Charlotte Knights

Charlotte Knights Founded in 1976 Fort Mill, South Carolina
Team logo Cap insignia
Class-level
Triple-A (1993–Present) Double-A (1976–1992)
Minor league affiliations
International League South Division Southern League (1976–1992)
Major league affiliations
Chicago White Sox (1998–Present) Florida Marlins (1996–1997) Cleveland Indians (1993–1995) Chicago Cubs (1989–1992) Baltimore Orioles (1976–1988)
Name
Charlotte Knights (1989–Present) Charlotte Orioles (1976–1988)
Colors
Dark Green, Navy, White
Ballpark
Knights Stadium (1990–2013) Knights Castle (1989) Crockett Park/Knights Park (1976–1988)
Minor league titles
League titles	1980, 1984, 1993, 1999
Division titles	1993, 2006, 2012
Owner(s)/Operated by: Don Beaver, Bill Allen
Manager: Joel Skinner
General Manager: Dan Rajkowski

The Charlotte Knights are a minor league baseball team representing Charlotte, North Carolina. The team, which plays in the International League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox of the American League. The Knights currently play in Knights Stadium, located in Fort Mill, South Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte, but are scheduled to move to a new uptown stadium in 2014.

History

Professional baseball in Charlotte dates to 1901, with the formation of the Charlotte Hornets. They were an independent team until 1937, when the Washington Senators, now the Minnesota Twins, purchased the team. The Hornets would remain affiliated with the Senators/Twins for 35 years. In 1940, Calvin Griffith, the son of Senators owner Clark Griffith and future owner of the Senators/Twins, built a 3,200-seat park in Charlotte's Dilworth neighborhood, Calvin Griffith Park. It would be the home of Charlotte baseball for the next half-century.

After several years on the lower rungs of the minor league totem pole, the Hornets joined the Class A South Atlantic League in 1954. They had previously been members of the South Atlantic League in the 1920s while they were still independent. The South Atlantic League became a AA league in 1963 and renamed itself the Southern League in 1964. In 1972, the team renamed itself the Charlotte Twins. Minnesota dropped its affiliation after the 1972 season. Unable to link up with a new team, the Twins disbanded.

The current incarnation of Charlotte baseball began in 1976, when wrestling promoter Jim Crockett, Jr. bought the Asheville Orioles, the AA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and renamed them the Charlotte Orioles. Griffith Park was fixed up and renamed Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Park (popularly known as Crockett Park). The team, popularly known as the O's, won Southern League titles in 1980 and 1984. Eventual major-league superstars Eddie Murray (the O's original first baseman in 1976), Cal Ripken (1980) and Curt Schilling (mid-1980s) played for the O's.

In March 1985, Crockett Park (mostly wood-framed) was destroyed by a massive fire after a high school baseball game. An investigation revealed that the cause of the fire was arson. The Crockett family built a 3,000-seat makeshift stadium immediately afterward, which served as the O's home for three years. In 1987, George Shinn, founder of the NBA Charlotte Hornets, bought the team from the Crockett family. In 1988 the team was renamed the Knights, and Crockett Park was renamed Knights Park. The following season, 1989, the organization's 13-year affiliation with the Orioles ended when Schinn switched the team's affiliation to the Chicago Cubs.

The team moved to Knights Castle, a temporary 8,000 seat stadium located on Deerfield Drive in Fort Mill, South Carolina near the construction site of Knights Stadium. The stadium was built for the 1989 season and was demolished following the final game that year to make room for Knights Stadium in Fort Mill in 1990.

In 1993, Charlotte acquired an International League franchise as the AAA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. This expansion team took the Charlotte Knights name, as well as the heritage of the old AA team. It was the first time a team from the Carolinas had played at the highest level of minor league baseball. The former AA Knights of the Southern League relocated to Nashville, Tennessee and ultimately Mobile, Alabama to become the current Mobile Bay Bears. The new AAA Knights, led by future major-league stars Jim Thome and Manny Ramírez, won the International League title in 1993. Much of the core of that team, including manager Charlie Manuel, played a role in the Indians' World Series teams of 1995 and 1997.

