three games to one. Originally, the Reds allowed Nashville to use a
designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...
(DH) in their lineup. This allowance was later revoked since the Reds were a part of the
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
in which
pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
s bat instead of using a DH. Schmittou felt the Sounds were at a disadvantage against other teams that utilized the designated hitter, so he looked for a new major league affiliate for 1980. After two seasons at Double-A for the Reds, Nashville had a 152–140
win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...
encompassing all regular-season and postseason games.


New York Yankees (1980–1984)

Schmittou had been encouraged by the
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
organization to establish the Sounds as a Triple-A team, but he refused to go back on his previous agreement to partner with the Reds at Double-A. After the split with Cincinnati, the Sounds made their first affiliation switch in 1980, becoming the Double-A affiliate of the Yankees. This partnership was the most successful period in team history. They experienced five winning seasons in a row and won five consecutive second-half Western Division titles, propelling them to the postseason each year. Under manager
Stump Merrill Carl Harrison "Stump" Merrill (born February 15, 1944) is a former manager in Major League Baseball. Merrill spent 38 years in the New York Yankees organization, including and as the manager of the Yankees, and he also managed several of the Yan ...
, the 1980 Sounds posted a franchise-best 97–46 record. They won the second half but lost the Western Division series to Memphis. The 1980 club was ranked as the sixty-ninth greatest minor league baseball team of all-time by baseball historians in 2001. Nashville set the league season attendance record that year when 575,676 fans attended games at Greer Stadium. The Sounds reached the 1981 championship series via another second-half title and winning the division over Memphis, but they fell to the
Orlando Twins Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...
in the finals. The 1982 Sounds, managed by
Johnny Oates Johnny Lane Oates (January 21, 1946 – December 24, 2004) was an American professional baseball player, Coach (baseball), coach, and Manager (baseball), manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Baltimore Orioles, ...
, finished with a 77–67 record and won the second half. After defeating the
Knoxville Blue Jays The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off Int ...
, 3–1, in the Western Division finals, the Sounds advanced to the league championship series against the
Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...
, where they won the franchise's second Southern League championship with a 3–1 series victory. The Sounds qualified for the Western Division series in each of the next two seasons, but fell to the
Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...
in 1983, and to Knoxville in 1984. One highlight of the 1984 season was
Jim Deshaies James Joseph Deshaies (born June 23, 1960), also known as "JD", is an American former professional baseball left-handed starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for six teams, over the course of 12 big league seasons. He is c ...
pitching the club's first
no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...
against Columbus in the second game of a seven-inning doubleheader on May 4.
Otis Nixon Otis Junior Nixon (born January 9, 1959) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1983), Cleveland Indians (1984–87), Montreal Expos (1988–90), Atlanta Brave ...
set the franchise career record for
stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...
s (133) over the 1981 and 1982 seasons. Nashville had a 431–320 record during their five-year affiliation with the Yankees, their best record among all affiliations. Their seven-year record in the Southern League was 583–460.


American Association


Detroit Tigers (1985–1986)

In response to a decline in attendance and a decrease in local media coverage, Sounds president Larry Schmittou sought to boost interest in the team through an elevation to the Triple-A classification. He attempted to purchase and relocate one of two available Triple-A franchises late in the 1983 season, but each chose to continue in their markets for 1984. His desire to land a Triple-A team was part of a larger plan to put Nashville in a position to contend for a Major League Baseball franchise in the future. Schmittou arrived at terms in July 1984 to purchase the Triple-A
Evansville Triplets The Evansville Triplets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Triple-A American Association (AA) from 1970 to 1984. They were located in Evansville, Indiana, and played their home games at Bosse Field. The Triplets served as a farm club for th ...
of the
American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...
for a reported sum of $780,000, with plans to move the franchise from
Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...
, to Nashville for the 1985 season. The Southern League wanted Schmittou to surrender his franchise to the league, but he had plans to relocate the team to Evansville to continue as the Triplets at Double-A. However, a combination of the league's disapproval of the move and the City of Evansville being unwilling to upgrade
Bosse Field Bosse Field is a baseball stadium located in Evansville, Indiana. Opened in 1915, it was the first municipally owned sports stadium in the United States and is the third-oldest ballpark still in regular use for professional baseball, surpassed o ...
resulted in a move to
Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...
, where the team became 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 ...
. The Triple-A Sounds carried on the history of the Double-A team that preceded them. The Triplets' legacy was retired, and the Stars were established as an entirely new franchise. The Sounds began Triple-A competition in 1985 as a member of the American Association affiliated with the
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 ...
, continuing the major league affiliation that was in place with the Evansville franchise. Their first Triple-A game was a 3–1 win against the
Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...
at Greer Stadium on April 11. Though narrowly missing the playoffs in their first season with the Tigers, the Sounds ended their affiliation with Detroit after two years of poor attendance and a lackluster 1986 season. Over two years with the Tigers, they had a 139–144 record. Their all-time record stood at 722–604 after nine years of play.


Cincinnati Reds (1987–1992)

The Sounds rejoined the Cincinnati Reds farm system as their Triple-A affiliate in 1987 in a bid to increase attendance. Schmittou indicated that market surveys consistently showed the Reds to be the most popular MLB team in the area. In 1990, Nashville set its all-time attendance record when 605,122 fans attended games at Greer Stadium. The Sounds experienced their most successful season with the Reds at Triple-A and as members of the American Association that year when they compiled an 86–61 record under manager
Pete Mackanin Peter Mackanin, Jr. (pronounced ; born August 1, 1951), is an American former professional baseball utility player, coach, scout, and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Montreal Expos, Philadelphia Phillies ...
. Ending the regular season in a tie with the Buffalo Bisons, the Sounds won the Eastern Division title in a one-game playoff. They advanced to their first American Association championship series, but they ultimately lost to the
Omaha Royals Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...
. Apart from the 1990 season, the Sounds finished too far back to qualify for the postseason in the other five years of affiliation with the Reds. However, several franchise records were set during this period.
Skeeter Barnes William Henry "Skeeter" Barnes (born March 3, 1957) is a retired Major League Baseball utility player for the Cincinnati Reds (1983–1984 and 1989), Montreal Expos (1985), St. Louis Cardinals (1987) and Detroit Tigers (1991–1994). Biography B ...
, who had previously played with Nashville in 1979, set the career records for
games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...
(514),
at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...
s (1,848), and
hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...
(517) during his second stint from 1988 to 1990. Pitcher Hugh Kemp started a record 73 games from 1987 to 1989. Greer Stadium, once one of the best stadiums in Triple-A baseball in terms of player and fan amenities, began to be outshined by newer ballparks being built in the late 1980s. The Reds let their player development contract with the Sounds expire so they could place their Triple-A affiliate in
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
, which was closer and planning to build a new stadium. Nashville's record after six years with Cincinnati at Triple-A was 431–436. Through 15 total years of competition, their all-time record stood at 1,207–1,040.


