Windy City ThunderBolts

Windy City ThunderBolts
Team logo Cap insignia
Information
League	Frontier League (1999–present) (West)
Location	Crestwood, Illinois
Ballpark	Standard Bank Stadium (1999–present) Howie Minas Field (1998) Brennan Field (1995–1997)
Founded	1995
Nickname(s)	The Bolts
League championships	1998, 2007, 2008
Division championships	2007, 2008, 2010
Former name(s)	Windy City ThunderBolts (2004–present) Cook County Cheetahs (1997–2003) Will County Cheetahs (1996–97) Will County Claws (1995)
Former league(s)	Heartland League (1996–98) North Central League (1995)
Colors	Blue, Black, White
Ownership	Alan Oremus
Manager	Ron Biga
Media	WXAV, Daily Southtown
Website	www.wcthunderbolts.com

The Windy City ThunderBolts are a professional baseball team based in the Chicago suburb of Crestwood, Illinois, in the United States. The ThunderBolts are a member of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From the 1999 season to the present, the ThunderBolts have played their home games at Standard Bank Stadium.

History

The franchise known as the Windy City ThunderBolts started as the Will County Claws in 1995 and called their home at Lewis University’s Brennan Field in Romeoville, Illinois. The Claws played in the struggling North Central League which started in 1994 with six teams, but only fielded four in 1995. The North Central League folded 18 games into its second season with the Claws finishing at 8–10. In 1996, the Will County Cheetahs joined the new four-team Heartland League.

In the winter of 1997, the Cheetahs and the city of Crestwood, Illinois, made a deal for Crestwood to build and own a brand new, state-of-the-art ballpark for the Cheetahs. Despite the high hopes for baseball in Crestwood for the 1998 season, it was quickly obvious that because of construction delays, the new park would not be ready. The Cheetahs needed a home field and with Romeoville not an option, neighboring Midlothian would be the solution to the Cheetahs’ home field problem as they would play their 1998 season at tiny Howie Minas Field. In Midlothian, the Cheetahs would have one of their best seasons finishing in 2nd place with a 37–29 record in the first half and earn a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history. In the Heartland League Championship, the Cheetahs would sweep the heavily favored Tennessee Tomahawks 2 games to 0 to gain the franchises first title.

The Heartland League started the 1998 season with six teams and finished with only four teams. The Cheetahs, now known as the Cook County Cheetahs, won the last ever Heartland League Championship as the league folded after three seasons.

In 1999, the Cheetahs joined the stable Frontier League and have been members since. The team changed their name to the current Windy City ThunderBolts. An ownership change instigated the name change.

On August 26, 2007, the ThunderBolts won their first Central Division title. On September 17, 2007, they defeated the Washington Wild Things to win the Frontier League championship, three games to two. In 2008, they repeated a Division Title as the West Division Champions and Frontier League champions, defeating the Kalamazoo Kings three games to none in the championship series. (Note: After heavy rains flooded Homer Stryker Field the entire 2008 Championship series was played at the Thunderbolts Standard Bank Stadium.) They thus became only the second Frontier League team to win back-to-back titles, joining the 2001–02 Richmond Roosters.

Players

The San Diego Padres bought the rights to Cheetahs' pitcher Chris Oxspring in 2000. He became the first player in franchise history to play in Major League Baseball. He played in five games for the Padres in 2005.

In 2011, Dylan Axelrod became the first former ThunderBolt and second player in franchise history to play in MLB, having been called up by the Chicago White Sox.

On August 28, 2012, Tyson Corley threw the second no-hitter in ThunderBolts history. Isaac Hess threw the first on August 5, 2008.

Pitcher Andrew Werner became the third player in club history to make it to the majors when he started for the San Diego Padres in 2012.

Seasons

Year	W-L	PCT	Place	Postseason
Will County Claws (North Central League)
1995	8–10	.444	3rd
Will County Cheetahs (Heartland League)
1996	28–31	.475	3rd
1997	31–39	.442	3rd
Cook County Cheetahs (Heartland League)
1998	37–29	.560	2nd	Heartland League Championship Series: Defeated the Tennessee Tomahawks 2–0.
Cook County Cheetahs (Frontier League)
1999	41–43	.488	3rd in FL West
2000	38–46	.452	3rd in FL West
2001	28–53	.346	6th in FL West
2002	40–44	.476	3rd in FL West
2003	42–48	.467	5th in FL West
Windy City Thunderbolts (Frontier League)
2004	37–57	.394	5th in FL West
2005	39–57	.406	5th in FL West
2006	41–54	.427	4th in FL West
2007	68–28	.708	1st in FL Central	Frontier League Division Series: Defeated the Rockford Riverhawks 3–0. Frontier League Championship Series: Defeated the Washington Wild Things 3–2.
2008	60–36	.625	1st in FL West	Frontier League Division Series: Defeated the Southern Illinois Miners 3–1. Frontier League Championship Series: Defeated the Kalamazoo Kings 3–0.
2009	56–40	.583	2nd in FL West	Frontier League Division Series: Lost vs. River City Rascals 0–3.
2010	56–38	.596	1st in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Lost vs. Traverse City Beach Bums 1–3.
2011	48–48	.500	4th in FL East
2012	54–42	.563	2nd in FL West
2013	50–46	.521	3rd in FL West
2014	35–60	.368	7th in FL West
2015	41-55	.427	6th in FL West
2016	42-53	.442	5th in FL East
Total	920–957	.490
Playoffs	15–8	.652		3 Division Title. 5 Playoff Appearance. 3 Championships.

External links

• Windy City ThunderBolts
• Frontier League
• ThunderBolts page at OurSports Central