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Salem Avalanche
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Salem Avalanche | ||
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| League | Carolina League | |
| Division | Southern | |
| Year founded | 1968 | |
| Major League affiliation | Houston Astros | |
| Home ballpark | Lewis-Gale Medicial Center Field at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium | |
| Previous home ballparks | Kiwanis Field | |
| City | Salem, Virginia | |
| Current uniform colors | red, black, and white | |
| Previous uniform colors | purple, black, white, gold (Buccaneers, Pirates), navy (Redbirds, Rebels, Red Sox) | |
| Logo design | Capital "A" shaped like a mountain, with snow on top, baseball shooting out in front of the "A" | |
| Division titles | 1968, 1969, 1972, 1974, 1981, 1987, 1988, 2006 | |
| League titles | 1972, 1974, 1987, 2001 | |
| Manager | Jim Pankovits | |
| Owner | Hardball Capital | |
The Salem Avalanche are a minor league baseball team in Salem, Virginia, USA. They are a Class High-A team in the Carolina League and have been a farm team of the Houston Astros since 2003. The Avalanche were previously affiliated with the Colorado Rockies as an expansion team in 1995, and kept the Avalanche name when affiliating with the Astros. The Avalanche play home games at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium. Opened in 1995, Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium seats 6,300 fans. Prior to this, games were played at Kiwanis Field.
In 2006 Salem played its 12th season in Salem Memorial Stadium and hosted the Carolina/California League All Star Game, the fourth time an All-Star Game came to Salem. [1]
The Avalance and its predecessor teams were owned from 1986 until 2006 by Kelvin Bowles, a local resident and major league baseball scout. Bowles bought the team when it was in danger of moving from Salem. In 2006, the team was sold to a pair of businessmen from Atlanta who also own the Fort Wayne Wizards.
Contents |
- 1943 - 1953: Roanoke Red Sox (Boston affiliate)
- 1955 - 1971: Salem Rebels (Pirates affiliate)
- 1972 - 1979: Salem Pirates (Pirates/San Francisco affiliate)
- 1980 - 1986: Salem Redbirds (Padres/Rangers affiliate)
- 1987 - 1994: Salem Buccaneers (Pirates affiliate)
- 1995 - 2003: Salem Avalanche (Colorado affiliate)
- 2003 - Present: Salem Avalanche (Houston affiliate)
- last updated December 26, 2006
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Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
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Manager
Coaching Staff
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- Moises Alou, New York Mets
- Orlando Cepeda, San Francisco Giants Hall of Famer
- Aaron Cook, Colorado Rockies
- Chone Figgins, Anaheim Angels
- Brad Hawpe, Colorado Rockies
- Matt Holliday, Colorado Rockies
- Art Howe, 3rd base coach for Philadelphia Phillies
- Jason Jennings, Houston Astros
- Jason Kendall, Oakland A's
- Esteban Loaiza, Oakland A's
- Dave Parker, 7-time All Star (retired)
- Kenny Rogers (baseball player), Detroit Tigers
- Juan Uribe, Chicago White Sox
- Tim Wakefield, Boston Red Sox
- Larry Walker, St. Louis Cardinals (retired)
- Ron Wotus, Bench Coach of the San Francisco Giants
- Eric Young (baseball player), San Diego Padres
- Batting: .370 - Oswaldo Olivares, 1977
- Hits: 208 - Oswaldo Olivares, 1977
- Doubles: 43 - Garrett Atkins, 2001
- Triples: 17 - David Arrington, 1968
- Home Runs: 34 - Gerald Davis, 1981
- Total Bases: 280 - Oswaldo Olivares, 1977
- Runs Batted In: 103 - Gerald Davis, 1981
- Stolen Bases: 84 - Miguel Dilone, 1975
- Wins: 16 - James Marshall, 1972
- Losses: 15 - Frank Brosious, 1983; James McKee, 1970
- Strikeouts: 186 - Ed Whitson, 1976; Doug Blair, 1972
- Walks: 127 - Benjamin Willbank, 1978
- Innings Pitched: 203 - Ed Whitson, 1976
- Earned Run Average: 2.11 - Josh Kalinowski, 1999
- Saves: 27 - Travis Thompson, 1999
Lewis-Gale Medical Center Field at Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium is a stadium in Salem, Virginia and is part of the James E. Taliferro Sports and Entertainment Complex along with the Salem Civic Center and Salem Football Stadium. On April 5, 2006, it sold its naming rights to Lewis-Gale Hospital. Some local residents were critical that Salem did not receive enough money for the naming-rights. The stadium is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Salem Avalanche, a minor league baseball team in the high class A Carolina League. It was built in 1995 at a cost of $10.1 Million to replace the over sixty year old Salem Municipal Stadium. It holds 6,300 people, and offers an impressive view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The stadium features 4 concession stands, numerous other carts, and 8 large restrooms. Lines are usually not a problem even with large crowds. There is ample free parking on site which is easily accessed from U.S. 11, U.S. 460, Virginia 419, and Interstate 81. In part because of the promotions, the Avalanche have been more successful in building and maintaing attendance than the Roanoke Valley's other minor league sports teams.