For the 1996–1997 seasons, the Knights were the AAA affiliate of the Florida Marlins. Before the 1998 season, Shinn sold the Knights to North Carolina businessman Don Beaver, who negotiated a AAA affiliation agreement with the Chicago White Sox, a relationship that still continues today. The Knights won another International League title in 1999 as the White Sox' top affiliate. Notable former Knights under the White Sox affiliation include pitcher Jon Garland and former third baseman Joe Crede, both of whom played on the White Sox' World Series championship team in 2005. Recently, Beaver and the White Sox extended their affiliation agreement, ensuring that professional baseball will remain in the Charlotte area for many years to come.

On October 8, 2009 the Charlotte Knights and York County agreed in principle upon a four-year lease for the team to play at Knights Stadium in Fort Mill. Agreement will add fan related upgrades to facility.

In 2011, the Charlotte City Council and Mecklenburg County Commission approved a land-swap agreement which, barring potential legal action, will permit construction of a new AAA-sized stadium in downtown Charlotte. The $54-million ballpark will be sponsored by BB&T and is set to open for the 2014 season. It will be located near Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers. The team's attendance has sagged since the start of the new millennium, and it was hoped that bringing the Knights back to the city would increase attendance.

Affiliations

• Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins 1937–42, 1946–72
• Baltimore Orioles 1976–88
• Chicago Cubs 1989–92
• Cleveland Indians 1993–94
• Florida Marlins 1995–1997
• Chicago White Sox 1998–present

Titles

• Charlotte Hornets – North Carolina League Championship 1902, 1916, 1923
• Charlotte Hornets – Piedmont League Championship 1931, 1938
• Charlotte Hornets – Tri-State League Championship 1946, 1947, 1952
• Charlotte Hornets – Southern League Championship 1971
• Charlotte O's – Southern League Championship 1984
• Charlotte Knights – Governors' Cup, International League Championship 1993
• Charlotte Knights – Governors' Cup, International League Championship 1999

Current roster

Charlotte Knights roster
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 19 Jason Berken 38 Simón Castro * 35 Jeff Gray 41 Charles Leesman 47 Jhan Mariñez * 14 Daniel Moskos 22 Michael Nix 32 Brian Omogrosso * 24 Tony Peña, Jr. 44 David Purcey 30 Dan Remenowsky 25 Andre Rienzo * 18 Leyson Septimo * # 21 Zach Stewart 36 Donnie Veal * 22 Matt Zaleski		Catchers 33 Bryan Anderson 15 Damaso Espino  4 Josh Phegley * Infielders 27 Lars Anderson  9 Tyler Greene 17 Mike McDade * 26 Brent Morel *  6 Ángel Sánchez 13 Carlos Sánchez  8 Steve Tolleson Outfielders 10 Jim Gallagher 11 Brandon Short  2 Blake Tekotte *		Manager 37 Joel Skinner Coaches 34 Richard Dotson (pitching) 12 Brandon Moore (hitting) 7-day disabled list * On Chicago White Sox 40-man roster ∞ Reserve list § Suspended list ‡ Restricted list # Rehab assignment Roster updated June 10, 2013 Transactions → More MiLB rosters → Chicago White Sox minor league players

2013 Player stats

Stats through June 9, 2013

Batting

Note: G=Games played; AB=At Bats; R=Runs scored; H=Hits; 2B=Doubles; 3B=Triples; HR=Home runs; RBI=Runs batted in; BB=Base on balls; SO=Strikeouts; AVG=Batting average; SB=Stolen bases

Player	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG	SB
Bryan Anderson, C	20	64	9	11	4	0	3	10	9	16	.172	0
Lars Anderson, 1B	42	147	15	29	4	0	1	10	21	46	.197	0
Gordon Beckham, 2B	8	36	7	12	2	0	0	5	2	6	.333	0
Josh Bell, 3B	15	55	9	15	4	0	0	4	3	18	.273	0
Jordan Danks, LF	33	127	25	38	3	1	5	20	20	34	.299	1
Luis Durango, RF	26	90	6	21	2	1	0	4	5	16	.233	5
Damaso Espino, C	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.000	0
Jim Gallagher, OF	43	144	21	40	6	1	3	19	11	49	.278	1
Drew Garcia, 2B	24	72	3	16	8	0	0	12	4	19	.222	0
Tyler Greene, 2B	10	40	8	12	2	0	0	6	4	11	.300	2
Seth Loman, 1B	39	121	25	27	6	0	8	19	18	49	.223	0
Mike McDade, DH	27	101	11	28	7	0	4	10	9	27	.277	1
Jared Mitchell, CF	14	53	7	7	2	0	0	3	10	27	.132	4
Brent Morel, 3B	52	191	22	53	17	1	4	29	28	56	.277	4
Josh Phegley, C	47	179	33	57	15	1	12	35	13	30	.318	1
Ángel Sánchez, SS	17	60	8	16	4	0	1	11	7	9	.267	0
Carlos Sánchez, 2B	55	209	27	48	8	1	0	16	18	38	.230	9
Brandon Short, RF	25	86	9	18	4	2	0	6	8	25	.209	1
Blake Tekotte, CF	37	153	13	35	16	0	2	15	13	40	.229	8
Steve Tolleson, 3B	49	165	20	41	11	0	5	28	25	43	.248	4
Dayan Viciedo, OF	4	15	2	3	0	0	0	0	1	3	.200	0
Team totals

