Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
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| Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Founded in 1962 Grand Chute, Wisconsin |
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| League titles | 1966, 1978, 1984 | ||
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| Manager: Terry Pollreisz | |||
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The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Seattle Mariners, that plays in the Midwest League. Their home games are played in Grand Chute, Wisconsin.
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[edit] Beginnings
The team began playing in 1958 as the Appleton Foxes. The team was created five years after Appleton's previous minor league franchise - the Papermakers - folded along with the rest of the Wisconsin State League. The team played in the Three-I League. After the 1961 season, a total of three cities, Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Appleton, moved to the Midwest League, replacing a franchise in Kokomo, Indiana. They expanded the league to ten teams. The three other teams, Topeka, Lincoln and Des Moines remained out of professional baseball for a number of years. At the January 7, 1962 meeting when the league folded, officials felt that the Midwest League, especially its president, C. C. Dutch Hoffman, sought to tamper with the Three-I League, taking their best franchises. The directors proposed reorganizing in 1963, but never were able to pull the league together. The location of the Three-I Leagues' top Iowa teams (Waterloo, Davenport, Burlington, Cedar Rapids) in the Midwest League was a serious problem that could not be overcome.
[edit] Franchise Highlights
The team has been affiliated with the Mariners since 1993. Previous affiliations have been with the Washington Senators (1958-59), the Baltimore Orioles (1960-65), the Chicago White Sox (1966-86), and the Kansas City Royals (1987-92).
The franchise set its attendance record of 233,797 in 1996.
The most famous player to wear a Foxes/Timber Rattlers uniform is Alex Rodriguez, who played for the team for part of the 1994 season, until he was promoted to the major leagues.
David Ortiz, the famed clutch home run hitter of the Boston Red Sox, played for the Timber Rattlers in the 1996 season and led them in hits that season. Ortiz was known as David Arias when he played for the Timber Rattlers.
Major league reliever Tom Gordon pitched for the Appleton Foxes between getting drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1986 and his promotion to the majors in 1988.
On March 9, 2007, it was announced that the park had been renamed Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium per a naming rights deal with the local cable provider.[1]
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Wisconsin Timber Rattlers roster
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Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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[edit] Yearly results
Appleton Foxes (1962, 67-94), Fox Cities Foxes (1963-66), Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (1995-present)
Bold indicates league champions
Three-I League
| Season | Affiliation | Manager | Record | Win % | Finish | Attendance | Playoffs |
| 1958 | Washington | Pete Suder | 56-73 | .434 | Unknown | 58,602 | |
| 1959 | Washington | Jack McKeon | 59-67 | .468 | Unknown | 51,004 | |
| 1960 | Baltimore | Earl Weaver | 82-56 | .594 | Unknown | 61,062 | Won Title |
| 1961 | Baltimore | Earl Weaver | 67-62 | .519 | Unknown | 47,552 |
Midwest League
| Season | Affiliation | Manager | Record | Win % | Finish | Attendance | Playoffs |
| 1962 | Baltimore | Cal Ripken, Sr. | 61-63 | .492 | 7th | 41,323 | None |
| 1963 | Baltimore | Billy DeMars | 55-65 | .458 | 8th | 43,412 | None |
| 1964 | Baltimore | Billy DeMars | 81-43 | .653 | 1st | 45,557 | Defeated Clinton 1-0 |
| 1965 | Baltimore | Billy DeMars | 55-63 | .466 | 7th | 43,412 | None |
| 1966 | Chicago (AL) | Stan Wasiak | 77-47 | .621 | 2nd | 57,496 | Defeated Cedar Rapids 2-1 |
| 1967 | Chicago (AL) | Alex Cosmidis | 71-46 | .607 | 1st | 48,186 | Defeated Wisconsin Rapids 2-0 |
