Great Lakes Loons

{{Infobox Minor League Baseball

|name=Great Lakes Loons

|founded=1982

|city=Midland, Michigan

|misc=Based in Midland since {{Baseball Year|2007}}

|logo=GreatLakesLoons.PNG

|uniformlogo = Great Lakes Loons Cap.png

|class level=High-A (2021–present)

|past class level=Class A (1995–2020)

|current league=Midwest League (1995–present)

|conference=

|division=East Division

|past league=

|majorleague=Los Angeles Dodgers (2007–present)

|pastmajorleague={{plainlist |

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)

}}

|nickname={{plainlist |

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
{{Color box|#bf311b}} {{Color box|#231f20}} {{Color box|#006e51}} {{Color box|#bbbcbe}} {{Color box|#fff}}

|pastnames=

|ballpark=Dow Diamond (2007–present)

|pastparks={{plainlist |

C.O. Brown Stadium (1995–2006)
Warner Park (1994)
Lanphier Park (1982–1993)

}}

|mascot= Lou E. Loon (2007–present)
Rall E. Camel (2012–present)
Doodle the Eagle (2003–2006)
Rally Cat (1995–2002)

|leaguenum=2

|leaguechamps={{hlist|2000|2016}}

|divnum=1

|divisionchamps={{hlist|2023}}

|firsthalfnum= 2

|firsthalfchamps= {{hlist|2022|2023}}

|secondhalfnum=

|secondhalfchamps=

|owner=Michigan Baseball Foundation

|manager=Jair Fernandez

|gm=Chris Mundhenk{{Cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/news/mundhenk-president-and-gm-announcement|title=Chris Mundhenk Named Great Lakes Loons President & General Manager|website= milb|date=April 6, 2021|access-date=March 7, 2022}}

|website = {{URL|https://www.milb.com/great-lakes|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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/great-lakes/ballpark/club-info|title=Club Information|website=Great Lakes Loons|publisher=Minor League Baseball|access-date=February 12, 2019}} They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007.

History

File:Dow Diamond.jpg 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.{{Cite web|url=http://news.sportslogos.net/2016/02/13/new-great-lake-loons-logo-evokes-summertime-in-michigan/|title=New Great Lake Loons logo evokes summertime in Michigan|website=Chris Creamer's SportsLogos.Net News and Blog : New Logos and New Uniforms news, photos, and rumours|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-05}}

On September 18, 2016, the Loons clinched their first Midwest League championship following a 9–8 victory over the Seattle Mariners-affiliated Clinton LumberKings.{{Cite web|url=https://www.truebluela.com/2016/9/18/12960456/great-lakes-loons-midwest-league-champions-dodgers-minors|title=Loons win 2016 Midwest League title|last=Stephen|first=Eric|date=2016-09-18|website=True Blue LA|access-date=2018-12-05}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://ballparkdigest.com/2019/08/26/great-lakes-loons-set-single-game-attendance-record/|title=Great Lakes Loons Set Single-Game Attendance Record|date=26 August 2019}}

In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Loons were organized into the High-A Central.{{cite web|last=Mayo|first=Jonathan|title=MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues|url=https://www.mlb.com/news/new-minor-league-baseball-structure|website=Major League Baseball|date=February 12, 2021|access-date=February 12, 2021}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/news/minor-league-baseball-historical-league-names-to-return-in-2022|title=Historical League Names to Return in 2022|website=Minor League Baseball|date=March 16, 2022|access-date=March 16, 2022}}

Season-by-season records

colspan="5" \| Michigan Battle Cats (1995–2002)
class="wikitable"
style="background: #F2F2F2;" ! Season !! Record !! Finish !! Manager !! Playoffs
align=center \| 1995	75–62	4th	DeMarlo Hale	Lost League Finals
align=center \| 1996	60–78	11th	Tom Barrett
align=center \| 1997	70–67	4th	Billy Gardner, Jr.	Lost in 1st round
align=center \| 1998	79–61	2nd (t)	Billy Gardner, Jr.	Lost in 1st round
align=center \| 1999	76–62	3rd	Al Pedrique	Lost in 1st round
align=center \| 2000	82–56	2nd	Al Pedrique	League Champs
align=center \| 2001	82–55	3rd	John Massarelli	Lost in 1st round
align=center \| 2002	79–61	4th	John Massarelli	Lost in 1st round
colspan="5" \| Battle Creek Yankees (2003–2004)
style="background: #F2F2F2;" ! Year !! Record !! Finish !! Manager !! Playoffs
align=center \| 2003	73–64	3rd	Mitch Seoane	Lost in 2nd round
align=center \| 2004	71–68	9th	Mitch Seoane (13–18) / Bill Mosiello (58–50)
colspan="5" \| Southwest Michigan Devil Rays (2005–2006)
style="background: #F2F2F2;" ! Year !! Record !! Finish !! Manager !! Playoffs
align=center \| 2005	72–67	4th (t)	Joe Szekely	Lost in 1st round to SB
align=center \| 2006	62–77	12th	Skeeter Barnes
colspan="5" \| Great Lakes Loons (2007–present)
style="background: #F2F2F2;" ! Year !! Record !! Finish !! Manager !! Playoffs
align=center \| 2007	57–82	5th	Lance Parrish
align=center \| 2008	54–85	6th	Juan Bustabad
align=center \| 2009	81–59	2nd	Juan Bustabad	Lost in 2nd round to FW
align=center \| 2010	90–49	1st	Juan Bustabad	Lost in 2nd round to LC
align=center \| 2011	72–67	4th	John Shoemaker
align=center \| 2012	67–73	6th	John Shoemaker
align=center \| 2013	67–72	5th	Razor Shines	Lost in 1st round to SB
align=center \| 2014	66–73	4th	Bill Haselman
align=center \| 2015	68–69	7th	Luis Matos	Lost in 1st round to LAN
align=center \| 2016	65–75	6th	Gil Velazquez	League Champions
align=center \| 2017	69–70	5th	Jeremy Rodriguez
align=center \| 2018	60–77	6th	John Shoemaker	Lost in 1st round to WM
align=center \| 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

Notable Great Lakes Loons alumni

Scott Barlow{{Cite web|url=https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-133271220|title = Loons in the Majors}}
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 (2016, 2017, 2022, 2023, 2024); 2016 NL Rookie of the Year

2-time World Series MVP (2020, 2023)

Sources

{{cite web |last=Dinda |first=J. |title=Battle Creek, Michigan, in the Midwest League |url=http://www.mwlguide.com/cities/battlecreek/index.html |date=2003}}