Billings Mustangs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Billings Mustangs Founded in 1948 Billings, Montana |
|||
|
|||
| Class-Level | |||
|
|||
| Minor League affiliations | |||
|
|||
| Major League affiliations | |||
|
|||
| Name | |||
|
|||
| Ballpark | |||
|
|||
| Minor League titles | |||
| League titles | 1950, 1957, 1959, 1962, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1983, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2003 | ||
| Division titles | 1980, 1983, 1984, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004 | ||
| Owner(s)/Operated by: Billings Pioneer Baseball Club, Inc. | |||
| Manager: | |||
| General Manager: Gary Roller | |||
The Billings Mustangs are a minor league baseball team based in Billings, Montana. The Mustangs are the Pioneer League Rookie affiliate of the Major League Cincinnati Reds. The team has been a part of the Pioneer League since 1948 with a five-year gap between 1964 and 1968, and has been affiliated with the Reds since 1974 (after an affiliation with the Kansas City Royals). The team was officially established on November 4, 1947.
The Mustangs play at Cobb Field, named in 1948 after Bob Cobb (not Ty Cobb, as many, most notably Peter Bouchoux, mistake its name for). Bob Cobb was responsible for bringing professional baseball to the city of Billings. In 2008, the team will move to Dehler Park.
The Mustangs won three consecutive Pioneer League titles from 1992 and 1994, then won another in 1997. In 2003, Billings beat the Provo Angels in the Championship Series 2 games to 0. Provo had tied the league record for wins that year with 54. Billings, the last team to qualify for the postseason, won game 1 at Provo 8-5 in 11 innings, then, Billings won 3-0 on a no-hitter by James Paduch to win the Championship in front of a sold-out Cobb Field in Billings. The game was a classic pitchers duel between two of the top pitchers in the league (Provo's being 2003 Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year Abel Moreno). In 2006, Chris Valaika set a Pioneer League record with a 32-game hitting streak during the Mustangs 51-win campaign.
Many Major League stars have began their pro careers in Billings. These include George Brett, Reggie Sanders, Paul O'Neill, Keith Lockhart, Danny Tartabull, Ben Broussard, Scott Sullivan, Aaron Boone, Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, and B.J. Ryan.
After years of award-winning work in the front office, Assistant General Manager Gary Roller was promoted to General Manager for the 2005 season. Roller took over for long time GM and Mustangs Hall-of-Famer Bob Wilson. Matt Bender, who formerly handled the duties of Official Scorer, took over the vacated Assistant General Manager position.
Cobb Field is renowned in the Pioneer League for the "Beer Batter." Every game the Mustangs Beer Boosters designate one player as the "Beer Batter." If that player gets a hit, attendees can buy four beers for $8. Many eager buyers stand at the stairs anticipating a hit and the oncoming rush of people.
The Billings Mustangs changed their logo for the 2006 season. The 2007 season was their last at Cobb Field, a new stadium is being built on the current site for the 2008 season.
Contents |
[edit] Management
- President - Woody Hahn
- General Manager - Gary Roller
- Secretary/Treasurer - Don Brocopp
- Assistant General Manager - Matt Bender
- Radio Broadcaster - Ed Cohen
- P.A. Announcer(s) - Kyle Riley, Rob Kovatch, Tom Laroque
- Grounds Crew - John Barta (Head Official), Willie Crtalic
- Concessions Director - Curt Prchal
- Stadium Operations Director - Chris Marshall
- Clubhouse Operations Director - Zachary Haden
- Official Scorer/Statistician - Phil Sites
- Scoreboard Operator - Seth Moir
- Ticket Booth - Teresa Sites
- Programs - Kristen Glenn
- Delta Force - Alex Taylor, Jeffery Glenn, Katie Desin, Matt Schoonover, Justin King
- Beat Writer(s) - Mike Scherting and Greg Rachac (main beat writers from the Billings Gazette), Ed West, John Letasky
[edit] Coaching Staff
- Manager/3rd Base - Julio Garcia
- Hitting Coach - Tony Jaramillo
- Pitching Coach - Tom Browning
- Bench Coach/1st Base - Rex De La Nuez (as of 2007)
- Trainer - Charles Leddon
- Strength Coach - Michael Bolduc
- Team Physician - Dr. James Elliott
- Team Optometrist - Dr. Brian Linde
[edit] Current Roster
Updated on September 4, 2007
|
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
Disabled List
Inactive List
|
[edit] Notable Alumni
- Jack Armstrong
- Paul Bako
- Skeeter Barnes
- Aaron Boone
- George Brett
- Ben Broussard
- Tom Browning
- Jay Bruce
- Rick Burleson (manager)
- Chris Cannizzaro
- Todd Coffey
- Al Cowens
- Bennie Daniels
- Kal Daniels
- Lance Davis
- Gookie Dawkins
- Gary Denbo (Hitting Coach)
- Rob Dibble
- Adam Dunn
- Nick Esasky
- Tom Foley
- Todd Frazier
- Lenny Harris
- Butch Henry (player and pitching coach)
- Jim Hickman
- Trevor Hoffman
- Austin Kearns
- Reggie Jefferson
- Ruppert Jones
- Ray King
- Jason LaRue
- Mark Littell
- Keith Lockhart
- Bob McClure
- Corky Miller
- Eddie Milner
- Chad Mottola
- Russ Nixon (manager)
- Ron Oester
- Joe Oliver
- Eric Owens
- Ted Power (pitching coach)
- Jamie Quirk
- Gary Redus
- John Riedling
- Larry Rothschild
- B.J. Ryan
- Chris Sabo (hitting coach)
- Reggie Sanders
- Donnie Scott (manager)
- Rodney Scott
- Chris Sexton
- Larry Shepard (player-manager)
- Harry Spilman
- Jerry Spradlin
- Kurt Stillwell
- Dick Stuart
- Scott Sullivan
- Eddie Taubensee
- Danny Tartabull
- Gorman Thomas
- Joey Votto
- Scott Williamson
- Jim Wohlford
[edit] External links
- Billings Mustangs official site
- Mustang Alley Blog
- Minor League Baseball's Billings Mustangs site
- CNNSI's Billings Mustangs site
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | AA | A | Rookie |
| Louisville Bats | Chattanooga Lookouts |
Sarasota Reds Dayton Dragons |
Billings Mustangs Gulf Coast Reds VSL Reds |
|
||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||