| 1968 | Chicago (AL) | Gary Johnson/Tom Umphlett | 57-61 | .483 | 6th | 45,436 | None |
| 1969 | Chicago (AL) | Tom Saffell | 84-41 | .672 | 1st | 67,028 | Won both halves |
| 1970 | Chicago (AL) | Ira Hutchinson | 64-60 | .516 | 5th | None | |
| 1971 | Chicago (AL) | Joe Sparks | 79-44 | .642 | 1st | Lost to Quad Cities 2-1 | |
| 1972 | Chicago (AL) | Bert Thiel | 76-51 | .598 | 1st | Defeated Wisconsin Rapids 1-0; Lost to Danville 2-0 | |
| 1973 | Chicago (AL) | Grover "Deacon" Jones | 44-76 | .367 | 10th | None | |
| 1974 | Chicago (AL) | Gordy Lund | 73-50 | .593 | 2nd | Defeated Wisconsin Rapid 2-0; Lost to Danville 2-1 | |
| 1975 | Chicago (AL) | Gordy Lund | 50-77 | .394 | 9th | None | |
| 1976 | Chicago (AL) | Jim Napier | 56-74 | .431 | 10th | None | |
| 1977 | Chicago (AL) | Gordy Lund | 54-84 | .398 | 8th | None | |
| 1978 | Chicago (AL) | Gordy Lund | 97-40 | .708 | 1st | Defeated Waterloo 2-0; Defeated Burlington 2-1 | |
| 1979 | Chicago (AL) | Jim Breazeale | 63-72 | .467 | 5th | None | |
| 1980 | Chicago (AL) | Gordy Lund | 76-63 | .547 | 2nd | None | |
| 1981 | Chicago (AL) | Sam Ewing | 54-80 | .403 | 6th | 66,780 | None |
| 1982 | Chicago (AL) | Adrian Garrett | 81-59 | .579 | 3rd | 81,970 | Defeated Springfield 2-0; Defeated Madison 2-1 |
| 1983 | Chicago (AL) | John Boles Jr. | 87-50 | .635 | 1st | 68,751 | Defeated Waterloo 2-1; Defeated Springfield 3-1 |
| 1984 | Chicago (AL) | Sal Rende | 87-49 | .640 | 1st | 54,281 | Defeated Madison 2-1; Defeated Springfield 3-2 |
| 1985 | Chicago (AL) | Sal Rende | 85-54 | .612 | 1st | 76,860 | Lost to Kenosha 2-1 |
| 1986 | Chicago (AL) | Duke Sims/Rico Petrocelli | 56-83 | .403 | 11th | 60,001 | None |
| 1987 | Kansas City | Ken Berry | 71-69 | .507 | 6th | 81,208 | None |
| 1988 | Kansas City | Brian Poldberg | 58-82 | .414 | 13th | 85,310 | None |
| 1989 | Kansas City | Brian Poldberg | 67-68 | .496 | 7th | 76,223 | None |
| 1990 | Kansas City | Joe Breeden | 62-71 | .466 | 8th | 84,396 | None |
| 1991 | Kansas City | Joe Breeden | 58-81 | .417 | 14th | 72,601 | None |
| 1992 | Kansas City | Tom Poquette | 70-62 | .530 | 6th | 46,576 | Lost to Beloit 2-1 |
| 1993 | Seattle | Carlos Lezcano | 62-73 | .459 | 9th | 56,036 | None |
| 1994 | Seattle | Carlos Lezcano | 75-64 | .540 | 4th | 76,281 | None |
| 1995 | Seattle | Mike Goff | 63-75 | .457 | 12th | 209,159 | None |
| 1996 | Seattle | Mike Goff | 77-58 | .570 | 2nd | 233,797 | Defeated Peoria 2-1; Defeated Quad City 2-1; Lost to West Michigan 3-1 |
| 1997 | Seattle | Gary Varsho | 76-63 | .547 | 2nd | 227,104 | Lost to Kane County 2-0 |
| 1998 | Seattle | Gary Varsho | 72-65 | .526 | 5th | 227,306 | Lost to Rockford 2-1 |
| 1999 | Seattle | Steve Roadcap | 72-66 | .522 | 5th | 223,814 | Defeated Rockford 2-0; Defeated Lansing 2-0; Lost to Burlington 3-2 |
| 2000 | Seattle | Gary Thurman | 78-60 | .565 | 3rd | 220,372 | Defeated Kane County 2-1; Lost to Beloit |
| 2001 | Seattle | Gary Thurman | 84-52 | .618 | 2nd | 207,823 | Defeated Quad City 2-0; Lost to Kane County 2-0 |
| 2002 | Seattle | Gary Thurman | 53-86 | .381 | 13th | 199,210 | None |
| 2003 | Seattle | Daren Brown | 69-66 | .511 | 6th | 197,934 | Lost to Beloit 2-0 |
| 2004 | Seattle | Steve Roadcap | 57-82 | .410 | 12th | 206,487 | None |
| 2005 | Seattle | Scott Steinmann | 76-63 | .547 | 2nd | 211,927 | Defeated Beloit 2-1; Defeated Clinton 2-0; Lost to South Bend 3-2 |
| 2006 | Seattle | Scott Steinmann | 54-86 | .386 | 13th | 209,033 | None |
| 2007 | Seattle | Terry Pollreisz | 53-85 | .384 | 14th | 197,511 | None |
[edit] References
- Dinda, J. (2003), "Appleton, Wisconsin in the Midwest League," http://www.mwlguide.com/cities/appleton/index.html
- Appleton Baseball Hall of Fame - http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060325/APC02/60324032/
[edit] External links
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| AAA | AA | A | Rookie |
| Tacoma Rainiers | West Tenn Diamond Jaxx |
High Desert Mavericks Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Everett AquaSox |
Pulaski Mariners AZL Mariners VSL Mariners |
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