Great Lakes Loons

Great Lakes Loons
Founded in 1982 Midland, Michigan Based in Midland since 2007
Team logo Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class	High-A (2021–present)
Previous classes	Class A (1995–2020)
League	Midwest League (1995–present)
Division	East Division
Major league affiliations
Team	Los Angeles Dodgers (2007–present)
Previous teams	Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2005–2006) New York Yankees (2003–2004) Houston Astros (1999–2002) Boston Red Sox (1995–1998) St. Louis Cardinals (1982–1994)
Minor league titles
League titles (2)	2000 2016
Division titles (1)	2023
First-half titles (2)	2022 2023
Team data
Name	Great Lakes Loons (2007–present) Southwest Michigan Devil Rays (2005–2006) Battle Creek Yankees (2003–2004) Michigan Battle Cats (1995–2002) Madison Hatters (1994) Springfield Cardinals (1982–1993)
Colors	Desert red, metallic black, Green Bay green, cool gray, white
Mascot	Lou E. Loon (2007–present) Rall E. Camel (2012–present) Doodle the Eagle (2003–2006) Rally Cat (1995–2002)
Ballpark	Dow Diamond (2007–present)
Previous parks	C.O. Brown Stadium (1995–2006) Warner Park (1994) Lanphier Park (1982–1993)
Owner(s)/ Operator(s)	Michigan Baseball Foundation
General manager	Chris Mundhenk
Manager	Jair Fernandez
Website	milb.com/great-lakes

The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007.

History

The Loons play at Dow Diamond in Midland, Michigan.

The Midwest League came to Battle Creek, in 1995 after the franchise formerly known as the Madison Hatters moved. The team was first known as the Battle Creek Golden Kazoos. Due to a trademark dispute and general fan dissatisfaction with the name (which is a nickname for the nearby city of Kalamazoo), the name was changed to the Michigan Battle Cats on March 9, 1995.

The team was affiliated with the Boston Red Sox (1995–98) and Houston Astros (1999–2002). The team changed its name to the Battle Creek Yankees after becoming an affiliate of the New York Yankees in 2003. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays took over affiliation of the team after the 2004 season, and the team name was changed to the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays.

In January 2006, the Devil Rays were sold to the non-profit Michigan Baseball Foundation and relocated to Midland, Michigan, in 2007. The team was renamed the Great Lakes Loons. A lack of interest from the Battle Creek community was the main reason for the move. Reduced ticket prices (even a night when fans were actually offered a dollar to come to that night's game) failed to pique the interest of local residents.

Naming rights for the Loons' stadium were purchased by Dow Chemical, which is headquartered in Midland. The company named the stadium "Dow Diamond." Ground was broken on the stadium on April 11, 2006, with construction taking 367 days to complete. In September 2006, the team announced its new affiliation with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In November 2006, the Loons named Lance Parrish as the team's first manager since the move to Michigan's Tri-City Area. The first home game was played on April 13, 2007.

After nine seasons in Midland, the Loons went through an overhaul of their logos and brand to give the franchise a fresh, updated look heading into its 10th season in 2016.

On September 18, 2016, the Loons clinched their first Midwest League championship following a 9–8 victory over the Seattle Mariners-affiliated Clinton LumberKings. The Loons won the championship series 3–1, following three-game series victories over the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Tampa Bay Rays) and West Michigan Whitecaps (Detroit Tigers) in the previous rounds. The Loons were managed by Gil Velazquez.

The Loons have hosted the Midwest League All-Star Game on two occasions (2008 and 2017).

On August 23, 2019, the Loons hosted their largest crowd ever of 6,671 people.

In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Loons were organized into the High-A Central. In 2022, the High-A Central became known as the Midwest League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.

