The Savannah Sand Gnats were a minor league baseball team based in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

. They were a member of the A-level

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 ...

. The Sand Gnats were an affiliate of the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

in their final nine seasons. The team relocated to

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the cit ...

, in 2016 where they are now known as the Columbia Fireflies.

History

Formerly known as the Savannah Cardinals, the team played their inaugural season in 1984, affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1996, the team changed its name to the Sand Gnats, and became an affiliate of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

. The team was affiliated with the Texas Rangers from 1998 to 2002 and the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

from 2003 to 2006. The Sand Gnats played their home games at

Grayson Stadium William L. Grayson Stadium is a stadium in Savannah, Georgia. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Savannah Bananas of the Coastal Plain League collegiate summer baseball league. It was the part-time home of the Sa ...

. Opened in 1927, Grayson Stadium seated 4,700 fans during its time as the home of the Sand Gnats. The Sand Gnats won four SAL championships (1993, 1994, 1997, 2013). On January 11, 2007, the Sand Gnats named

Tim Teufel Timothy Shawn Teufel (born July 7, 1958) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and current coach. He played Major League Baseball from to , most notably as a member of the New York Mets with whom he won a world championship ...

as manager for the 2007 season. On May 8, 2007, Jorge Reyes, a

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 dr ...

for the Sand Gnats, was suspended for violating Minor League Baseball's substance abuse policy. Reyes was the first player to receive a 100-game suspension for his second violation. On March 20, 2008, Atlanta-based Hardball Capital purchased the Savannah Sand Gnats. Among their notable alumni are Adrián Beltré, Jacob DeGrom, Éric Gagné,

Edwin Encarnación Edwin Elpidio Encarnación (born January 7, 1983) is a Dominican former professional baseball designated hitter, third baseman and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, Clevela ...

, Michael Fulmer,

Travis Hafner Travis Lee Hafner (; born June 3, 1977) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a designated hitter and first baseman. A left-handed hitter, Hafner played for the Texas Rangers, Cleveland In ...

Hank Blalock Hank Joe Blalock (born November 21, 1980) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays. High school Blalock attended Rancho Bernardo High School ...

Steven Matz Steven Jakob Matz (born May 29, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played for the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays. Matz was born and raised on Long ...

, Collin McHugh, Brandon Nimmo,

Josh Whitesell Joshua S. Whitesell (born April 14, 1982) is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows and ...

, Josh Satin, and Ryan Zimmerman.

Season-by-season records

, - , 1984 , , 78 , , 61 , , 3rd, Southern , , Lost in Semi-Finals , - , 1985 , , 57 , , 78 , , 4th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 1986 , , 75 , , 60 , , 2nd, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 1987 , , 69 , , 69 , , 4th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 1988 , , 68 , , 67 , , 5th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 1989 , , 69 , , 70 , , 4th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 1990 , , 73 , , 68 , , 6th, Southern , , Lost League Finals , - , 1991 , , 61 , , 77 , , 7th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 1992 , , 62 , , 78 , , 5th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 1993 , , 94 , , 48 , , 1st, Southern , , League Champions , - , 1994 , , 82 , , 55 , , 2nd, Southern , , League Champions , - , 1995 , , 56 , , 83 , , 6th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 1996 , , 72 , , 69 , , 2nd, Southern , , League Champions , - , 1997 , , 63 , , 77 , , 3rd, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 1998 , , 66 , , 76 , , 3rd, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 1999 , , 62 , , 78 , , 4th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 2000 , , 74 , , 65 , , 4th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 2001 , , 54 , , 82 , , 8th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 2002 , , 49 , , 89 , , 8th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 2003 , , 58 , , 80 , , 7th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 2004 , , 58 , , 80 , , 7th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 2005 , , 62 , , 76 , , 7th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 2006 , , 56 , , 83 , , 7th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 2007 , , 41 , , 94 , , 8th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 2008 , , 61 , , 76 , , 7th, Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , 2009 , , 65 , , 72 , , Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , , 2010 , , 75 , , 64 , , Southern , , Lost in Semi-Finals , - , , 2011 , , 79 , , 60 , , Southern , , Lost League Finals , - , , 2012 , , 69 , , 67 , , Southern , , Did Not Qualify , - , , 2013 , , 77 , , 61 , , Southern , , League Champions , - , , 2014 , , 85 , , 51 , , Southern , , Lost in Semi-Finals , - , , 2015 , , 83 , , 54 , , 1st, Southern , , Lost in League Finals

Rivals

Augusta GreenJackets

The Sand Gnats had a in-state rivalry with the Augusta GreenJackets, an affiliate of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

Charleston RiverDogs

The Sand Gnats had a rivalry with the Charleston RiverDogs, an affiliate of the

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

References

{{Authority control Baseball teams established in 1984 Baseball teams disestablished in 2015 Defunct South Atlantic League teams Baseball teams in Savannah, Georgia Professional baseball teams in Georgia (U.S. state) Montreal Expos minor league affiliates New York Mets minor league affiliates Los Angeles Dodgers minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates Texas Rangers minor league affiliates Washington Nationals minor league affiliates 1984 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) 2015 disestablishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Defunct baseball teams in Georgia