Battle Creek Baseball R.I.P. (1995-2006)
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by user The Beast
The sweet smell of the grass, the cracking of bats, and the cheering in the stands. These were some of the sights and sounds that filled C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle Creek, Michigan, each summer since 1995. However, minor league baseball, single A, will be leaving Battle Creek for Midland, Michigan. The Southwest Michigan Devil Rays, formerly known as the Michigan Battle Cats and the Battle Creek Yankees, will be relocating to Midland, Michigan. They will be known as the Great Lakes Loons. This time as affialiate of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
So why did baseball fail in the Cereal City? Its not like the people of Battle Creek don't care about baseball. They absolutely love the Tigers. Even many Cubs fans reside within the city. So if they like baseball then why is baseball leaving them?
When the Battle Cats started playing in Battle Creek, they were an affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, and New York Yankees, three big-time major league teams. All kinds of players became big league stars such as David Eckstein, Shea Hillenbrand, Roy Oswalt, Carl Pavano, and Johan Santana. It seemed that the Battle Creek franchise was producing big league talent and the community was excited about the team.
So where did the team take a turn for the worse? That turn came when the Devil Rays grabbed a hold of the franchise. You all know that everything they touch goes to ruins. Right. Well, they changed the Battle Creek name to the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays. Yuk!
The name change slowly decreased interest. It was not a coincidence though. The citizens of Battle Creek could and would not get excited about a Single A team from the Devil Rays farm system. The Devil Rays have trouble getting people to come out to their home games, much less their minor league games. The name change forced people to cheer for the Devil Rays of Southwest Michigan. Much different than cheering for the Battle Cats of Battle Creek, Michigan. Nobody wanted to support a losing organization. At leats with the Sox, Astros, and Yankees, there was hope to see future major league players. Not with the Devil Rays though.
Its sad to see such a nice little community lose a baseball team. There have been some talks about getting an independant baseball team. However, it doesn't seem too likely as the Kalamazoo Kings, another independant league team, play twenty miles south of the city.
Without a doubt it was a fun eleven years. Plenty of fans had great memories, including myself. It was minor baseball at its best with players fighting for spots on the team, silly promotions, food, and most of all $2 admission.
R.I.P. Battle Creek Baseball
| This user is a Michigan Battle Cats fan. |
