Asheville Tourists
Asheville Tourists | |||||
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Minor league affiliations | |||||
Class | High-A (2021–present) | ||||
Previous classes |
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League | South Atlantic League (2022–present) | ||||
Division | South Division | ||||
Previous leagues |
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Major league affiliations | |||||
Team |
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Minor league titles | |||||
League titles (7) |
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Team data | |||||
Name |
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Colors | Blue Ridge blue, midnight navy, Biltmore jade[1] | ||||
Mascots | Ted E. Tourist and Mr. Moon | ||||
Ballpark | McCormick Field (1924–present) | ||||
Owner(s)/ Operator(s) | Mike DeWine and family | ||||
General manager | Larry Hawkins | ||||
Manager | Nate Shaver |
The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Asheville, North Carolina.
Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in different leagues and classifications for over a century, with the earliest dating to 1897. The current team has played continuously in what is now known as the South Atlantic League since 1976, though it was briefly known as the High-A East in 2021. Asheville has won three South Atlantic league championships, first in 1984 and most recently in 2014. Previous Tourists teams won a total of four additional championships.
The Tourists play home games at McCormick Field. The stadium opened in 1924, renovated in 1959, and renovated again for the 1992 season. It seats 4,000 fans.[2]
History
Earlier teams
Professional baseball in Asheville, North Carolina, dates to 1897, when the Asheville Moonshiners took the field.[2] It has been played continuously for nearly every year since 1909, with early teams such as the Redbirds (1909) and the Mountaineers (1910–1914).[2][3] The "Tourists" name dates to 1915, when local sportswriters began referring to the Mountaineers team as the Tourists.[2]
The original Tourists brought Asheville its first ever professional sports championship in 1915. They continued playing in the Class-D
In 1946 a new Tourists franchise started up in the
In 1972 Asheville became affiliated with the
Current team
McCormick Field would not be unoccupied for the 1976 season, however. Shortly after the AA franchise moved to Charlotte, their place was taken by an expansion team in the Western Carolinas League (which in 1980 became the South Atlantic League). Like many teams before it, it assumed the Tourists nickname. The team has remained in Asheville continuously since, winning the 1984 league championship. They are currently a farm team of the Houston Astros (1982–93, 2021–), with whom they have been affiliated since 2021. They were previously affiliated with the Texas Rangers (1976–81) and the Colorado Rockies (1994–2020). The team has subsequently won two additional league titles in 2012 and 2014.
In conjunction with
Ownership
On January 5, 2010 it was reported by the
Roster
Players | Coaches/Other | |||
Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
60-day injured list
7-day injured list |
Notable alumni
- Sparky Anderson (1968, Manager) Inducted, 2000
- Craig Biggio (1987) Inducted, 2015
- Eddie Murray (1974) Inducted, 2003
- Willie Stargell (1961) Inducted, 1988
