West Michigan Whitecaps Totally Explained

Everything about The West Michigan Whitecaps totally explained

The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Detroit Tigers, that plays in the Midwest League. Their home games are played in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids. They are currently the defending champions of the Midwest League.

Franchise history

The Midwest League came to the Grand Rapids area in 1994 upon the arrival of the former Madison Muskies. The Whitecaps were brought to West Michigan by local businessmen Lew Chamberlin and Dennis Baxter. The Whitecaps were affiliated with the Oakland Athletics before they joined the Tigers' farm system in 1997.
   Their home ballpark is Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park. Before the 2002 season it was known as Old Kent Park; the name was changed when the park's title sponsor, Old Kent Bank, was purchased by Fifth Third Bank. Fifth Third also sponsors ballparks in Dayton and Toledo, Ohio. The team's official mascots are Crash the River Rascal and Franky the Swimming Pig.
   The franchise's attendance record of 547,401 was set in 1996.
   Several league and team records were set during the 2006 season. The team posted the second best record in franchise history, going 89-48, including going 23-6 in July. Michael Hollimon hit 3 home runs in one game. Cameron Maybin hit 2 grand slams in the season. Michael Hernandez became the first person ever in the history of the Midwest League to hit for the cycle twice. The Whitecaps went on to defeat the Kane County Cougars in four games to win their fourth Midwest League Championship.

Regular season

Season	W	L	Pct.
1994	74	65	.532
1995	67	69	.492
1996	77	61	.557	MWL Champions
1997	92	39	.702
1998	83	57	.593	MWL Champions
1999	68	72	.485
2000	88	52	.629
2001	65	72	.474
2002	83	57	.593
2003	67	73	.478
2004	69	70	.496	MWL Champions
2005	73	70	.510
2006	89	48	.649	MWL Champions
2007	83	57	.593	MWL Champions

Postseason success

The Whitecaps have won the best-of-5 Midwest League championship five times in five opportunities. They defeated the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in 1996, the Rockford Cubbies in 1998, the Kane County Cougars twice (2004 and 2006), and the Beloit Snappers in 2007. West Michigan is 43-25 all time in playoff games. They’ve made the playoffs 11 times in 14 seasons.

Oakland Athletics affiliation

Year	Record	Results	Opponents
1994	0–2	Lost in First Round	Rockford (0–2)
1995	3–3	Lost in Second Round	Kane County (2–1), Michigan (1–2)
1996	7–2	Won Championship	Lansing (2–1), Rockford (2–0), Wisconsin (3–1)

Detroit Tigers affiliation

Year	Record	Results	Opponents
1997	0–2	Lost in First Round	Fort Wayne (0–2)
1998	7–2	Won Championship	Michigan (2–1), Clinton (2–0), Rockford (3–1)
1999	Did not qualify for playoffs
2000	1–2	Lost in First Round	Dayton (1–2)
2001	Did not qualify for playoffs
2002	3–2	Lost in Second Round	Dayton (2–0), Lansing (1–2)
2003	Did not qualify for playoffs
2004	7–3	Won Championship	Lansing (2–1), South Bend (2–0), Kane County (3–2)
2005	2–2	Lost in Second Round	Fort Wayne (2–0), South Bend (0–2)
2006	7–2	Won Championship	Fort Wayne (2–1), Lansing (2–0), Kane County (3–1)
2007	7–2	Won Championship	Lansing (2–0), South Bend (2–0), Beloit (3–2)

Managers

Since 1994, the Whitecaps have had six managers. In 2007, former Tigers' third baseman Tom Brookens became the seventh manager in the history of the Whitecaps.
Listed here are each manager and their won/loss record:

Oakland Athletics affiliation

Jim Colborn 1994–1995 (141–134)
Mike Quade 1996 (77–61)

Detroit Tigers affiliation

Bruce Fields 1997–2000 (331–220)

Brent Gates 2001 (65–72)

Phil Regan 2002–2003 (150–130)

Matt Walbeck 2004–2006 (231–179)

Tom Brookens 2007 (83–57)

Joe DePastino 2008 (1–0)

Former Whitecaps in the majors

Below is a list of West Michigan Whitecaps who have played in the major leagues.

Oakland Athletics affiliation (1994–1996)

Benito Baez 1996

Jason Beverlin 1995

Emil Brown 1995

Ryan Christenson 1996

Steve Cox 1994

D.T. Cromer 1994

Jeffrey M. D'Amico 1994, 1995

Jeff DaVanon 1996

Mario Encarnacion 1996

Ben Grieve 1995

Ramon Hernandez 1996

Tim Kubinski 1994

Jason McDonald 1994

Chris Michalak 1994

Willie Morales 1994

Juan Moreno 1996

David Newhan 1995

Derrick White 1996

George Williams 1994

Detroit Tigers Affiliation (1997–present)

Burke Badenhop 2006

Adam Bernero 1999

Willie Blair 1997 Pitched one game on rehab assignment

Dave Borkowski 1997

Brent Clevlen 2003

Francisco Cordero 1997

Nate Cornejo 1999

Freddy Dolsi 2005

Eulogio De La Cruz 2004

Eric Eckenstahler 2000

Robert Fick 1997

Jason Frasor 1999, 2000

Tony Giarratano 2004

Curtis Granderson 2008 Played three games on rehab assignment

Jack Hannahan 2001

Omar Infante 2000

Brandon Inge 1999

Matt Joyce 2006

Jair Jurrjens 2005

Kris Keller 1999

Don Kelly 2002

Rodney Lindsey 1998

Nook Logan 2001

Shane Loux 1998, 1999

Cameron Maybin 2006

Matt Miller 1998

Dave Mlicki 2000 Pitched one game on rehab assignment

Brian Moehler 2000 Pitched one game on rehab assignment

Scott Moore 2003

Eric Munson 1999

Adam Pettyjohn 1998

Luis Pineda 1999

Mike Rabelo 2002, 2003

Ryan Raburn 2002, 2003

Mike Rivera 1998

Fernando Rodney 2000

Kenny Rogers 2007 Pitched one game on rehab assignment

Cody Ross 2000

Pedro Santana 1997, 1998

Ramón Santiago 2000

Jordan Tata 2004

Clete Thomas 2005

Andres Torres 1999

Andy Van Hekken 2000

Virgil Vasquez 2004

Chris Wakeland 1997

Jeff Weaver 1998

Joel Zumaya 2003

Sources

Dinda, J. (2003), "Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the Midwest League," http://www.mwlguide.com/cities/grandrapids/index.html

Official site of the West Michigan Whitecaps, History http://www.whitecaps-baseball.com/BALLPARK/history.html

Official site of the West Michigan Whitecaps, All-Time Roster http://www.whitecaps-baseball.com/TEAM/allroster.htmlFurther Information

Get more info on 'West Michigan Whitecaps'.

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