Wilmington County’s on-again, off-again relationship with minor league baseball could be rekindled in the near future.
With news that the Texas Rangers have approached the city of Leland to build a baseball stadium and entertainment complex off US 17, Southeastern North Carolina may be returning to America’s past.
PLAY BALL?The Texas Rangers are considering Leland as a minor league baseball stadium, an entertainment venue
Here’s to the history of baseball in the area, dating back to the 1920s.
Wilmington Pirates
The area’s first foray into minor league baseball began in 1928 with the Wilmington Pirates.
The Pirates had three franchises in three different leagues in 1928-29, 1932-34 and 1946-50 and were affiliated with the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds during those tenures.
Port City Roosters
Wilmington was a planned two-year stop in 1995 and 1996 for Charlotte’s Double-A franchise, which moved to Nashville and was supposed to land in Springfield, Missouri, but ended up in Mobile, Alabama.
The Seattle Mariners farm club lost a few records while playing at UNCW’s Brooks Field, but local fans got to see future major leaguers Jason Varitek, Derek Lowe and Raul Ibanez, among others.
Wilmington Waves
The Dodgers brought their South Atlantic League affiliate to Wilmington in 2001 with initial plans to create a stadium plan. Instead, it all fell apart after one season at Brooks Field.
While the results on the field weren’t terrible (they finished 75-63), the team moved to Albany, Georgia and is now located in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Where will the Leland franchise play?
Leland is likely to inherit the Down East Wood Ducks, already a Rangers franchise.
Down East plays in the Carolina League, a group of top-tier franchises based in the states of Virginia and the Carolinas. Teams are located in Fredericksburg, Lynchburg and Salem, Virginia; Kannapolis, Fayetteville, Zebulon and Kinston, North Carolina; and North Augusta, Columbia, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston, South Carolina.
Down East plays at Granger Stadium in Kinston, which was built in 1949 and is one of the oldest active parks in minor league baseball. The Rangers’ other minor leaguers are in Hickory (Low-A); Frisco, Texas (Double A); Round Rock, Texas (Triple A).
Don’t the Wilmington Sharks count?
New Hanover County is currently home to the Wilmington Sharks, who have played summer collegiate baseball in the Coast Plain League since 1997. That team plays from late May to early August each year at Buck Hardy Field on Carolina Beach Road.
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