Chicago White Sox (1993–1997)

At the recommendation of the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball and with few options available, the Sounds signed a new player development contract with 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 ...
, who wanted to move their Triple-A farm club closer than its previous location in
Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
. The White Sox then presented a list of complaints about the relatively poor condition of Greer Stadium. Unable to convince the city to pay for a new ballpark, and deciding against moving the team elsewhere in the Nashville area, Schmittou made significant improvements to Greer. One of those was the addition of its signature guitar-shaped scoreboard, which was installed before the 1993 season. At one point, Schmittou considered dropping the Sounds back to Double-A due to the difficulty of bringing Greer up to the specifications of a Triple-A ballpark. Instead, renovations continued over the next several years in an attempt to meet Triple-A standards. Greer Stadium was shared between the Sounds and the Southern League's
Nashville Xpress The Nashville Xpress were a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins from 1993 to 1994. They were located in Nashville, Tennessee, and played their home games at Herschel Greer Stadiu ...
, previously known as the
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 ...
, during the 1993 and 1994 seasons. This came about when Charlotte acquired a Triple-A expansion franchise in 1993, leaving the existing Double-A team without a home. Schmittou offered Greer as a temporary home ballpark for the team. To accommodate an additional club, the Xpress' home games were scheduled for during the Sounds' road trips. The Sounds reached the American Association playoffs in each of their first two years with the White Sox. The 1993 team, led by manager
Rick Renick Warren Richard Renick (born March 16, 1944) is a retired American professional baseball player, manager and coach. Renick had a 14-year (1965–1978) professional playing career, including all or part of five seasons (1968–1972) in Major League ...
, clinched the Eastern Division title but lost the championship series to the
Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...
. The 1994 Sounds qualified for their second consecutive postseason under Renick. In the first round, Nashville swept the
New Orleans Zephyrs New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
in three games to advance to the league finals, but they were defeated by the
Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...
. The team failed to reach the postseason again during their remaining three years with Chicago. The five-year White Sox affiliation ended after the 1997 season with the Sounds having a 390–342 record with four winning seasons over that period. After 13 years, their American Association record stood at 960–922, and their all-time 20-year record was 1,543–1,382. The 1996 season marked the last that Schmittou was the team's president and part majority owner. The city was poised to welcome a
National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
franchise, the
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...
, and Schmittou felt that revenue would be drawn away from the team. He and another investor sold their controlling financial interests in the Sounds to Chicago-based businessmen Al Gordon, Mike Murtaugh, and Mike Woleben.


Pacific Coast League


Pittsburgh Pirates (1998–2004)

The American Association, of which the Sounds had been members since 1985, disbanded after the 1997 season, and its teams were absorbed by the two remaining Triple-A leagues—the
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 ...
and
Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
(PCL). Nashville joined the PCL, becoming the easternmost team in the circuit. Along with a new league, they began to adopt new colors and logos over the course of the 1998 and 1999 seasons, phasing out the original colors and marks in use since their foundation in 1978. The new primary logo, replacing the original "Slugger", consisted of a black, red, and white
eighth note 180px, Figure 1. An eighth note with stem extending up, an eighth note with stem extending down, and an eighth rest. 180px, Figure 2. Four eighth notes beamed together. An eighth note (American) or a quaver (British) is a musical note play ...
with a baseball at the top set against a circle of the same colors, plus silver, bearing the team name in white around the sides. The Sounds entered the Pacific Coast League as the top farm club of the
Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
, who sought to escape the chilly climate and lengthy travel associated with their previous affiliate in
Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
. The team regularly finished third or fourth in their four-team division, leaving them out of the playoffs. One of their three winning seasons occurred in 2003 when
Trent Jewett Philip Trent Jewett (born March 3, 1964 in Dallas, Texas) is an American baseball coach and former minor league baseball player. He recently served as the bench coach for the Seattle Mariners from 2014 to 2015. He spent 2013 as the third-base coac ...
managed the Sounds to clinch the American Conference Eastern Division title, giving them their first postseason berth in the PCL and first playoff appearance since 1994. Nashville defeated the
Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...
in the conference series but then lost the league finals to the
Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 yea ...
. Earlier in 2003, right-hander
John Wasdin John Truman Wasdin (born August 5, 1972) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2007, and also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Wasdin made his MLB debut in 1995 wit ...
pitched the first
perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...
in Sounds history on April 7 against Albuquerque at Greer Stadium. The 4–0 Sounds win was the second nine-inning perfect game in the PCL's 101-year history. Several franchise records were set during the affiliation with Pittsburgh.
Chad Hermansen Chad Bruce Hermansen (born September 10, 1977) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Career Hermansen played amateur ball as a shortstop at Green Valley High School (Nevada), Green Valley High School of Henderson, Nevada, and the Pittsbur ...
, a Sound from 1998 to 2002, holds the career records for runs (303),
home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s (92), and
runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...
(286).
Tike Redman Julian Jawonn "Tike" Redman (born March 10, 1977) is an American professional baseball center fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (2000–01; 2003–05) and the Baltimore Orioles (2007). He is the brother ...
hit a record 32 
triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...
from 2000 to 2003.
Closing pitcher In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer (abbreviated CL), is a relief pitcher who specializes in getting the final outs in a close game when his team is leading. The role is often assigned to a team's best relieve ...
Mark Corey Mark Franklin Corey (born November 16, 1974) is a retired American baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Early life Corey attended Austin High School in Austin, Pen ...
set the record for saves (46) during the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Seeking to place their Triple-A club at a newer, more desirable stadium and to escape the high travel costs associated with playing in the PCL, Pittsburgh ended their affiliation with the Sounds after the 2004 campaign. Over seven years as a Pirates affiliate, Nashville had a 493–508 record. Through 27 years of competition, the Sounds' all-time record stood at 2,036–1,890.


