The Sioux Falls Canaries are a professional baseball team based in

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

, United States. The Canaries are members of the North Division of the

American Association of Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor ...

, an official Partner League of

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 (A ...

. Since the 1993 season, the Canaries have played their home games at

Sioux Falls Stadium Sioux Falls Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It originally opened in 1941 and was renovated in 2000. It is primarily used for baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine ...

, commonly known as The Birdcage. From 2010 to 2012, the team was called the Sioux Falls Fighting Pheasants.

History

Early Sioux Falls teams

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

in Sioux Falls dates back at least to 1902, when the original Canaries joined the Iowa–South Dakota League. That team and its league lasted just two seasons. Another team, known variously as the Soos as well as the Canaries, was a member of the Dakota League from 1920 to 1923, then moved to the short-lived

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second leagu ...

in 1924. The longest-lived Canaries prior to the current team were founded in 1933 as part of the

Nebraska State League The Nebraska State League (NSL) was an American professional minor league baseball league with five incarnations between 1892 and 1959. The Nebraska State League formed five times: in 1892, from 1910 to 1915, from 1922 to 1923, from 1928 to 1938 an ...

. They joined the Western League in 1939, then joined the original

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

when the Western League folded after the 1941 season. The Canaries played in the Northern League in 1942 and again from 1946 to 1953. The Sioux Falls Packers played in the collegiate summer

Basin League The Basin League was an independent collegiate minor league, that operated from 1953 to 1973, featuring teams primarily from South Dakota and one from Nebraska. The league name reflected the number of teams situated along the Missouri River Basin ...

from 1964 to 1965.

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 ...

inductee

Don Sutton Donald Howard Sutton (April 2, 1945 – January 19, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 23 seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakla ...

played for the Sioux Falls Packers in 1964. The city was without a Northern League franchise until 1966. Then, the Sioux Falls Packers began play and spent six seasons in the circuit until the league ceased operations following the 1971 campaign.

Current team

A handful of independent baseball pioneers revived the

in 1993. Sioux Falls competed in a six-team league, joining the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They prev ...

, Rochester Aces,

Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks One of the six founding members of the modern Northern League in 1993, the Thunder Bay Whiskey Jacks were league members from 1993 to 1998. They played their home games at Port Arthur Stadium in Thunder Bay, Ontario. 1993 Season The Whiskey J ...

Sioux City Explorers The Sioux City Explorers are a professional minor league baseball team based in Sioux City, Iowa, in the United States. The Explorers are members American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. Si ...

, and Duluth–Superior Dukes. On the field, the Canaries enjoyed their greatest successes in 1994 and 1996. Former major leaguer Pedro Guerrero batted .329 with eight home runs and 47 RBIs for the 1994 Canaries, as the team posted a 47–33 record. Sioux Falls was narrowly beat out by Sioux City in the first half of the season while the "Birds" finished four games out of first in the second half. Chris Powell batted a league-best .357, while Jamie Ybarra paced all league hurlers with 10 wins and 109 strikeouts. In 1996, the Canaries overcame a 20–22 first half to the season and posted a 24–18 mark over the second half of the campaign. Even then, the team finished three games back of the

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Fargo, North Dakota, in the United States. The RedHawks are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major Leagu ...

. New ownership took over the club in 1998 and a steady diet of improvements have followed, including a new manager and new logo. The Canaries posted a 55–35 record in 2001 and gained the team's first playoff berth since the league re-emerged in 1993. On July 11, 2001, the Canaries won the first-half title in the South Division on the final day of the half. Sioux Falls won 21–7 win over Duluth-Superior in the game that secured its first pennant and its first playoff appearance. Team owners and city officials hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking in November 1999, kicking off a US$5.6 million renovation to

. The new Birdcage drew national attention on June 2, 2001, as ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' writer Mel Antonen wrote a feature story on the retrofit. The project drew praise for the integration of an existing facility with more modern elements. Sioux Falls Stadium now features nine luxury suites, a home clubhouse, a group barbecue area, and a video wall/scoreboard that features live and recorded video clips as well as animated pieces. On September 29, 2005, the Canaries left the Northern League, along with the