Salem Memorial Stadium features 20ft outfield walls. Its dimensions are left field - 325ft, center field - 401ft, and right field - 325ft.
On November 17, 2006, the Salem Avalanche, released the designs for their on-field caps for the 2007 season. Along with a color-change from brick red to scarlet red, the Avalanche made a total transformation to their on-field and retail logos. The new logos were created using a focus group of front office members, field personnel and merchandise managers in select Minor League markets around the US. The logos were designed by New Era Cap, and many elements were kept from the original “New Avalanche” logos designed in 2004 by Chris Henwood. Henwood’s design elements from the 2006 HCA Virginia Carolina League / California League All-Star Game Logo are featured on the new Road Cap, and his Avalanche Kids Club design has been modified for a new-look Batting Practice Cap. New Home and Batting Practice jerseys will also be part of the new Uniform plan for the Avalanche in 2007. Home Uniforms and BP Tops are manufactured by Rawlings; Road Uniforms are made by Wilson
- 1968 - 64,532
- 1969 - 63,248
- 1970 - 50,076
- 1971 - 37,872
- 1972 - 43,910
- 1973 - 45,915
- 1974 - 41,379
- 1975 - 39,007
- 1976 - 30,387
- 1977 - 32,744
- 1978 - 51,096
- 1979 - 43,036
- 1980 - 102,456
- 1981 - 72,125
- 1982 - 47,202
- 1983 - 56,451
- 1984 - 61,623
- 1985 - 71,788
- 1986 - 87,047
- 1987 - 111,661
- 1988 - 119,966
- 1989 - 121,581
- 1990 - 126,121
- 1991 - 131,582
- 1992 - 134,598
- 1993 - 145,657
- 1994 - 153,575
- 1995 - 140,111
- 1996 - 173,703 (New Stadium Opened)
- 1997 - 188,023
- 1998 - 189,069
- 1999 - 206,012
- 2000 - 200,863
- 2001 - 203,375
- 2002 - 196,347
- 2003 - 175,155
- 2004 - 224,991
- 2005 - 255,225
- 2006 - 237,724 (5 games cancelled due to heavy amounts of rain)
Total Attendace - 4,477,233
- Flagship Radio Station: 1240 AM WGMN ESPN Radio Roanoke
--Station Phone: 540-725-1220 --Station Fax: 540-725-1245 --Radio Announcer: TBA --Number of Games Broadcast: All
- Newspapers covering the Avalanche: The Roanoke Times, The Salem Times-Register
- Official Scorer: Billy Wells
Mugsy A St. Bernard mascot who made his rookie debut in professional baseball in 1997 with the Avalanche. According to the team's website, Mugsy descended from the passing Hale-Bopp comet that raced across the Roanoke Valley sky on April 4, 1997.
Misty Misty is a female saint bernard mascot who joined the team in 2005.
Big Mo The Salem Avalanche's Kid's Club mascot, Big Mo is a giant inflatable abominable snowman.
The Baseball Nut The Avalanche's first mascot was this distinctive character, which resembled an almond. While the idea was original, the Baseball Nut proved to be unpopular. Lacking a cute or friendly appearance, the mascot intimidated children and was an object of derision by adult fans. Mugsy was developed as a replacement.
| Houston Astros Franchise | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | AA | A | Rookie |
| Round Rock Express | Corpus Christi Hooks |
Salem Avalanche Lexington Legends Tri-City Valley Cats |
Greeneville Astros VSL Astros |
| Carolina League | ||
| Northern Division | Southern Division | |
|---|---|---|
| Frederick Keys | Lynchburg Hillcats | Potomac Nationals | Wilmington Blue Rocks | Kinston Indians | Myrtle Beach Pelicans | Salem Avalanche | Winston-Salem Warthogs | |