Milwaukee Brewers (2005–2014)

The Sounds became the Triple-A affiliate of the
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
in 2005. One factor in the Brewers' choice to partner with Nashville was the hope that the Sounds would soon get a new stadium to replace the then-27-year-old Greer. The team also debuted a new oval-shaped logo with a baseball player silhouetted against a yellow background hitting a ball toward the Nashville skyline with the city's name written above within a red border and the team nickname written in red and black script below. The affiliation started well as manager
Frank Kremblas Francis Michael "Frank" Kremblas Jr. (born October 25, 1966) is an American minor league baseball manager. He previously managed the Indianapolis Indians Triple-A team from 2009–10, and was a former minor league player in the Cincinnati Re ...
led the club to win the American Conference Northern Division title with a 75–69 record. The team went on to win the conference title against the
Oklahoma RedHawks Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...
, three games to two, before sweeping the
Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960. ...
in three games to win the
Pacific Coast League championship The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball. A champion has been determined at the end of each season since the league ...
. This was Nashville's first championship at the Triple-A level since moving to the classification in 1985 and their first since the 1982 Southern League crown. From May 5–6, 2006, the Sounds participated in a 24-inning game against the New Orleans Zephyrs, which was played over the course of two days and lasted eight hours and seven minutes. This matched the PCL record for the longest game, in terms of innings played. The Sounds finished the season tied with the Iowa Cubs for first place, but won the division title and advanced to the postseason via tiebreaker by means of having won the regular-season series versus Iowa. Nashville lost to the
Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...
in the conference series. On June 25, 2007,
Manny Parra Manuel Alex Parra (born October 30, 1982) is an American professional baseball player who is a free agent. He has played as a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers and Cincinnati Reds. Early life Parra graduated from Ca ...
pitched the club's second perfect game, the third nine-inning perfect game in the PCL's history, against Round Rock. Kremblas led the team to capture the division title for the third year in a row and finish the season with a league-best 89–55 record. Ultimately, they were defeated by New Orleans in the conference series. The Sounds failed to win the division and qualify for the postseason during the next seven years of their Brewers affiliation despite narrow second-place finishes in 2009 and 2014. The 2013 team set the franchise record low win–loss record with a 57–87 campaign. The Sounds had planned to leave Greer Stadium in the mid 2000s for a new ballpark to be called First Tennessee Field, but the project was abandoned when a financing agreement could not be reached. After the 2008 season and failing to secure a new facility, Al Gordon's Amerisports Companies sold the team to MFP Baseball, a New York-based group of investors consisting of Masahiro Honzawa, Steve Posner, and Frank Ward. Keeping the team in Nashville was one of the PCL's top criteria for approval of the sale. MFP made significant renovations to Greer while it continued to explore building a new stadium. Prior to the 2014 season, the team, Metro Nashville, and the State of Tennessee finalized a plan to build a new downtown ballpark in time for the 2015 season. On August 27, 2014, the Sounds played their final game at Greer Stadium, an 8–5 loss to the Sacramento River Cats. The attendance at the game was a standing-room-only crowd of 11,067, the first sellout since 2010, and the largest crowd since 2007. The Sounds severed ties with Milwaukee after the 2014 season citing poor on-field performance from recent Brewers Triple-A teams. Over the 10-year affiliation, the longest in Nashville's history, the Sounds had a 732–721 record. Overall, the Sounds' 37-year record stood at 2,768–2,611.


Oakland Athletics (2015–2018)

Nashville affiliated with the
Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
in 2015 due in part to the organization's commitment to fielding competitive teams at the Triple-A level, an area in which co-owner Frank Ward felt Milwaukee lacked. The Sounds also introduced a new set of logos that incorporated elements reflecting Nashville's "Music City" moniker, such as
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
s, picks, and
sound hole A sound hole is an opening in the body of a stringed musical instrument, usually the upper sound board. Sound holes have different shapes: * round in flat-top guitars and traditional bowl-back mandolins; * F-holes in instruments from the vio ...
s, as well as
neon sign In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in Decem ...
s like those in the city's
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
entertainment district. The team initially elected to embrace a new color scheme that included Broadway Burnt Orange, Sunburst Tan, Neon Orange, and
Cash In economics, cash is money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins. In bookkeeping and financial accounting, cash is current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-imm ...
Black. However, the team returned to the previous red and black palette, with the addition of platinum silver as an accent color, before the season began after receiving mixed feedback from team fans. The new primary logo was a red "N" set against a silver guitar pick, both with black borders. The start of the 2015 season marked the first time that the Sounds played at the new $91 million
First Horizon Park First Horizon Park, formerly known as First Tennessee Park, is a baseball park in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The home of the Triple-A Nashville Sounds of the International League, it opened on April 17, 2015, and can seat u ...
, then known as First Tennessee Park, which is located at the site of the historic
Sulphur Dell Sulphur Dell, formerly known as Sulphur Spring Park and Athletic Park, was a baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It was located just north of the Tennessee State Capitol building in the block bounded by modern-day Jackson Street, ...
ballpark just north of the
Tennessee State Capitol The Tennessee State Capitol, located in Nashville, Tennessee, is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Tennessee. It serves as the home of both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly–the Tennessee House of Representatives and the Tenne ...
in downtown Nashville. In the facility's inaugural game on April 17, the Sounds defeated the
Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...
, 3–2 in 10 innings, with a walk-off RBI double in front of an announced paid attendance of 10,459 people. In Nashville's second season as an A's affiliate, they reached the postseason for the first time since 2007 with a league-best 83–59 record and the American Conference Southern Division title, but they were unable to advance past the conference series versus the
Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Bal ...
. Joey Wendle hit a franchise career-record 102 doubles from 2015 to 2017. Nashville declined to renew their contract with the Athletics after the 2018 season, choosing instead to seek a new major league affiliate. Over four years with Oakland, they had a 291–279 record. Through 41 seasons, their all-time record stood at 3,059–2,890.


Texas Rangers (2019–2020)

Nashville became the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers in 2019. The Sounds sought out the Rangers after identifying them as one of the most popular MLB teams among local baseball fans—behind 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 ...
and
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 hav ...
—and for their geographical proximity. Also in 2019, just four years after their previous rebranding, the team debuted new colors and logos which pull together elements from their original visual identity and the musical imagery present throughout their franchise history. The new colors, navy blue, red, and white, are modernized versions of their original 1978 colors. The primary logo is a pair of concentric red rings with the team name in navy between the two divided horizontally at its center by twin red and blue stripes; a navy "N" resembling the
F-hole A sound hole is an opening in the body of a stringed musical instrument, usually the upper sound board. Sound holes have different shapes: * round in flat-top guitars and traditional bowl-back mandolins; * F-holes in instruments from the vi ...
of a guitar or violin is in the inner ring, which is styled like a baseball. Veteran sidearm pitcher
Tim Dillard Timothy Charles Dillard (born July 19, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers. He is a pregame and postgame analyst for Brewers television broadcasts on Bally ...
, previously with the Sounds from 2007 to 2014, returned to the team in 2019. In his second stretch, he set the franchise career records for
games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...
(242) and
strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
s (437) while adding to his existing marks for wins (48) and
innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...
(710). The 2019 season became the Sounds' only year of play as a Rangers affiliate. The start of the 2020 season was initially postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
before being cancelled altogether. Following the 2020 season, Major League Baseball assumed control of Minor League Baseball in a move to increase player salaries, modernize facility standards, and reduce travel. Affiliations were rearranged to situate Triple-A teams closer to their major league parent clubs. The Texas Rangers chose to move their Triple-A affiliation back to
Round Rock, Texas Round Rock is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 as of the 2020 census. The city straddles the Bal ...
, where it had been prior to partnering with Nashville. As a Rangers farm club, the Sounds had a 66–72 record, their lowest record among all affiliations. Nashville held a over 23 years in the Pacific Coast League, while their all-time record stood at 3,125–2,962 after 42 seasons played over the course of 43 years.