Season-by-season records

Michigan Battle Cats (1995–2002)
Season	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1995	75–62	4th	DeMarlo Hale	Lost League Finals
1996	60–78	11th	Tom Barrett
1997	70–67	4th	Billy Gardner, Jr.	Lost in 1st round
1998	79–61	2nd (t)	Billy Gardner, Jr.	Lost in 1st round
1999	76–62	3rd	Al Pedrique	Lost in 1st round
2000	82–56	2nd	Al Pedrique	League Champs
2001	82–55	3rd	John Massarelli	Lost in 1st round
2002	79–61	4th	John Massarelli	Lost in 1st round
Battle Creek Yankees (2003–2004)
Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
2003	73–64	3rd	Mitch Seoane	Lost in 2nd round
2004	71–68	9th	Mitch Seoane (13–18) / Bill Mosiello (58–50)
Southwest Michigan Devil Rays (2005–2006)
Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
2005	72–67	4th (t)	Joe Szekely	Lost in 1st round to SB
2006	62–77	12th	Skeeter Barnes
Great Lakes Loons (2007–present)
Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
2007	57–82	5th	Lance Parrish
2008	54–85	6th	Juan Bustabad
2009	81–59	2nd	Juan Bustabad	Lost in 2nd round to FW
2010	90–49	1st	Juan Bustabad	Lost in 2nd round to LC
2011	72–67	4th	John Shoemaker
2012	67–73	6th	John Shoemaker
2013	67–72	5th	Razor Shines	Lost in 1st round to SB
2014	66–73	4th	Bill Haselman
2015	68–69	7th	Luis Matos	Lost in 1st round to LAN
2016	65–75	6th	Gil Velazquez	League Champions
2017	69–70	5th	Jeremy Rodriguez
2018	60–77	6th	John Shoemaker	Lost in 1st round to WM
2019	58–79	4th	John Shoemaker	Lost in 2nd Round to SB

Mascot

Lou E. Loon is the team mascot and Ambassador of Fun for the team. He's an energetic bird who loves to dance at home games and make public appearances. The kids' play area at the diamond is named Lou E.'s Lookout in his honor. He often leads fans in his signature cheer, the "Funky Feather", which won "Best In-Game Promotion of the Year" in 2009 for Minor League Baseball.

"Rall E. Camel" was introduced as the team's second mascot in April 2012. He is an honorary deputy ambassador of mischief and is an ostensibly goofy addition to the staff of the Great Lakes Loons.

Roster

Great Lakes Loons roster

Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 15 Maddux Bruns 21 Patrick Coppen 13 Wyatt Crowell 22 Nelson Cruz 17 Peter Heubeck 33 Carson Hobbs 27 Jesus Luna 20 Payton Martin  4 Jacob Meador  5 Brandon Neeck 51 Kelvin Ramirez 45 Livan Reinoso 12 Jose Rodriguez 40 Christian Romero 46 Christian Ruebeck		Catchers 24 Jesus Galiz 38 Nelson Quiroz 25 Frank Rodriguez Infielders 10 Jake Gelof  9 Sean McLain 19 Sam Mongelli 23 Kyle Nevin 30 Jordan Thompson Outfielders 10 Juan Alonso  6 Nick Biddison  8 Dylan Campbell  4 Josue De Paula  1 Jake Vogel		Manager 18 Jair Fernandez Coaches  7 David Anderson (pitching) 31 Richard De Los Santos (pitching) 28 O'Koyea Dickson (hitting) 37 Elián Herrera (bench) -- Umar Male (bullpen catcher) -- Jake Taylor (performance) 7-day injured list * On Los Angeles Dodgers 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated November 6, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB • Midwest League → Los Angeles Dodgers minor league players

Notable Great Lakes Loons alumni

• Scott Barlow
• Rafael Betancourt (1996)
• John Buck (1999–2000) MLB All-Star
• Walker Buehler (2016) Combined no-hitter
• Melky Cabrera (2004) MLB All-Star
• Tyler Clippard (2004) 2-time MLB All-Star
• Wade Davis (2006) 3-time MLB All-Star
• Justin Duchscherer (1997) 2-time MLB All-Star
• Dee Gordon (2009) 2-time MLB All-Star; 2015 NL batting title
• Shea Hillenbrand (1997–1998) 2-time MLB All-Star
• Kenley Jansen (2007–2008) 2-time MLB All-Star
• John Jaso (2005)
• Clayton Kershaw (2007) 8-time MLB All-Star; 5-time NL ERA title (2011–2014, 2016); 3-time NL Cy Young Award (2011, 2013–2014) 2020 World Series Champion
• Jason Lane (2000)
• Aaron Miles (1997)
• Roy Oswalt (1999) 3-time MLB All-Star; 2006 NL ERA title
• Lance Parrish (2007, MGR) 8-time MLB All-Star
• Carl Pavano (1997) MLB All-Star
• Joc Pederson (2011) 2-time MLB All-Star
• Chad Qualls (2001)
• Tim Redding (1999)
• Bubby Rossman (2015)
• Carlos Santana (2007) All-Star
• Johan Santana 4-time MLB All-Star; 3-time AL ERA title (2004, 2006, 2008); 2-time AL Cy Young Award (2004, 2006)
• Corey Seager (2014) 5-time MLB All-Star (20016, 2017, 2022, 2023, 2024); 2016 NL Rookie of the Year

2-time World Series MVP (2020, 2023)

See also

• WLUN (sports radio station owned by the Loons)

Sources

• Dinda, J. (2003). "Battle Creek, Michigan, in the Midwest League".

External links

• Official website