Akron Aeros
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Akron Aeros | ||
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| League | Eastern League | |
| Division | Southern Division | |
| Year founded | 1980 | |
| Major League affiliation | Cleveland Indians | |
| Home ballpark | Canal Park | |
| Previous home ballparks | Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium | |
| City | Akron, Ohio | |
| Current uniform colors | black, purple, silver, red | |
| Previous uniform colors | navy, red | |
| Logo design | A red cat holding a baseball superimposed over a purple, black, and silver disc that incorporates the planet Saturn. The "Aeros" wordmark is superimposed over this design with "Akron" centered above. | |
| Division titles | ||
| League titles | 1984, 1985, 1986, 2003, 2005 | |
| Manager | Tim Bogar | |
| Owner | ||
The Akron Aeros are a minor league baseball team based in Akron, Ohio, USA. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians major-league club. The Aeros play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 9,097 fans.
The nickname "Aeros" refers to Ohio's history of aerospace research including being the home state of the Wright Brothers and astronaut Neil Armstrong. Akron is also home to the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.
The Aeros are managed by Tim Bogar, who was named the 2006 Eastern League manager of the year.
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[edit] History
The franchise began play in 1980 in Lynn, Massachusetts, where it was named the Lynn Sailors. After four seasons there, owner Mike Agganis moved the team northward to Burlington, Vermont. From 1984 through 1987, the Vermont Reds were the affiliate of Cincinnati's major-league club, and in 1988, they became the Vermont Mariners for one year when Seattle picked up the franchise. During that time, the team made the playoffs every year, and won three straight Eastern League titles from 1984 to 1986.
In 1989, the team moved to Canton, Ohio, becoming the Indians' affiliate, and played eight seasons at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium as the Canton-Akron Indians, one of many entities (another example is the Akron-Canton Regional Airport) to use the names of both cities. The "Little Indians" made another five straight playoff appearances from 1989 to 1993, and won the regular-season title in 1992. However, they were never successful at bringing home a league championship trophy (see Playoffs section below).
On November 22, 1994, Agganis signed a lease agreement with the city of Akron to move the club to that city. It took another two years to build the new Canal Park, which included selection of architects, land acquisition, and demolition of the Anthony Wayne Hotel which had stood on the new stadium site. Groundbreaking was held on January 5, 1996, and the stadium was completed in February 1997. Meantime, the new "Aeros" nickname had been chosen in November 1996 over the other choices, "Spirit" and "Quest", and replacing a prior working nickname, the "Akron Blast".
In their first three seasons in Canal Park, the Aeros led all of double-A in attendance, becoming the first team at that level to draw a half-million fans in a single season. They continue to lead the Eastern League and place highly in minor-league baseball every year.
In the 1998 season, the Aeros put together a 30-game "worst-to-first" turnaround; after finishing the prior year 34½ games back, they proceeded to win the Southern Division that season by 8½ games. However, after losing in the playoffs that year, it would be three more years until the Aeros found their way back to the posteason. In 2002, the team posted a 93-48 record, the third-highest win total in the Eastern League in 50 years. They built on that success and finally won two league championships (their first since moving to Ohio) in 2003 and 2005. In 2006 the Aeros again posted the best regular-season record in the league, but lost the playoff title to Portland after taking the series to a deciding fifth game.