Triple-A East / International League


Milwaukee Brewers (2021–present)

The Sounds became the Triple-A affiliate of the
Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...
for a second time in 2021 upon signing a 10-year Professional Development License that runs through 2030. The Brewers desired reuniting with Nashville because of the quality of the player facilities at First Horizon Park and convenient travel options to and from the city. Along with Major League Baseball's restructuring of the minors, the Pacific Coast League disbanded, and the Sounds were placed in the
Triple-A East 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 ( ...
. Opening Day for the 2021 season was postponed for nearly a month to temporarily eliminate commercial air travel and give players the opportunity to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before the season started. No playoffs were held to determine a league champion at the end of the season; instead, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner. Nashville placed ninth in the league standings. However, 10 games that had been postponed from the start of the season were reinserted into the schedule as a postseason tournament called the Triple-A Final Stretch in which all 30 Triple-A clubs competed for the highest winning percentage. Nashville finished the tournament tied for fourth place with a 7–2 record. In 2022, the Triple-A East became known as the
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 ...
, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. Nashville began play in the renamed league with a 5–4 win against 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 ...
at First Horizon Park on April 5. Under manager
Rick Sweet Ricky Joe Sweet (born September 7, 1952) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current manager of the Milwaukee Brewers' Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds. He played three seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1 ...
, who previously led the team in the last season of their former affiliation with Milwaukee and since their reaffiliation, the 2022 Sounds won the Western Division title with a league-best 91–58 record. In a single playoff game to determine the International League championship, Nashville was shutout, 13–0, by Durham, winners of the Eastern Division. Sweet was chosen for the
International League Manager of the Year Award The International League Manager of the Year Award is an annual award given to the best manager (baseball), manager in Minor League Baseball's International League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. Broadcast ...
. He also received the
Mike Coolbaugh Award The Mike Coolbaugh Award is presented annually by Minor League Baseball to recognize "an individual who has shown an outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game, and skill in mentoring young players on the field." It is usually awarde ...
in honor of his work ethic, baseball knowledge, and player mentoring. The franchise was recognized with the
Minor League Baseball Organization of the Year Award The Minor League Baseball Organization of the Year Award, formerly known as the John H. Johnson President's Award or simply the President's Award, is presented annually by Minor League Baseball (MiLB) to recognize "a 'complete' baseball franchise ...
. Over both seasons of the current Brewers affiliation, Nashville has a 154–114 record. Through 44 completed seasons of play, the Sounds have an all-time record of 3,286–3,078 encompassing all regular and postseason games over 45 years in Nashville.


Season-by-season records


Rivals

Nashville's chief rivals have been those based in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
. Located approximately to the southwest and connected to Nashville by
Interstate 40 Interstate 40 (I-40) is a major east–west Interstate Highway running through the south-central portion of the United States. At a length of , it is the third-longest Interstate Highway in the country, after I-90 and I-80. From west to ea ...
, Memphis has fielded several teams which have competed in the same leagues as Nashville's teams since the late 19th century. The Sounds entered the rivalry when they and the
Memphis Chicks Memphis Chicks may refer to: *Memphis Chicks (Southern Association), a Minor League Baseball team that played from 1901 to 1960 *Memphis Chicks (Southern League) The Memphis Chicks were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Southern Lea ...
joined the Southern League in 1978 as members of its Western Division. For three consecutive seasons, from 1979 to 1981, the teams met in the Western Division finals to vie for a spot in the league championship series. The intrastate rivalry was interrupted when Nashville moved to the American Association in 1985, but it was renewed when they and the
Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...
joined the Pacific Coast League in 1998. The teams have been division rivals ever since. Memphis beat out second-place Nashville by two games to clinch the 2009 division title and did likewise in 2014 by two-and-a-half games. In 2016, Nashville won the division with a win in Memphis. Roles were reversed in 2017 and 2018 as Memphis captured division titles in Nashville. In 2021, both teams were placed in the Southeastern Division of the Triple-A East. This became the International League in 2022, and both clubs were realigned into its Western Division. As of the completion of the 2022 head-to-head series, the Sounds lead the 25-year rivalry against the Redbirds with a record of 207–181 in 388 meetings.


Ballparks


Herschel Greer Stadium (1978–2014)

The Sounds originally played at
Herschel Greer Stadium Herschel Greer Stadium was a Minor League Baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee, on the grounds of Fort Negley, an American Civil War fortification, approximately south of the city's downtown district. The facility closed at the end of the 20 ...
from 1978 through 2014. The ballpark, which was demolished in 2019, was located on the grounds of
Fort Negley Fort Negley was a fortification built by Union troops after the capture of Nashville, Tennessee during the American Civil War, located approximately south of the city center. It was the largest inland fort built in the United States during the wa ...
, an
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
fortification approximately south of downtown Nashville. The venue experienced numerous expansions and contractions after its completion in 1978, reaching a capacity of 18,000 spectators at its peak, but seated 10,300 during its final 2014 season. The largest attendance, which also set the Southern League record, occurred on August 18, 1982, when 22,315 people saw the Sounds take on the Columbus Astros, many of them standing in roped-off areas in the outfield. Greer's best-known feature, installed prior to the 1993 season, was a giant guitar-shaped
scoreboard A scoreboard is a large board for publicly displaying the score in a game. Most levels of sport from high school and above use at least one scoreboard for keeping score, measuring time, and displaying statistics. Scoreboards in the past used ...
behind the left-field wall. Following the construction of newer, relatively luxurious minor league ballparks in the late 1980s, Greer Stadium had fallen below the standards set for Triple-A stadiums by professional baseball. At the time, team president Larry Schmittou tried unsuccessfully to convince the city to fund a new ballpark. Throughout the 2000s, the team continued in its attempts to gather approval and financing for a new facility. At one point, First Tennessee Field was planned for construction on the west bank of the
Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...
in downtown. Disagreements over who would pay for the ballpark repeatedly delayed its opening and eventually resulted in the cancellation of the project altogether. In the meantime, numerous upgrades and repairs were made in order to preserve its functionality until a new stadium could be built. A deal for such a new ballpark was achieved in late 2013. The Sounds played their final game at Greer on August 27, 2014.