- Billy Southworth (1935–1936, Player/Manager) Inducted, 2008
Notable alumni
- Larry Gardner (1925–1926, Player/Manager)
- Johnny Allen (1929) MLB All-Star
- Mort Cooper (1936) 4 x MLB All-Star; 1942 NL Most Valuable Player
- Walker Cooper (1939) 8 x MLB All-Star
- Clem Labine (1947) 2 x MLB All-Star
- Gene Alley (1961–62) MLB All-Star
- Bob Lee (1961) MLB All-Star
- Steve Blass (1962) MLB All-Star
- Bob Lee (1965) MLB All-Star
- Dave Roberts (1964)
- Doc Ellis(1966) MLB All-Star
- Fred Patek(1966) MLB All-Star
- Dave Concepcion(1969) MLB All-Star
- Larry Sherry (1971) 1959 World Series MVP
- Al Bumbry (1972) MLB All-Star; 1973 AL Rookie of the Year
- Doug DeCinces (1973) MLB All-Star
- Mike Flanagan(1974) MLB All-Star; 1979 AL Cy Young winner
- Rich Dauer (1974–75)
- Tom Henke (1981) MLB All-Star
- Luis Gonzalez (1988) MLB All-Star
- Kenny Lofton (1989) MLB All-Star
- Shane Reynolds (1989) MLB All-Star
- Bobby Abreu (1992) MLB All-Star
- Melvin Mora (1993) MLB All-Star
- Todd Helton (1995) MLB All-Star
- Matt Holliday (1999) MLB All-Star
- Ubaldo Jiménez (2003) MLB All-Star
- Dexter Fowler (2006) MLB All-Star
- Brian Fuentes (2007) MLB All-Star
- Nolan Arenado (2010) MLB All-Star
- Russell Wilson (2011) NFL Super Bowl Champion
- Trevor Story (2012) MLB All-Star
Season-by-season records
Season | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs | |
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1915 | 74–46 | 1st | Jack Corbett | League Champs | |
1916 | 58–54 | 4th | Jack Corbett | none | |
1917 | 12–16 | – | Ernest "Doc" Ferris |
none | |
Team disbanded 1917–1923 | |||||
1924 | 58–63 | 5th | Bob Higgins | none | |
1925 | 66–63 | 5th | Bob Higgins / Larry Gardner | none | |
1926 | 80–66 | 2nd | Larry Gardner | none | |
1927 | 76–73 | 4th | Larry Gardner | none | |
1928 | 97–49 | 1st | Ray Kennedy | none | |
1929 | 84–62 | 2nd | Mike Kennedy | Lost League Finals | |
1930 | 79–61 | 3rd | George Speirs | ||
1931 | 66–67 | 4th | Ray Kennedy / Bobby Hipps | ||
1932 | 35–33 | – | Joe Guyon | Team disbanded July 7 | |
Team disbanded 1933 | |||||
1934 | 34–59 (55–78 overall) | 5th | Bill Laval / Possum Whitted |
Columbia moved to Asheville June 7
| |
1935 | 75–62 | 1st | Billy Southworth | Lost League Finals | |
1936 | 40–103 | 6th | Billy Southworth | ||
1937 | 89–50 | 1st | Hal Anderson | Lost in 1st round | |
1938 | 63–75 | 7th | Hal Anderson | ||
1939 | 89–55 | 1st | Hal Anderson | League Champs | |
1940 | 75–60 | 2nd | Tommy West | Lost in 1st round | |
1941 | 64–76 | 7th | Nick Cullop | ||
1942 | 61–77 | 6th | Bill DeLancey | ||
Team disbanded 1943–1946 | |||||
1946 | 83–57 | 2nd | Bill Sayles | Lost in 1st round | |
1947 | 65–74 | 6th | Bill Sayles | ||
1948 | 95–51 | 1st | Clay Bryant | Lost in 1st round | |
1949 | 76–71 | 3rd | Ed Head | Lost in 1st round | |
1950 | 83–62 | 2nd | Clay Bryant | Lost League Finals | |
1951 | 85–55 | 2nd | Ray Hathaway | Lost League Finals | |
1952 | 65–75 | 5th | Bill Hart / George Tesnow | ||
1953 | 83–67 | 2nd | Ray Hathaway | Lost in 1st round | |
1954 | 86–54 | 1st | Ray Hathaway | Lost League Finals | |
1955 | 53–63 | 3rd | Earl Naylor | ||
Team disbanded 1956–1958 | |||||
1959 | 70–70 | 5th | Clyde McCullough | ||
1960 | 62–77 | 6th | Chuck Kress | ||
1961 | 87–50 | 1st | Ray Hathaway | none League Champs | |
1962 | 70–70 | 4th | Ray Hathaway | Lost in 1st round | |
1963 | 79–61 | 2nd | Ray Hathaway | ||
