Baseball in Edmonton
Edmonton has the most baseball history than any other place in Canada. It dates back to 1884 when the Edmonton Legislatures came to play. 27 years later in 1907 the team changed its name to the Edmonton Grays until 1909, the name had become the Edmonton Eskimos for 2 years. Then in 1912, they changed to the Edmonton Gray Birds for only 2 years. The team would change its name for the last time, back to the Eskimos for almost 35 years. Alongside the Eskimos were the Edmonton Drakes, Lloydminster Meridians, Edmonton Cubs, Edmonton Navy Cardinals Edmonton Dodgers and the Edmonton Oilers team which existed in 1964.
Triple A ball came to Edmonton in 1980 as the Edmonton Trappers, playing at John Ducey Park. The Trappers became the first Canadian AAA franchise to win a pennant in 1984. They would go on and win 3 more titles with the most recent being in 2002 when they defeated Salt Lake City.
In 2003, the team had been sold and moved to Texas. The owners were losing money even though the Trappers were doing well in attendance. Though all of the stadiums in the league were bigger than Telus Field, the Trappers would finish 10 out of the 16 teams in attendance.
The Trappers were affiliated with a total of 6 different Major teams. The first was the Chicago White Sox, then the Anaheim Angels, Florida Marlins, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, and the Montreal Expos were the Trappers last parent club before the 2 teams moved togehter in the same year.
The Trappers also played their Major League affiliates twice in Edmonton. First the Angels played the Trappers at Commonwealth Stadium. The Athletics were the second team to play the Trappers, The A's would win by a score of 9-7.
Many MLB players played with the Trappers. These players included Miguel Tejada, Randy Knorr, Jason Giambi and many others. The Trappers would go on to send over 500 players to the MLB. A lot of the players who played for the team recently are in the Minors either playing with the New Orleans Zephers, the Harisburgh Senators or with another club.
As a reminder of Edmonton's baseball history, a giant metal baseball bat was erected near downtown and is the largest in the world.
Edmonton is now represented by the Northern League and the Edmonton Cracker-Cats have taken the field.
Edmonton is also known for producing many ball players. Many young prospects are currently in the minors.