Pulse welcome Baseball and the Lake County franchise - GO CAPTAINS!

A new sport to SportTrades a new team to follow. SportTrades will be following our first Baseball Franchise for 2011. We have chosen Lake County Captains, and here is a brief history, facts and trivia for the team. Go Captains!


The Lake County Captains are a minor league baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. The team, a Class A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, plays in the Midwest League.

The Captains joined the Midwest League following the 2009 season in a shuffle caused by the Columbus Catfish's move to Bowling Green, Kentucky for the 2009 season.[1] The move alleviated travel costs and time, as it was the South Atlantic League's northernmost team. The nearest team (the West Virginia Power in Charleston) is a 256-mile drive from Eastlake.

Prior to the 2003 season, the club was based in Columbus, Georgia and known as the Columbus RedStixx. The Captains play their home games in Classic Park, which has a capacity of 7,273 and opened in 2003 as Eastlake Stadium. The current stadium name is the result of a naming rights arrangement; the sponsor is Classic Automotive Group, a major area chain of auto dealerships. Classic Park hosted the South Atlantic League All-Star Game on June 20, 2006.

Captains win-loss records


• 2003: 97-43 (1st and 2nd Half Northern Division Champions - SAL)

• 2004: 73-66

• 2005: 72-66

• 2006: 64-74

• 2007: 64-74

• 2008: 75-65 (1st Half Northern Division Champions - SAL)

• 2009: 71-66

• 2010: 77-62 (1st Half Eastern Division Champions - MWL & Midwest League Champions)

Franchise records


• Win-loss record entering 2011: 1489-1296 (593-516 as the Lake County Captains)

• Longest winning streak: 13 games (May 27 - June 8, 2003)

• Longest losing streak: 8 games (August 28 - September 4, 2005)

• Pitcher with most wins in a season: Steve Kline, 18 in 1994 (also league leader that year)

• Hitter with most home runs in a season: Russell Branyan, 40 in 1996 (also league leader that year)

Trivia

• Besides the Captains, the only other minor league baseball teams with the word "county" in their official moniker are the Brevard County Manatees, Kane County Cougars, Lake County Fielders, and Orange County Flyers. (A few other teams, among them the Charlotte Stone Crabs, Lancaster Barnstormers, York Revolution, Somerset Patriots, Gwinnett Braves, represent counties but do not include the word "county".)

• While still the RedStixx, the team was sued by Exxon for using two x's in their name.

• Captains outfielder, and 2006 SAL All-Star, Johnny Drennen hit a memorable home run on June 6th, 2006 against Roger Clemens, then pitching for the Lexington Legends to prepare for a return to the Houston Astros.

• During a home game at Classic Park on June 24, 2007, Captains pitchers Carlton Smith, Austin Creps, and Luis Perdomo combined to throw a no-hitter against the Delmarva Shorebirds.

• During an away game at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium on July 3, 2007, Captains pitchers Hector Rondon and Neil Wagner combined to throw a no-hitter against the Delmarva Shorebirds.