1964 | 52–86 | 8th | Ray Hathaway (28–53) / Bob Clear (24–33) | none | |
1965 | 80–60 | 2nd | Pete Peterson |
none | |
1966 | 78–61 | 2nd | Pete Peterson |
none | |
1967 | 64–74 | 10th | Chuck Churn | ||
1968 | 86–54 | 1st | Sparky Anderson | none League Champs | |
1969 | 69–69 | 3rd | Alex Cosmidis | none | |
1970 | 59–80 | 8th | Jim Snyder | none | |
1971 | 90–51 | 2nd | Larry Sherry | Lost League Finals | |
Team known as Asheville Orioles 1972–1975 | |||||
1976 | 76–62 | 1st | Wayne Terwilliger | Lost League Finals | |
1977 | 81–58 | 2nd | Wayne Terwilliger | ||
1978 | 73–67 | 4th | Wayne Terwilliger | none | |
1979 | 75–63 | 2nd | Wayne Terwilliger | ||
1980 | 69–71 | 5th | Tom Robson | ||
1981 | 74–68 | 4th | Tom Robson | ||
1982 | 65–76 | 8th | Dave Cripe | ||
1983 | 64–80 | 9th (t) | Tom Spencer | ||
1984 | 73–70 | 5th | Tom Spencer | League Champs | |
1985 | 76–62 | 4th | Fred Hatfield | ||
1986 | 90–50 | 2nd | Ken Bolek | Lost League Finals | |
1987 | 91–48 | 1st | Keith Bodie | Lost League Finals | |
1988 | 65–75 | 9th | Gary Tuck / Jim Coveney | ||
1989 | 68–70 | 8th | Jim Coveney | ||
1990 | 66–77 | 9th | Frank Cacciatore | ||
1991 | 55–83 | 14th | Frank Cacciatore | ||
1992 | 74–66 | 4th | Tim Tolman | ||
1993 | 51–88 | 14th | Bobby Ramos | ||
1994 | 60–73 | 11th | Tony Torchia | ||
1995 | 76–63 | 5th | Bill McGuire | Lost in 1st round | |
1996 | 84–52 | 1st | P. J. Carey | Lost in 2nd round | |
1997 | 62–76 | 12th | Ron Gideon | ||
1998 | 71–69 | 7th | Ron Gideon | ||
1999 | 64–77 | 11th | Jim Eppard | ||
2000 | 66–69 | 8th (t) | Joe Mikulik | ||
2001 | 68–71 | 9th | Joe Mikulik | ||
2002 | 64–74 | 12th | Joe Mikulik | ||
2003 | 74–65 | 6th | Joe Mikulik | ||
2004 | 64–75 | 13th | Joe Mikulik | ||
2005 | 71–67 | 10th | Joe Mikulik | ||
2006 | 74–63 | 6th | Joe Mikulik | ||
2007 | 80–58 | 4th | Joe Mikulik | ||
2008 | 83–56 | 2nd | Joe Mikulik | ||
2009 | 68–70 | 7th | Joe Mikulik | Lost in 1st round | |
2010 | 69–70 | 7th | Joe Mikulik | ||
2011 | 69–70 | 9th | Joe Mikulik | ||
2012 | 88–52 | 1st | Joe Mikulik | League Champs | |
2013 | 63–73 | 9th | Fred Ocasio | ||
2014 | 89–49 | 1st | Fred Ocasio | League Champs | |
2015 | 72–67 | 2nd | Warren Schaeffer | Lost League Finals | |
2016 | 66–72 | 5th | Warren Schaeffer | ||
2017 | 68–70 | 5th | Warren Schaeffer |
References
- ^ "New Affiliation FAQ". Asheville Tourists. Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on 2021-02-25. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Jarrett, Keith (May 14, 2007). "On Base with the Asheville Tourists" Archived 2011-08-12 at archive.today. Asheville Citizen-Times blog. Retrieved April 5, 2011
- ^ a b Asheville, North Carolina Minor League City Encyclopedia. baseball-reference.com. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
- ^ "1934 Columbia Sandlappers/Asheville Tourists Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
- ^ "None".
- ^ a b "Company partly owned by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine gets loan from federal virus aid program, AP reports". Cleveland.com. Associated Press. July 6, 2020.
- Holaday, J. Chris (1998). Professional Baseball in North Carolina: An Illustrated City-by-City History, 1901–1996. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-7864-0532-5.
- Lloyd, Johnson; Miles Wolff, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, third ed. Baseball America, Inc. ISBN 978-1-932391-17-6.