First Horizon Park (2015–present)

The Sounds' current home ballpark is
First Horizon Park First Horizon Park, formerly known as First Tennessee Park, is a baseball park in downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The home of the Triple-A Nashville Sounds of the International League, it opened on April 17, 2015, and can seat u ...
, which opened in 2015 and was known as First Tennessee Park through 2019. The facility is located in downtown Nashville at the location of the former
Sulphur Dell Sulphur Dell, formerly known as Sulphur Spring Park and Athletic Park, was a baseball park in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. It was located just north of the Tennessee State Capitol building in the block bounded by modern-day Jackson Street, ...
ballpark. It has a fixed seating capacity of 8,500 people, but can accommodate up to 10,000 with additional group areas and grass berm seating. The ballpark's attendance record was set on July 16, 2022, when 12,409 people watched a game between the Sounds and the Memphis Redbirds. The stadium features wide concourses with direct views of the playing field. Its design, which incorporates the use of musical and baseball imagery, is meant to connect the park with the city's baseball and musical heritage. Examples include the use of directional signage displaying information on Nashville's former teams and players and the grandstand's light stanchions reminiscent of those found at Sulphur Dell. One of First Horizon Park's most recognizable features, like Greer Stadium before it, is a guitar-shaped scoreboard beyond the right-center field wall. Unlike Greer's guitar, which was only able to display basic in-game information such as the
line score A box score is a chart used in baseball to present data about player achievement in a particular game. An abbreviated version of the box score, duplicated from the field scoreboard, is the line score. The Baseball Hall of Fame credits Henry Chadw ...
,
count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
, and brief player statistics, the larger, modern version is also capable of displaying colorful graphics, animations, player photographs, videos, the batting order, fielding positions, and expanded statistics. Other distinguishing features at the ballpark include The Band Box, an outdoor restaurant and bar which serves variations on traditional ballpark foods, and The Country Club at The Band Box, a 9-hole
miniature golf Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...
course which exhibits art from different local and regional artists. Since 2016, the Country Legends Race, similar to major league
mascot race A mascot race is a promotional sports entertainment or charity competition consisting of costumed runners racing around a baseball field or race course, usually as a form of between-innings entertainment. The racers are typically anthropomorphize ...
s, such as the Sausage Race and
Presidents Race The Presidents Race (known as the GEICO Presidents Race for sponsorship reasons) is a promotional event held at every Washington Nationals home game at Nationals Park, and previously at RFK Stadium, in the middle of the fourth inning of every game ...
, has been a part of the between-innings entertainment at the park. In the middle of the fifth inning, people in oversized foam caricature costumes depicting country musicians
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...
,
George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...
,
Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...
, and
Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...
race around the warning track from center-field, through the visiting bullpen, and to the home plate side of the first base dugout.


Uniforms

The Sounds have utilized three distinct color schemes, five primary logos, and numerous uniforms since beginning play in 1978. Their original red, white, and blue identity reflected Nashville's country music culture, while the switch to red, black, and white in the late 1990s sought to modernize the team. A 2015 rebrand reincorporated elements of the city's musical heritage, which had been largely absent in previous years. The team reworked its identity in 2019, further integrating the city's baseball and musical heritage with the Sounds of the present.


1978–2018

From 1978 to 1986, the team wore pullover v-neck jerseys made of white fabric, for home games, gray, for road games, and red, blue, and powder blue, for use as alternates. These had red, white, and blue tri-color bands around the neck, with larger bands at the sleeve openings (blue jerseys had one white band and two red bands). "Sounds" was written across the chest in red-on-blue music note-like script (powder blue jerseys had red-on-white script). Numbers were sewn on the back. Some jerseys during this period bore a Slugger patch on the right sleeve. The team had three sets of pants: white, gray, and powder blue, all with small tri-color stripes down the legs and larger stripes around the waistband. Beginning in the mid-1980s, numbers were also located on the front of jerseys below the team name on the player's left in the same colors as the team name. The team cap was blue with a red brim bearing a white "N" styled like a music note bordered by red; this was the official team cap from 1978 through the mid-1990s. These first uniforms were modeled after those worn at the time by the Texas Rangers. From 1987 to 1998, the team wore white button-up jerseys, for home games, and gray, for road games. The home jersey design remained largely similar to its predecessor. "Sounds" was still written across the chest in blue and red music note script; though, the font was changed briefly from 1987 to 1988. Numbers remained on the front in blue-on-red block characters. The player's number was present on the back in red and blue. Names were added in blue some years. Road grays had "Nashville" on the chest but lacked tri-color bands at both the neck and sleeves. During this time, the team also added a blue mesh v-neck jersey with the red and white guitar swinger logo on the left chest. Blue belts replaced the pants' wide tri-color stripes. The Sounds continued to wear the original red-billed blue cap with all uniforms until approximately 1993 when a new cap was introduced. This all-blue cap interposed the "N" with the "Slugger" logo. The two caps were worn interchangeably through 1998. Over the course of the 1998 and 1999 seasons, the team switched to a red and black color scheme. In the latter, uniforms consisted of black-pinstriped jerseys with black sleeves bearing a new music note logo on the left sleeve. White home jerseys had "Sounds" across the chest in red with a white-on-black border using the same font used by the
Anaheim Angels 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 ...
at the time. Road grays read "Nashville" on the chest in the same style. Both had the player's number sewn on the back in block characters of the same colors. An alternate solid red jersey with black and gray trim around the sleeve openings and a music note logo on the left chest was also worn. Another alternate, made of black material, had red and white trim at the sleeve openings and a similar music note logo on the left chest. All four were paired with pinstriped pants. Caps were black with the circular music note logo. From 2003 to 2005, the Sounds switched to solid-colored jerseys and pants. The fronts had "Sounds" written across the chest in red script surrounded by black with the player's number on the front below the team name in red-on-black block characters. Red and black piping ran around sleeve openings and along the row of buttons going up and down the front and around the neck. The left sleeve bore the music note logo. Pants had the same piping going down the legs on the outside and were paired with black belts. The road uniform set, though made of gray material and with "Nashville" across the front, was otherwise identical. A sleeveless red alternate jersey with black piping and similar white-on-black markings was worn in this period. They also continued use of the previous generation's black alternate. The official home and road caps worn from 2003 to 2014 were black with a red and white music note logo. From 2006 to 2012, the team's jerseys were similar to those of the previous era, but lacked sleeves and the player's number on the front. These vest-like jerseys were worn over black T-shirts of varying sleeve lengths. The player's name was written on the back in black block characters; numbers were also displayed in large red-on-black characters. The matching road jerseys initially bared "Sounds" across the chest, but were later changed to "Nashville"; these usually lacked the player's name on the back. A Milwaukee Brewers logo was added to the front left shoulder in 2007. A red mesh jersey with yellow, white, and black markings was worn from 2006 to 2007. A new red alternate was introduced in 2010. These were similar to the primary home and road mesh jerseys the team would adopt in 2013, but were red with black underarm sections and piping. "Sounds" was displayed across the chest in white-on-black script. A Brewers logo was located on the left, front chest, and the back numbers were white-on-black. All uniforms continued to be topped off with black caps with a red and white music note logo. From 2013 to 2014, jerseys were made of mesh material with black sections at the armpits and a single line of black piping going down the sleeves and across the shoulders to the neck. A Brewers logo was sewn on the left sleeve. "Sounds" was written across the chest of home jerseys in the same red/black script used since 2003. The player's name was displayed on the back in black block characters; numbers were also shown in large red-on-black digits. Road jerseys were the same, but with "Nashville" across the chest, red underarm sections and piping, and no name on the back. The team continued to wear the previous red alternate of the same style. All were paired with the black cap bearing the red and white music note logo. From 2015 to 2018, home whites had single lines of red piping around the sleeve openings and up the front going around the neck. "Sounds" was displayed on the chest in red letters which resembled the
sound hole A sound hole is an opening in the body of a stringed musical instrument, usually the upper sound board. Sound holes have different shapes: * round in flat-top guitars and traditional bowl-back mandolins; * F-holes in instruments from the vio ...
s on a
guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
with a silver-on-black border. A swinging guitar logo was located on the left sleeve, while a green Athletics elephant logo was on the right. The player's name was sewn on the back in black block characters with his number displayed below in red sound-hole lettering with a silver border and black drop shadow. White pants with a line of red piping going up the sides were worn with black belts. The home cap was black with the primary "N"
guitar pick A guitar pick (American English) is a plectrum used for guitars. Picks are generally made of one uniform material—such as some kind of plastic (nylon, Delrin, celluloid), rubber, felt, tortoiseshell, wood, metal, glass, tagua, or stone. They ...
logo. Gray road uniforms were identical with only a few exceptions: they had "Nashville" on the chest, pants lacked any piping, and the cap bore an "S" guitar pick logo. An alternate black jersey with "Music City" on the front, red piping, no name on the reverse, and "Nashville" embroidered in red letters under the Athletics sleeve logo was also worn. A second set of alternates, introduced in 2016, were sublimation-printed red jerseys with black and white bands at the neck and bands of silver, black, and white around the sleeve openings. A guitar's
fret A fret is any of the thin strips of material, usually metal wire, inserted laterally at specific positions along the neck or fretboard of a stringed instrument. Frets usually extend across the full width of the neck. On some historical instrume ...
and
headstock A headstock or peghead is part of a guitar or similar stringed instruments such as a lute, mandolin, banjo, ukulele and others of the lute lineage. The main function of a headstock is to house the pegs or mechanism that holds the strings at the ...
extended upward from these bands on each sleeve. "Nashville" appeared on the chest in white sound-hole lettering bordered by silver and black. The player's number was located below the city's name and on the back in silver characters with a white border and black drop shadow.


