Lake County Captains

The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians.

Lake County Captains
Founded in 1991 Eastlake, Ohio
Team logo Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class	High-A (2021–present)
Previous classes	Class A (1991–2020)
League	Midwest League (2022–present)
Division	East Division
Previous leagues	High-A Central (2021) Midwest League (2010–2020) South Atlantic League (1991–2009)
Major league affiliations
Team	Cleveland Indians / Guardians (1991–present)
Minor league titles
League titles (1)	2010
Division titles (2)	2021 2022
First-half titles (8)	1992 1994 1999 2000 2003 2008 2010 2019
Second-half titles (7)	1995 1996 2002 2003 2012 2014 2022
Team data
Name	Lake County Captains (2003–present)
Previous names	Columbus RedStixx (1992–2002) Columbus Indians (1991)
Colors	Navy blue, light blue, white
Mascots	Skipper, Horatio, Skippy, Captain Clipper, and Captain Kenny
Ballpark	Classic Park (2003–present)
Previous parks	Golden Park (1991–2002)
Owner(s)/ Operator(s)	Alan Miller, Jon Ryan and Collide NEO
General manager	Jen Yorko^[1]
Manager	Omir Santos
Media	MiLB.TV, WFUN 970 AM, and WINT 1330 AM

The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following the 2009 season in a shuffle caused by the Columbus Catfish's move to Bowling Green, Kentucky, for the 2009 season.^[2] The move alleviated travel costs and time, as it was the South Atlantic League's northernmost team.

Prior to the 2003 season, the club was based in Columbus, Georgia, and known as the Columbus RedStixx. The Captains play their home games in Classic Park, which has a capacity of 6,157 and opened in 2003 as Eastlake Stadium. The current stadium name is the result of a naming rights arrangement; the sponsor is Classic Automotive Group, a major area chain of auto dealerships. Classic Park hosted the South Atlantic League All-Star Game on June 20, 2006.

The Captains name denotes the maritime heritage of the county.

Franchise regular season win–loss records

 

Scoreboard prior to a Captains game at Classic Park

Columbus Indians (73–69)

• 1991: 73–69

Columbus RedStixx (823–711)

• 1992: 77–62 (1st Half Southern Division Champions – SAL)
• 1993: 86–56
• 1994: 87–51 (1st Half Southern Division Champions – SAL)
• 1995: 80–62 (2nd Half Southern Division Champions – SAL)
• 1996: 79–63 (2nd Half Southern Division Champions – SAL)
• 1997: 62–76
• 1998: 59–81
• 1999: 70–71 (1st Half Southern Division Champions – SAL)
• 2000: 67–70 (1st Half Southern Division Champions – SAL)
• 2001: 77–59
• 2002: 79–60 (2nd Half Southern Division Champions – SAL)

Lake County Captains (853–810 entering 2016)

• 2003: 97–43 (1st & 2nd Half Northern Division Champions – SAL) (Best regular season record in pro baseball in 2003, min 120 games)
• 2004: 73–66
• 2005: 72–66
• 2006: 64–74
• 2007: 64–74
• 2008: 75–65 (1st Half Northern Division Champions – SAL)
• 2009: 71–66
• 2010: 77–62 (1st Half Eastern Division Champions – MWL & Midwest League Champions)
• 2011: 53–86
• 2012: 71–68 (2nd Half; Clinched MWL Wild Card - Lost in Semifinal Round)
• 2013: 54–83
• 2014: 65–74 (2nd Half; Clinched MWL Wild Card - Lost in Championship Round)
• 2015: 71–66
• 2016: 72–68
• 2017: 54–85
• 2018: 60–79
• 2019: 74–64 (1st Half; Clinched MWL Wild Card - Lost in Quarterfinal Round)
• 2020: Season Suspended due to COVID-19 Pandemic
• 2021: 65–55

Franchise records

• Win–loss record entering 2017: 1821-1658 (979–961 as the Lake County Captains)
• Longest winning streak: 13 games (May 27 – June 8, 2003)
• Longest losing streak: 10 games (June 8–18, 2011) & (April 10–19, 2012)
• Pitcher with most wins in a season: Steve Kline, 18 in 1994 (also league leader that year)
• Hitter with most home runs in a season: Russell Branyan, 40 in 1996 (also league leader that year)

