Winston-Salem Warthogs

MiLB infobox
name = Winston-Salem Warthogs
founded = 1945
city = Winston-Salem, North Carolina
misc =

uniform
class level = Advanced-A
past class level=
current league = Carolina League
conference =
division = Southern Division
past league =
majorleague = Chicago White Sox (1997-present)
* Cincinnati Reds (1993-1994)
* Chicago Cubs (1985-1992)
* Boston Red Sox (1961-1984)
* New York Yankees (1955-1956)
* St. Louis Cardinals (1945-1954, 1957-1960)
* Detroit Tigers (1941-1942)
* Cleveland Indians (1939)
* Brooklyn Dodgers (1938)
* Detroit Tigers (1937)
* New York Giants (1932)
pastmajorleague =
nickname = Winston-Salem Warthogs (1995-present)
pastnames = Winston-Salem Spirits (1984-1994)
* Winston-Salem Red Sox (1961-1983)
* Winston-Salem Red Birds (1957-1960)
* Winston-Salem Cardinals (1945-1953)
* Winston-Salem Twins (1905, 1908-1917, 1920-1933, 1937-1942, 1954-1956)
ballpark = Ernie Shore Field (1956-present)
pastparks = South Side Park (1945-1955)
leaguechamps = 1928, 1950, 1951, 1964, 1970, 1973, 1986, 1993, 2003.
divisionchamps =
misc6 =
owner = Billy Prim & Andrew Filipowski /
Sports Menagerie
manager = Tim Blackwell
gm = Ryan Manuel The Winston-Salem Warthogs are a minor league baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA. They are a Class High-A team in the Carolina League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Warthogs play home games at Ernie Shore Field.

History

The current franchise dates to 1945, and was originally known as the Cardinals. However, baseball clubs in Winston-Salem were known as the "Twins" in reference to the long-since-merged "Twin Cities" of Winston and Salem since 1905. Prior to the Carolina League years, the Twins played in the Virginia-North Carolina League in 1905, the Carolina Baseball Association from 1908 to 1917 and the Piedmont League from 1920 to 1933 and again from 1937 to 1942.

After a brief period (1957-60) as the Winston-Salem Red Birds, the team switched affiliation in 1961 to the Boston Red Sox. It remained with the Red Sox for 22 years, and indeed was known until 1983 as the Winston-Salem Red Sox. In 1984, the team changed affiliates again, this time contracting with the Chicago Cubs, and changed its name to the Winston-Salem Spirits.

The team initially retained the Spirits name after becoming the Cincinnati Reds A-level affiliate in 1993, winning the Carolina League championship in that same year. After two seasons with the Reds, however, the club decided to change its name and sponsored a contest through the local newspaper, the "Winston-Salem Journal", to come up with a new name. The winning entry, the Warthogs, became the official team name in 1995. In addition to being alliterative, it also referred to the somewhat-celebrated acquisition of some warthogs at the state zoo around that time.

The Warthogs were again the league champion in 2003.

Ballparks

The club originally played at South Side Park, south of the downtown area. When that park burned, a new park was built on the north side, near the Wake Forest campus and the RJR plant, and named Ernie Shore Field in honor of the former major leaguer who had led the fund drive for the new ballpark. Opened in 1956, Ernie Shore Field seats 6,000 fans. The team's mascot is known as 'Wally Warthog'. The team is developing a new stadium and is working with the city of Winston-Salem to find the most cost-effective strategy for the project.

Year-by-Year Record

(Compiled from [http://www.baseball-reference.com/] )

Current roster

The 2008 Carolina League season is now over. Minor league teams do not maintain rosters during the off-season. A new roster will be assigned by the parent club during spring training.

External links

* [http://www.warthogs.com/ Winston-Salem Warthogs official webite]