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

, the

and the

to form 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 the 2006 season. Sioux Falls struggled early on in the new league, but everything came together for the Canaries in 2008. They posted their best regular-season record ever at 60–36, and won the first-half North Division championship with a 31–17 mark. The Canaries opened the 2008 playoffs by sweeping rival Sioux City in three games, then took on Grand Prairie for the American Association championship. Sioux Falls took the best-of-five series three games to one, earning the clinching win in dramatic fashion on a walk-off single in the bottom of the 12th inning. On March 25, 2013, Sioux Falls Sports LLC, the ownership group of the Sioux Falls Pheasants and Sioux Falls Stampede, announced they had changed the name of the franchise from the Sioux Falls Fighting Pheasants back to the original name, "Sioux Falls Canaries." The club unveiled the team logos for the Canaries, designed by Fresh Produce of Sioux Falls. On March 12, 2021, Brian Slipka, small business leader, and Anthony Albanese (Twan), co-founder of Duke Cannon Supply Co., purchased the Canaries through True North Sports LLC. On May 6, 2021, Sioux Falls Canaries owners Brian Slipka and Anthony Albanese launched the �
Canaries Community Fund
” an initiative of the Slipka Foundation, to support charitable organizations and causes in South Dakota.

Roster

Notable alumni

Dean Deetz Dean Arthur Deetz (born November 29, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 11th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft. Deetz made his Major League Baseball ( ...

(2022) * Osvaldo Martínez (2022–present) *

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(2022–present) *

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(2021) *

Mitch Glasser Mitchell Emri Glasser (born October 15, 1989) is an American-Israeli baseball player who is a free agent. He also plays for the Israel National Baseball Team. In high school, Glasser was Illinois Independent School League MVP as a senior. A ...

(2018-2019, 2021) * Tanner Anderson (2020) *

Ryan Brett Ryan Duane Brett (born October 9, 1991) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2015. Career Tampa Bay Rays Brett attended Highline High School in Bu ...

(2020) * Tyler Danish (2020) * Madison Younginer (2020) *

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(2019-2020) * Taylor Hill (2019) * Adrián Nieto (2019) *

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(2018) * José Ortega (2016-2017) * Misael Siverio (2016) *

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(2015) *

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(2015) *

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(2014) * Brandon Jones (2014) *

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(2010–2013) * Eddy Rodríguez (2010) *

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(2009) *

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(2007–2009) *

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(2007) *

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(2006) *

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(2005-2006) * George Sherrill (2001) * Mike Busch (2000–2001) *

Brian Traxler Brian Lee Traxler (September 26, 1967 – November 19, 2004) was a first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers during their 1990 season. Listed at and , Traxler batted and threw left-handed. Throughout hi ...

(1997, 2000) *

Kim Batiste Kimothy Emil Batiste (March 15, 1968 – October 7, 2020) was an American Major League Baseball infielder for the Philadelphia Phillies (1991–1994) and San Francisco Giants (1996), both of the National League. He was drafted in the third roun ...

(1998) *

Lee Guetterman Arthur Lee Guetterman (born November 22, 1958), nicknamed "Goot," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played from to for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, New York Mets, and St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Ba ...

(1997) *

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(1997) MLB All-Star *

Benny Castillo Benny Castillo (born July 15, 1966 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a former professional baseball player and manager. Early life Raised in the Bronx, New York, Castillo attended Park West High School, where he was coached by the late M ...

(1995–1998) * Pedro Guerrero (1993–1994) 5x MLB All-Star

Retired numbers

References

aabfan.com
– yearly league standings & awards (American Association)
nlfan.com
– yearly league standings & awards (Northern League)

External links

*
nlfan.com Sioux Falls Canaries Guide
(Northern League '93-'05)
aabfan.com Sioux Falls Canaries Guide
(American Association '06-) {{Dakota Sports Sports in Sioux Falls, South Dakota American Association of Professional Baseball teams Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010) teams Professional baseball teams in South Dakota 1993 establishments in South Dakota Baseball teams established in 1993