2019–present

Since the 2019 season, home jerseys have been white with "NASH" boldly arched across the chest in navy blue with the player's number in red under the name on the left side. The sleeves have thin navy and red bands at the openings with six thin red stripes, reminiscent of guitar strings, running from the openings up the shoulders before terminating near the collar. The left side bears a navy "NASH" pick logo set against the strings. The player's name is displayed on the back in navy with the number below in red. The home pants, worn with navy belts, are white with a pair of navy and red stripes running down the outsides. The home cap is all navy with a red "N" icon, styled like a guitar or violin's F-hole, outlined in white. Road grays have lines of red piping around the neck and along the row of buttons going up the chest with a red and white "N" icon on the left side and the player's number on the right in the same colors. Each sleeve has a thin red band at the opening with a secondary logo displaying the Sounds' script wordmark in navy set against a red baseball on the left sleeve. The player's number is displayed on the back in red with a white border. Gray pants, worn with navy belts, have the same navy/red stripes as the home pants. The road cap has a red bill but is otherwise identical to the home cap. The navy blue alternate has "Nashville" written across the chest in an F-hole-styled red font with a white outline. Similar to the home whites, these have red and white bands at the openings and the guitar strings on the sleeves and behind the "NASH" pick are white. The player's number is displayed on the back in red with a white border. The alternate cap is navy with a white front panel, red bill, and a red "N" icon outlined in navy. The red alternate is a v-neck pullover with "Sounds" on the chest in navy bordered by white in the F-hole script. The player's number is below the team name in navy outlined in white. The sleeves bear navy and white bands at the sleeve openings and white strings on the sleeves behind the "NASH" pick logo. A larger navy stripe and smaller white stripe go around the neck opening. The player's number is displayed on the back in navy with a white border. The cap is navy with a white front panel bearing three navy stars arranged like those on the
flag of Tennessee The flag of Tennessee displays an emblem on a field of red, with a strip of blue bordered by white on the fly. The emblem in the middle consists of three stars on a blue circle also with a white border. The central emblem portion of the flag h ...
set in a red-outlined home plate.
Throwback uniform Throwback uniforms, throwback jerseys, retro kits or heritage guernseys are sports uniforms styled to resemble the uniforms that a team wore in the past. One-time or limited-time retro uniforms are sometimes produced to be worn by teams in games ...
s honoring the 1978 Sounds are worn for Thursday home games in conjunction with Throwback Thursday promotions. The jerseys, similar to those worn by early Sounds teams, are white pullover v-necks with bands of red, white, and blue around the neck and sleeve openings. "Sounds" is written across the chest in red-on-blue music note-like script, with the player's number below on the left in red block characters with blue borders. The left sleeve bears the "Slugger" logo. High white pants are worn with blue belts and either blue socks or stirrups. The cap is blue with a red brim, displaying an "N" styled like an eighth note in white bordered by red. A fourth alternate jersey is worn for Saturday games as a part of Hit City Saturday promotions. These white v-neck pullovers have "Hit City" across the chest in navy, with red silhouettes of the Nashville skyline above and the lower half of the guitar scoreboard below. The neck and sleeve openings have navy bands, the left sleeve bears the primary team logo, and the player's number is displayed in navy characters on the front and back. These jerseys are paired with the road cap and home white pants.