Pitching

Note: W=Wins; L=Losses; ERA=Earned run average; G=Games pitched; GS=Games started; SV=Saves; IP=Innings pitched; H=Hits allowed; R=Runs allowed; ER=Earned runs allowed; HR=Home runs allowed; BB=Walks allowed; K=Strikeouts

Player	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K
Jason Berken	4	6	4.24	12	12	0	70.0	75	37	33	6	17	54
Simón Castro	2	6	4.95	12	12	0	67.1	67	37	37	5	26	54
John Danks	1	0	3.45	3	3	0	15.2	13	8	6	1	12	14
Jeff Gray	2	1	2.95	14	0	1	18.1	13	6	6	2	8	21
Deunte Heath	1	0	2.25	10	0	0	16.0	13	4	4	0	6	13
Charles Leesman	0	0	1.20	3	3	0	15.0	11	3	2	0	8	17
Jhan Mariñez	2	4	6.33	19	0	2	27.0	25	19	19	7	16	25
Daniel Moskos	1	1	5.61	20	0	1	25.2	29	17	16	6	13	25
Brian Omogrosso	0	1	6.52	7	0	0	9.2	14	7	7	2	2	9
Tony Pena, Jr.	1	4	4.23	14	4	0	38.1	44	20	18	3	15	31
David Purcey	0	1	3.38	20	0	1	29.1	24	11	11	2	7	34
Dan Remenowsky	0	0	5.25	8	0	0	12.0	15	7	7	1	6	9
Andre Rienzo	5	3	6.02	12	12	0	58.1	68	44	39	5	27	55
Leyson Septimo	0	0	15.19	7	0	0	5.1	9	9	9	2	10	9
Zach Stewart	3	8	5.17	13	13	0	76.2	89	48	44	9	15	51
Ramon Troncoso	1	1	2.19	21	0	8	24.2	18	9	6	2	7	17
Donnie Veal	2	0	0.57	9	0	0	15.2	15	1	1	0	8	15
Matt Zaleski	1	2	5.74	5	5	0	26.2	35	18	17	1	6	20
Team totals

Alumni

As the Hornets

• Moonlight Graham
• Graig Nettles
• Harmon Killebrew
• Minnie Mendoza
• Tony Oliva
• Early Wynn
• Jeff Schaefer

As the O's

• Rick Dempsey
• Steve Finley
• Eddie Murray
• Cal Ripken, Jr.
• Jeff Schaefer
• Curt Schilling

As the Knights

• Joe Borchard
• José Canseco
• Mark Clark
• Joe Crede
• Josh Fields
• Brad Fullmer
• Brian Giles
• Charlie Haeger
• Liván Hernández
• Paul Konerko
• Charles Nagy
• Chad Ogea
• Jake Peavy
• Jim Powell, Atlanta Braves broadcaster
• Manny Ramírez
• Edgar Rentería
• Aaron Rowand
• Frank Thomas
• Jim Thome
• Andrés Torres

Coaches

• Calvin Griffith - Hornets 1938-41
• Jimmy Williams - O's 1980
• Grady Little - O's 1984
• Charlie Manuel - Knights 1993
• Tom Spencer - Knights 1999
• Marc Bombard - Manager 2007-2008
• Chris Chambliss - Manager 2009-2010
• Joe McEwing - Manager 2011
• Joel Skinner - Manager 2012–present

References

Funding for BB&T ballpark

External links

• Charlotte Knights web site