Playoffs (since 2005)

• 2008: Lost to West Virginia 2–1 in semifinals
• 2010: Defeated West Michigan 2–1 in quarterfinals; Defeated Great Lakes 2–1 in semifinals
• 2012: Defeated Bowling Green 2–0 in quarterfinals; lost to Fort Wayne 2–0 in semifinals
• 2014: Defeated South Bend 2–0 in quarterfinals; defeated Fort Wayne 2–0 in semifinals; lost to Kane County 3–0 in finals
• 2019: Lost to Great Lakes 2–1 in quarterfinals

Roster

Lake County Captains roster

• v
• t
• e

Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 30 Alaska Abney 10 Rodney Boone 35 Aaron Davenport 37 Trenton Denholm 26 Magnus Ellerts 44 Steve Hajjar 48 Ethan Hankins 60 Elvis Jerez 40 Reid Johnston 38 Parker Messick 31 Jake Miller 23 Shawn Rapp 41 Lenny Torres -- Hugo Villalobos  8 Ryan Webb 17 Josh Wolf		Catchers 39 Zac Fascia 32 Cooper Ingle 22 Richard Paz  9 Victor Planchart Infielders 27 Will Bartlett  1 Christian Cairo  6 Jake Fox 15 Dayan Frias 24 Nate Furman 34 Junior Sanquintin 22 Tyresse Turner  7 Yordys Valdes 11 Kahlil Wilson Outfielders -- Justin Boyd 33 Jorge Burgos 28 Isaiah Greene  4 Joe Lampe		Manager  9 Omir Santos Coaches 12 Kevin Erminio (pitching) -- Marc Mumper (bench) -- Ordomar Valdez (hitting)   7-day injured list * On Cleveland Guardians 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated January 24, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB • Midwest League → Cleveland Guardians minor league players

Notable franchise alumni

 

CC Sabathia

• Chris Archer (2007–2009) 2x MLB All-Star
• David Bell (1991)
• Russell Branyan (1995–1996)
• Roberto Hernandez^[3] (2003, 2008–2009, 2012) MLB All-Star
• Einar Diaz (1993–1994)
• Alan Embree (1991)
• Maicer Izturis (1999–2000)
• Steve Kline (1994)
• Ted Kubiak (2010–2011, MGR)
• Tim Laker (2002)
• Francisco Lindor (2012) 2x MLB All-Star
• Albie Lopez (1992)
• Torey Lovullo (2002, MGR) 2017 NL Manager of the Year
• Víctor Martínez (2000) 5x MLB All-Star
• Dave Mlicki (1991)
• Eli Morgan (2018)
• Jhonny Peralta (2000) 3x MLB All-Star
• Scott Radinsky (2005, coach)
• Jose Ramirez (2012) MLB All-Star
• CC Sabathia (1999) 6x MLB All-Star; 2007 AL Cy Young Award
• Danny Salazar (2009–2010) MLB All-Star
• Marco Scutaro (1996) MLB All-Star
• Richie Sexson (1994) 2x MLB All-Star
• Kelly Stinnett (1991)
• Eric Wedge (1998, MGR) 2007 AL Manager of the Year
• Jaret Wright (1995)
• Steven Wright (2007, 2011) MLB All-Star

Captains Call-Up Club

The names of all Captains players and franchise alumni who have advanced to play Major League Baseball are all enshrined in the Lake County Captains Call-Up Club at Classic Park. The Call-Up Club also includes former Captains coaches and managers who've made it to Major League Baseball coaching staffs as well. A new wall of bronze plaques was installed at the main entrance of Classic Park in August of the 2017 season. The previous "Walk of Fame" started in the outfield of Classic Park and was moved to an interior wall of the ballpark near the right field corner of the stadium.

References

1. "Jen Yorko Named Lake County Captains GM". Ballpark Digest. October 1, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
2. "Article". milb.com. February 15, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
3. Known as Fausto Carmona during his tenure with Lake County

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lake County Captains.

• Official website
• Statistics from Baseball-Reference