Radio and television

During the inaugural season of 1978, Sounds games were broadcast on radio by
Monte Hale Monte Hale (born Samuel Buren Ely June 8, 1919 – March 29, 2009) was an American B-Western film star and country musician. Biography Sometimes reported to have been born in San Angelo, Texas, Hale was actually born in Ada, Oklahoma but grew ...
. Bob Jamison, the team's longest-tenured
announcer An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience of a broadcast media programme or live event. Television and other media Some announcers work in television production, radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, ...
, called games from 1979 through 1990. He was followed by
Steve Carroll Steve Carroll is an American professional sports Sports presenter, broadcaster from Saint Louis, who is currently serving as the radio play-by-play announcer for the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks. Other hockey teams that Carroll has anno ...
(1991–1995), Steve Selby (1996–1999),
Chuck Valenches Chuck Valenches is a minor league baseball radio broadcaster and voice actor. He most recently served as a play-by-play announcer for the Nashville Sounds, the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers based in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1998 to 2 ...
(2000–2009), and Stu Paul (2010–2011). Jeff Hem has been the team's lead broadcaster since 2012. All Sounds home and road games are broadcast on 94.9 FM The Fan. Live audio broadcasts are also available online through the team's website and the MiLB First Pitch app. Games can be viewed through the MiLB.TV subscription feature of the official website of Minor League Baseball, with audio provided by a radio simulcast.


Mascots

The Nashville Sounds'
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 ...
is an
anthropomorphic 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 ...
rooster The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
named Booster. He is bright red with yellow legs, beak,
comb A comb is a tool consisting of a shaft that holds a row of teeth for pulling through the hair to clean, untangle, or style it. Combs have been used since prehistoric times, having been discovered in very refined forms from settlements dating ba ...
, and palms and red, orange, and yellow tail feathers resembling flames. He wears the same style jerseys as the team with the number zero. He made his debut on April 17, 2015, at the Sounds' first game at First Tennessee Park. His name refers to "boosting" or building enthusiasm for the team, while his appearance is a play on
Nashville hot chicken Hot chicken (or Nashville hot chicken) is a type of fried chicken that is a local specialty of Nashville, Tennessee, in the United States. In its typical preparation, it is a portion of breast, thigh, or wing that has been marinated in a wat ...
. The first Sounds mascot was introduced during the team's inaugural 1978 season. Homer Horsehide resembled their major league affiliate's mascot—
Mr. Red Mr. Red is the first mascot of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. He is a humanoid figure dressed in a Reds uniform, with an oversized baseball for a head. Sometimes, Mr. Red is referred to by the team as "The Running Man" for the way he has p ...
of the Cincinnati Reds. The character was human in appearance, with the exception of an oversized anthropomorphized baseball in place of a human head. The mustachioed mascot donned a uniform identical to that of Sounds players. Homer continued as the team mascot through at least 1982. From 1995 to mid 1996, the mascot was a lime-green dinosaur named Champ, who was borrowed from the
New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...
's
Vermont Expos Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...
. An anthropomorphic
cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') is a large Felidae, cat native to the Americas. Its Species distribution, range spans from the Canadian Yukon to the southern Andes in South America and is the most widespread of any large wild terrestrial mamm ...
named Ozzie was the team's mascot from 1997 to 2014. The original Ozzie came from 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 ...
's
Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their ho ...
, which were owned by the same group that owned the Sounds and had an extra mascot costume. The surplus cougar outfit was sent to Nashville, and, after building a fan following during his first season, team management decided to make Ozzie the permanent mascot. The original costume was brown, but a new muscular yellow costume was introduced in 1998. Ozzie wore the same style of uniform as the team, but with no hat. He was retired when the Sounds left Greer Stadium in 2014, although he continued to make appearances during the 2014 to 2015 offseason.


Roster


Achievements


Awards

Fourteen players have won league awards in recognition for their performance with the Sounds. Three players have won league Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards.
Steve Balboni Stephen Charles Balboni (; born January 16, 1957) is an American former Major League Baseball player, who played for the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, and Texas Rangers. He was a player with home run power and a tendency ...
(1980) and
Brian Dayett Brian Kelly Dayett (born January 22, 1957) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder who played five seasons between and for the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs. He also spent some time in Japan, playing for the Nippon-Ham Fighte ...
(1982) won the Southern League MVP Award, and
Magglio Ordóñez Magglio José Ordóñez Delgado (; born January 28, 1974) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball right fielder. He played for the Chicago White Sox (1997–2004) and Detroit Tigers (2005–2011). Ordóñez is tall and weighs . Having pos ...
(1997) won the American Association MVP Award. Ten players have won Pitcher of the Year honors.
Bruce Berenyi Bruce Michael Berenyi (born August 21, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher from 1980 to 1986. Early years Berenyi's uncle was MLB pitcher Ned Garver. Berenyi played basketball as well as baseball at Fairview High School in ...
(1978),
Geoff Combe Geoffrey Wade Combe (born February 1, 1956) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Career Combe was signed by the Cincinnati Reds of the Major League Baseball (MLB) as an amateur free agent in 1974. He made Minor League stops with ...
(1979),
Andy McGaffigan Andrew Joseph McGaffigan (born October 25, 1956) is a former professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1991. Amateur career A native of West Palm Beach, Florida, McGaffigan attended Twin Lakes High School, Pa ...
(1980), Jamie Werly (1981), and
Stefan Wever Stefan Matthew Wever (April 22, 1958 – December 27, 2022) was a German-born American professional baseball pitcher, who played a single Major League Baseball game with the New York Yankees in 1982, recording the loss, a 27.00 earned run avera ...
(1982) were selected for the Southern League Most Outstanding Pitcher Award.
Chris Hammond Christopher Andrew Hammond (born January 21, 1966) is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. Hammond was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the sixth round of the amateur draft. Hammond had not sustained considerable success unt ...
(1990) and
Scott Ruffcorn Scott Patrick Ruffcorn (born December 29, 1969) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies between 1993 and 1997. Amateur career Ruffcorn attended S ...
(1994) won the American Association Most Valuable Pitcher Award.
R. A. Dickey Robert Allen Dickey (born October 29, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Bra ...
(2007),
Johnny Hellweg John David Hellweg (born October 29, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers and for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball ( ...
(2013), and Jimmy Nelson (2014) were selected for the
Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year Award The Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year Award is an annual award given to the best pitcher in Minor League Baseball's Pacific Coast League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. Broadcasters, Minor League B ...
. The American Association Rookie of the Year Award was won by
Jeff Abbott Jeff Abbott (born 1963) is a U.S. suspense novelist. He has degrees in History and English from Rice University. He lives in Austin, Texas. Before writing full-time, he was a creative director at an advertising agency. His early novels were trad ...
(1996) and Magglio Ordóñez (1997). Ordóñez is the only Sounds player to win multiple league awards. Five managers have been selected as their league's Manager of the Year.
Stump Merrill Carl Harrison "Stump" Merrill (born February 15, 1944) is a former manager in Major League Baseball. Merrill spent 38 years in the New York Yankees organization, including and as the manager of the Yankees, and he also managed several of the Yan ...
(1980) won the
Southern League Manager of the Year Award The Southern League Manager of the Year Award is an annual award given to the best manager in Minor League Baseball's Southern League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. Broadcasters, Minor League Baseball ...
.
Rick Renick Warren Richard Renick (born March 16, 1944) is a retired American professional baseball player, manager and coach. Renick had a 14-year (1965–1978) professional playing career, including all or part of five seasons (1968–1972) in Major League ...
(1993 and 1996) won the American Association Manager of the Year Award.
Frank Kremblas Francis Michael "Frank" Kremblas Jr. (born October 25, 1966) is an American minor league baseball manager. He previously managed the Indianapolis Indians Triple-A team from 2009–10, and was a former minor league player in the Cincinnati Re ...
(2007) and
Steve Scarsone Steven Wayne Scarsone (born April 11, 1966) is an American former professional baseball infielder and former minor league manager. He serves on the Oakland Athletics' Player Development staff as travelling minor league instructor. He played all or ...
(2016) won the Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year Award.
Rick Sweet Ricky Joe Sweet (born September 7, 1952) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current manager of the Milwaukee Brewers' Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds. He played three seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1 ...
(2022) won the
International League Manager of the Year Award The International League Manager of the Year Award is an annual award given to the best manager (baseball), manager in Minor League Baseball's International League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. Broadcast ...
. Seventy-six players have been selected for midseason All-Star teams. Of those players, Jamie Werly (1980 and 1981), Joey Vierra (1992 and 1995), Drew Denson (1993 and 1994), Scott Ruffcorn (1994 and 1996), and
Vinny Rottino Vincent Antonio Rottino (born April 7, 1980) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He has played positions including catcher, first base, third base, and the outfield. He graduated from St. Catherine's High School in Racine ...
(2007 and 2008) are the only players to have been selected twice as Sounds. Four players have been chosen as the MVP of midseason All-Star games:
Duane Walker Duane Allen Walker (born March 15, 1957) is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for five seasons at the major league level for the Cincinnati Reds, Texas Rangers, and St. Louis Cardinals. He was drafted by the Reds in the 1st r ...
(1979),
Ray Durham Ray Durham (born November 30, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He is a 14-year major league veteran owning a .277 lifetime batting average with 1,249 runs scored, 2,054 hits, 440 doubles, 79 triples, 192 home runs, 875 r ...
(1994), Magglio Ordóñez (1997), and
Renato Núñez Renato Rafael Núñez (born April 4, 1994) is a Venezuelan professional baseball third baseman for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, Balti ...
(2017). Of the 52 players who have been named to postseason All-Star teams, only Duane Walker (1979 in two positions) and Jeff Abbott (1996 and 1997) have been selected twice.


