The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks are a professional minor-league baseball team based in
Fargo, North Dakota
Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...
, in the United States. The RedHawks are members 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 league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
. The RedHawks have played their home games at
Newman Outdoor Field since 1996, when the team started as members of the
Northern League.
History
The team was created as a Northern League expansion franchise in 1996 along with the now-defunct
Madison Black Wolf.
Chris Coste is probably the most well-known former RedHawks player and was a member of the
2008 World Series-winning
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
. The RedHawks and the
St. Paul Saints were among most stable and successful independent baseball teams until the Saints became part of affiliated baseball and became a Triple-A franchise in 2021.
They are reported to have had the first broadcast by minor league professional baseball on the internet.
In fifteen seasons in the Northern League, the RedHawks set the modern Northern League best single-season record for winning percentage with a 64–21 (.753) mark in 1998, set the record for most wins in a season with 68 in 2005, made it to the playoffs in 14 of 15 seasons, won five Northern League titles, and were named ''Baseball America's'' Independent Team of the Decade for the 1990s.
The 1998 team recorded a combined record of 70 wins and 22 losses during the regular season and playoffs (.761).
On October 13, 2010, the RedHawks left the Northern League, along with the
Gary SouthShore RailCats,
Kansas City T-Bones, and the
Winnipeg Goldeyes
The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of ...
to join the
American Association for the 2011 season. The four remaining Northern League teams all folded or left the league. Accordingly, the Northern League ceased operations and folded in October 2010. As a result, the RedHawks have the distinction of being the last league champion. They have won the 2012 and 2013 American Association North Division championship.
On August 13, 2017, the Redhawks relieved Doug Simunic of his duties as field manager. Simunic had served in the position for all 22 years of the team's existence. He was replaced by pitching coach Michael Schlact, who after finishing the season on an interim basis was named the permanent manager on September 7, 2017. Michael Schlact managed one season with the RedHawks, before stepping down in February 2019 to take a coaching position within the
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...
minor league system. On March 20, 2019, Jim Bennett was named as the franchise's third manager. The team went on to a 63–37 record and lost in the North Division championship series to St. Paul 3–2 in the best-of-five series. Bennett was named the American Association's Manager of the Year.
In 2020, the RedHawks were one of six teams selected to compete in the condensed 60-game season due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
Newman Outdoor Field served as one of the hubs where games were played; the team shared their home field with the
Winnipeg Goldeyes
The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of ...
. Prior to the start of the season on July 3, the team announced that Jim Bennett would not return as manager and named hitting coach
Chris Coste interim manager.
After a sub-.500 finish in 2020, the RedHawks went 61–38 and reached the American Association Finals for the first time since joining the league in 2011, losing 3–0 to the
Kansas City Monarchs. The next season, though, the RedHawks went 64–36, their best mark in a decade, avenged their loss to Kansas City, then went on to defeat the
Milwaukee Milkmen 3–2 on a walk-off single from Leobaldo Pina in the tenth inning of the deciding fifth game to win their first American Association championship and sixth overall league title.
The league title earned the RedHawks the right to play in the inaugural
2023 Baseball Champions League Americas in October, 2023. The tournament, held in
Mérida, Yucatán
Mérida (, ) is the capital of the List of states of Mexico, Mexican state of Yucatán, and the largest city in southeastern Mexico. The city is also the seat of the Mérida Municipality, eponymous municipality. It is located slightly inland fro ...
, Mexico, was won by the RedHawks, who defeated the
Caimanes de Barranquilla of Colombia in the championship game, 8–0.
Fast facts
:Franchise record (through 2022): 1546–1095 (.586)
:Northern League record (1996–2010): 898–553 (.618)
:American Association record (2011–2022): 648-542 (.545)
:Northern League playoff appearances: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
:American Association playoff appearances: 2012, 2013, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023,2024
:Northern League division titles: 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010
:American Association division titles: 2012, 2013, 2021, 2022
:Northern League championships: 1998, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010
:American Association championships: 2022
Season-by-season records
Roster
Retired numbers
* 42
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...
* 8
Roger Maris
* 35
Jeff Bittiger (August 13, 2004)
* 7 Joe Mathis (August 7, 2009)
* 19 Jake Laber (July 19, 2021)
* 33 Doug Siminic (June 9, 2023)
Notable alumni
*
Tim Flakoll (founding employee)
*
Brian Traxler (1996-1997)
*
Darryl Motley (1996-1999)
*
Chris Coste (1996-1999)
*
Jeff Bittiger (1996-2002)
*
Brett Roberts (1997)
*
Ozzie Canseco (1998)
*
Blaise Ilsley (1998)
*
Jeff Jackson (1998)
*
Mike Busch (1999)
*
Billy Ashley (2000)
*
Jason Pearson (2000)
*
Cris Colón (2000-2001)
*
Brent Bowers (2001)
*
Rich Becker (2002)
*
Mike Figga (2002)
*
Dante Powell (2002)
*
Dan Rohrmeier (2002)
*
Eddie Williams (2002)
*
Jon Weber (2002-2003, 2007)
*
Juan Melo (2003, 2007)
*
Ivanon Coffie (2003)
*
Harry Berrios (2006)
*
Jimmy Hurst (2008)
*
Zach Penprase (2008-2011, 2012-2015)
*
Brian McCullough (2009)
*
Yurendell DeCaster (2009)
*
Randall Simon (2009)
*
Donzell McDonald (2009)
*
Enrique Cruz (2012)
*
Tyler Herron (2012, 2015-2017, 2021)
*
Tyler Graham (2013)
*
Justin Erasmus (2013)
*
Wes Roemer (2014)
*
Brandon Mann (2015)
*
T.J. Bennett (2019)
*
Jake Cosart (2020)
*
Bradin Hagens (2019–2020)
*
Cito Culver (2020)
*
Jordan Patterson (2020)
*
Nick Shumpert (2021)
*
Kevin Herget (2021)
*
Rymer Liriano (2022)
*
Édgar GarcÃa (2023)
*
Ben Holmes (2023)
*
Dillon Thomas (2023–present)
*
Yoelqui Céspedes (2024)
References
External links
Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks websiteAmerican Association of Professional Baseball websitenlfan.com Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks' Guide
{{Authority control
American Association of Professional Baseball teams
Sports in Fargo, North Dakota
Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010) teams
Professional baseball teams in North Dakota