[edit] Current players
[edit] 2007 Opening day roster
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Pitchers (12)
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Catchers (3)
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Infielders (5)
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Outfielders (5)
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[edit] Notable alumni
- Pitcher Danys Baez (2000, 01)
- Outfielder Albert Belle (1989, 90)
- First baseman Sean Casey (1997)
- Pitcher Bartolo Colón (1996)
- Outfield Brian Giles (1992, 93)
- Catcher Víctor Martínez (2002, 03)
- Pitcher Charles Nagy (1989, 90, 93, 2000)
- Shortstop Jhonny Peralta (2002)
- Outfielder Manny Ramírez (1993, 2000)
- Pitcher C.C. Sabathia (2000, 05)
- First baseman Richie Sexson (1996)
- Center fielder Grady Sizemore (2003)
- Pitcher Julián Tavárez (1993)
- First baseman Jim Thome (1991, 92)
- Pitcher Jaret Wright (1997, 99, 2000, 01)
- Third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff (2006)
[edit] Season records since 1989
(Place indicates finish in Eastern League through 1993; in Southern Division from 1994)
- 1989: 70-69 (3rd), manager Bob Molinaro
- 1990: 76-64 (3rd), manager Ken Bolek
- 1991: 75-65 (4th), manager Ken Bolek
- 1992: 80-58 (1st), manager Brian Graham
- 1993: 75-63 (2nd), manager Brian Graham
- 1994: 69-73 (6th), manager Ted Kubiak
- 1995: 67-75 (5th), manager Ted Kubiak
- 1996: 71-71 (3rd), manager Jeff Datz
- 1997: 51-90 (5th), manager Jeff Datz
- 1998: 81-60 (1st), manager Joel Skinner
- 1999: 69-71 (5th), manager Joel Skinner
- 2000: 75-68 (3rd), manager Eric Wedge
- 2001: 68-74 (3rd), manager Chris Bando
- 2002: 93-48 (1st), manager Brad Komminsk
- 2003: 88-53 (1st), manager Brad Komminsk
- 2004: 63-78 (5th), manager Brad Komminsk
- 2005: 84-58 (1st), manager Torey Lovullo
- 2006: 87-55 (1st), manager Tim Bogar
[edit] Playoff appearances
- 1982 season: Defeated Glens Falls White Sox 2-0 in first round; lost to West Haven A's 3-0 in championship series.
- 1983 season: Defeated Buffalo 2-0 in first round; lost to New Britain 3-1 in championship series.
- 1984 season: Defeated Albany-Colonie Yankees 3-0 in first round; defeated Waterbury Angels 3-2 for league championship.
- 1985 season: Defeated Albany-Colonie Yankees 3-1 in first round; defeated New Britain 3-1 to win second straight league championship.
- 1986 season: Defeated Pittsfield Cubs 3-2 in first round; defeated Reading 3-2 to win third consecutive league title.
- 1987 season: Defeated Pittsfield Cubs3-1 in first round; lost to Harrisburg, 3-1 in championship series.
- 1988 season: Defeated Pittsfield Cubs 3-1 in first round; lost to Albany-Colonie Yankees 3-1 in championship series.
- 1989 season: Lost to Harrisburg, 3-2 in first round.
- 1990 season: Lost to London, 3-2 in first round.
- 1991 season: Lost to Harrisburg, 3-1 in first round.
- 1992 season: Defeated Albany-Colonie Yankees 3-1 in first round; lost to Binghamton 3-2 in championship series.
- 1993 season: Defeated Bowie 3-2 in first round; lost to Harrisburg, 3-2 in championship series.
- 1998 season: Lost to Harrisburg, 3-1 in first round.
- 2002 season: Lost to Harrisburg, 3-2 in first round.
- 2003 season: Defeated Altoona 3-1 in first round; defeated New Haven 3-0 to win league championship.
- 2005 season: Defeated Altoona 3-2 in first round; defeated Portland 3-1 to win league championship.
- 2006 season: Defeated Altoona 3-2 in first round; lost to Portland 3-2 in championship series.
[edit] External links
| Cleveland Indians Franchise | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | AA | A | Rookie |
| Buffalo Bisons | Akron Aeros |
Kinston Indians Lake County Captains Mahoning Valley Scrappers |
Gulf Coast Indians VSL Indians |
| Eastern League | ||
| Northern Division | Southern Division | |
|---|---|---|
| Binghamton Mets | Connecticut Defenders | New Britain Rock Cats | New Hampshire Fisher Cats | Portland Sea Dogs | Trenton Thunder | Akron Aeros | Altoona Curve | Bowie Baysox | Erie SeaWolves | Harrisburg Senators | Reading Phillies | |