Retired numbers

The Sounds have honored three players by retiring their uniform numbers. This ensures that the number will be associated with one player of particular importance to the team. An additional number, 42, was retired throughout professional baseball in 1997 to honor
Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...
, the first African American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era. The Sounds' retired numbers are displayed on the concourse near the home plate entrance at First Horizon Park. The number 00 was retired in 1991 in honor of
Skeeter Barnes William Henry "Skeeter" Barnes (born March 3, 1957) is a retired Major League Baseball utility player for the Cincinnati Reds (1983–1984 and 1989), Montreal Expos (1985), St. Louis Cardinals (1987) and Detroit Tigers (1991–1994). Biography B ...
, a
third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...
in 1979 and mostly an
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
from 1988 to 1990. Barnes was a 1989 Triple-A All-Star and holds the franchise career records for games played, at bats, and hits. The number 18 was retired to honor
Don Mattingly Donald Arthur Mattingly (born April 20, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed ...
in 1999. Though only a Sound during the 1981 season, the first baseman led the team in games played, hits, doubles, and RBI. Additionally, Mattingly was named to the Southern League All-Star team and was selected as the New York Yankees' Minor League Player of the Year. The number 17 was retired in 2022 to honor
Tim Dillard Timothy Charles Dillard (born July 19, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers. He is a pregame and postgame analyst for Brewers television broadcasts on Bally ...
, a pitcher from 2007 to 2014 and in 2019. Over nine seasons in which he primarily appeared as a
reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...
, Dillard set the career records for wins, games pitched, innings pitched, and strikeouts.


Hall of Famers

Four former Sounds have been elected to the
National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
. Closer
Trevor Hoffman Trevor William Hoffman (born October 13, 1967) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 2010. A long-time closer, he pitched for the Florida Marlins, San Diego P ...
, who was inducted in 2018, played the majority of the 1992 season with Nashville while working his way up through the Cincinnati Reds organization. He later made two major league rehabilitation appearances while with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009. Two other Hall of Fame players appeared in games for Nashville solely on rehab assignments.
Shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
Barry Larkin Barry Louis Larkin (born April 28, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player. He played shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2004. He briefly played in the minor leagues before making hi ...
, who was inducted in 2012, appeared in two games in 1989. Outfielder
Tim Raines Timothy Raines Sr. (born September 16, 1959), nicknamed "Rock",Raines received this nickname at an Expo rookie camp when he was seventeen, based on his physique. is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He played as a left ...
, who played three games with Nashville in 1993, was inducted in 2017.
Hoyt Wilhelm James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 – August 23, 2002), nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angel ...
, the Sounds'
pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...
from 1982 to 1984, was inducted in 1985. The Sounds are also represented in the
Southern League Hall of Fame The Southern League Hall of Fame is an American baseball hall of fame which honors players, managers, coaches, umpires, owners, executives, and media personnel of the Southern League of Minor League Baseball for their accomplishments and/or con ...
. Larry Schmittou, who helped bring baseball to Nashville in 1978 and was a team executive and owner through 1996, was inducted in 2016.


Managers

Over the course of 44 seasons, the Nashville Sounds have been led by 29 
managers Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...
. Three managers have guided the team to win their league's championship. George Scherger (1979) and Johnny Oates (1982) led the team to win the Southern League championship. Frank Kremblas (2005) led them to win the Pacific Coast League championship. Trent Jewett is the longest-tenured manager in team history, having managed the team for 625 games from 1998 to 2000 and 2003 to 2004. The manager with the highest winning percentage over a full season or more is Stump Merrill, who led the Sounds to a .622 winning percentage from 1980 to 1981.


See also

* Nashville Sounds Opening Day starting pitchers * Nashville Sounds owners and executives * History of professional baseball in Nashville, Tennessee


References

Specific General * * * * *


External links

*
Statistics from ''Baseball-Reference''
{{Featured article 1978 establishments in Tennessee American Association (1902–1997) teams Baseball teams established in 1978 Chicago White Sox minor league affiliates Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates Detroit Tigers minor league affiliates International League teams Milwaukee Brewers minor league affiliates New York Yankees minor league affiliates Oakland Athletics minor league affiliates Pacific Coast League teams Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates Professional baseball teams in Tennessee Southern League (1964–present) teams Sports in Nashville, Tennessee Texas Rangers minor league affiliates Triple-A East teams