Kenosha Kingfish

Kenosha Kingfish
League Northwoods League (South Division)
Location Kenosha, Wisconsin
Ballpark Simmons Field
Year founded 2013
League championships 1 (2015)
Division championships 1 (2015)
Colors Lake Michigan Blue, Vintage Cream, King's Gold, Cardinal Red
                   
Ownership Steve Schmitt, Vern Stenman, Conor Caloia
Management General Manager: Jake McGhee (2013-2016),[1] Rich Marks (2016-present)
Manager Duffy Dyer
Media

Play-By-Play Broadcaster: Robert Sherman

Newspaper: (http://www.KenoshaNews.com/ Kenosha News)
Website KingfishBaseball.com

The Kenosha Kingfish are a baseball team that plays in the Northwoods League (a collegiate summer baseball league). Based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Kingfish play their home games at the newly renovated Simmons Field.

History

There is much baseball history in Kenosha as before the Kingfish there was the Kenosha Twins of the Midwest league who won titles in 1985 and 1987. They lasted for 8 seasons before being sold and moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1992. There was also the Kenosha Kroakers who were one of the founding teams of the Northwoods League that started in 1994. The Kroakers lasted for 5 seasons before eventually moving to Mankato, MN in 1999. The Kroakers were crowned Northwoods League Summer Collegiate champions back in 1995 as they beat the Manitowoc Skunks in 2 games. The Kenosha Kroakers still hold the Northwoods League record for best overall team record at 40-18 which was set in 1995. The Kenosha Kings are the oldest team still in existence and have the longest tenure at historic Simmons Field of 30 plus years. They have been champions of the semi pro Langsdorf league from 2007-2013. Kenosha has also been the home to many other semi pro teams in the past such as the Kenosha Chiefs and Kenosha Mammoths.

In 2013 the Northwoods League started a new era of baseball in Kenosha as a new team was established/founded. Before the inaugural season began fans got to send in suggestions on what they wanted the name of the new team to be. The best selected names were then voted on by fans through a poll set up by league/team management. The winning name was then revealed at the official launch party on November 23, 2013 as the Kenosha Kingfish. The Kingfish name comes from the fish that live in nearby Lake Michigan and it's also a tie in to the late Elvis Presley. There mascot is a giant Kingfish named King Elvis the first. [2]

2014 Inaugural Season

This was the beginning of the Kingfish era in Kenosha as the Kingfish opened there 2014 season on the road. They had there very first home series on the weekend of May 31 and June 1, 2014 at newly renovated Simmons Field.

The Kingfish finished the 2014 season with a 41-30 record in the Northwoods League South Division, narrowly missing the playoffs.[3]

2015 Season

The Kingfish finished 2015 with a regular season record of 48-24.[4] After beating the La Crosse Loggers 7-2 in Game 1 of the Divisional Playoffs[5] and the Madison Mallards 2-1 in a close Game 2,[6] the Kingfish defeated the St. Cloud Rox, in 2 games, to win their first Northwoods League Summer Collegiate World Series. This was the first championship with the Kenosha Kingfish franchise. [7]

2016 Season

Despite their previous successes, the 2016 season was more of a down year for the Kingfish as they finished the first half at 16-20 6th place in the South and finished the second half at the very bottom of the South in 9th at 10-26. The overall standings had the Kingfish near the bottom finishing 26-46 which was 9th place out of 9 teams in the South division. They finished with the 3rd worst record in the Northwoods league behind Thunder Bay and Rochester. [8][9]

Kingfish in the Pros

Name Highest Level Team Professional Organization Years
Pat Porter Quad Cities River Bandits Houston Astros (A) 2014
Danny Young Lansing Lugnuts Toronto Blue Jays (A) 2014
Steven Klimek Delmarva Shorebirds Baltimore Orioles (A) 2014
Jack Sundberg Hagerstown Suns Washington Nationals (A) 2015
Logan Sendelbach West Virginia Power Pittsburgh Pirates (A) 2015
Chris Godinez Staten Island Yankees New York Yankees (A Short-Season) 2014
Nick Sergakis Brooklyn Cyclones New York Mets (A Short-Season) 2015
Rico Garcia Boise Hawks Colorado Rockies (A Short-Season) 2014-2015
Eric Filia Everett AquaSox Seattle Mariners (A Short-Season) 2015
Reid Anderson Spokane Indians Texas Rangers (A Short-Season) 2016
Buddy Reed Tri-City Dust Devils San Diego Padres (A Short-Season) 2014
Matt Hearn Danville Braves Atlanta Braves (Rookie) 2016
J. D. Nielsen Arizona League Angels Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Rookie) 2014-2015
Derek Heffel Arizona League Rangers Texas Rangers (Rookie) 2016
Brody Westmoreland Gulf Coast League Astros Houston Astros (Rookie) 2016

Yearly Attendance

Year Attendance
2014 72,838[10]
2015 82,019[11]
2016 87,991[12]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.kenoshanews.com/news/kingfish_official_to_head_boys_and_girls_club_486836193.php
  2. ↑ http://www.northwoodsleague.com/Story.aspx?ArticleId=2405
  3. ↑ http://northwoods.bbstats.pointstreak.com/standings.html?leagueid=120&seasonid=28661
  4. ↑ "Northwoods League". northwoods.bbstats.pointstreak.com. Retrieved 2015-10-16.
  5. ↑ http://northwoodsleague.com/kenosha-kingfish/2015/08/11/kingfish-dispatch-loggers-host-madison-tomorrow-night/
  6. ↑ http://northwoodsleague.com/kenosha-kingfish/2015/08/12/brodner-delivers-walk-off-hit-kingfish-move-on-to-summer-collegiate-world-series/
  7. ↑ http://northwoodsleague.com/kenosha-kingfish/2015/08/15/kingfish-win-northwoods-league-summer-collegiate-world-series/
  8. ↑ http://northwoodsleague.com/kenosha-kingfish/2016/08/15/kingfish-fall-to-woodchucks-in-season-finale/
  9. ↑ http://northwoods.bbstats.pointstreak.com/standings.html?leagueid=120&seasonid=29992
  10. ↑ http://northwoods.bbstats.pointstreak.com/attendance.html?leagueid=120&seasonid=28661
  11. ↑ http://northwoods.bbstats.pointstreak.com/attendance.html?leagueid=120&seasonid=29211
  12. ↑ http://northwoods.bbstats.pointstreak.com/attendance.html?leagueid=120&seasonid=29992

External links


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