Lincoln Saltdogs

Lincoln Saltdogs
Information
LeagueAmerican Association of Professional Baseball (2006–present) (West Division)
LocationLincoln, Nebraska
BallparkHaymarket Park
Founded2001
League championships1
  • 2009
Division championships2006 (both halves), 2007 (1st half), 2009 (second half), 2014, 2017
Former name(s)Lincoln Saltdogs (2001–present)
Former league(s)
ColorsNavy blue, red, white, gold
       
ManagerBrett Jodie
General ManagerCharlie Meyer
MediaLincoln Journal Star
KLMS (1480 AM)
Websitewww.saltdogs.com

The Lincoln Saltdogs are a professional baseball team based in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the United States. The Saltdogs are in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball.[1] Since the 2001 season, the Saltdogs have played their home games at Haymarket Park, which they share with the Nebraska Cornhuskers college baseball team.

History

The Saltdogs were formed when the Madison Black Wolf were sold and moved to Lincoln after the 2000 season. The team was a member of the Northern League from 2001 to 2005. After the 2005 season, the Saltdogs (along with the St. Paul Saints, Sioux City Explorers, and Sioux Falls Canaries) left the Northern League to form the American Association.

The Saltdogs claimed their first league title in 2009, winning the American Association championship. Their overall regular-season record was 49–47, but Lincoln went 27–21 to claim the second-half North Division title and advanced to the championship by defeating the first-half North Division champion Wichita Wingnuts in the division series, three games to two. The Saltdogs then claimed the title by defeating the South Division champion Pensacola Pelicans three games to two, with game five decided by a 2–1 score at Pelican Park in Pensacola.

Lincoln celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2010, and the team secured its fourth berth in the playoffs over the prior five seasons. The Saltdogs finished with a 51–45 overall record, the seventh time in ten years Lincoln reached the 50-win plateau, and the ninth time in ten seasons that the team finished above the .500 mark. Although the Saltdogs did not win a division title in 2010, their overall record was still good enough for them to qualify for the postseason via a wild card berth. Lincoln has earned four wild-card playoff berths in its history, with the first three (2001, 2002, and 2005) coming during the team's Northern League days.

The Saltdogs made the playoffs in each of their first two years in the American Association. In both 2006 and 2007, they finished with the league's best overall regular-season record, winning three of the four North Division titles (both the first-half and second-half titles in 2006, and the first-half title in 2007). Their 14-game winning streak in 2007 is the longest in team history. The Saltdogs had the best overall record (272–204) of any team in the first five years of the American Association.

Kash Beauchamp was the first manager in Saltdogs history, although his tenure lasted just 42 games into the 2001 season, during which the team went 21–21 (.500). Pitcher Les Lancaster replaced Beauchamp, guiding Lincoln to playoff berths in both 2001 and 2002. Lancaster served as a player-manager for the first ten days of his managing tenure before moving exclusively to the bench. He led the team to a regular-season record of 86–53 (.619) and a postseason record of 6–7. After the 2002 season, Lancaster departed and was replaced by former Toronto Blue Jays manager Tim Johnson. Johnson spent six seasons with the Saltdogs, compiling a 314–252 (.555) regular-season record and a 2–9 postseason record. Lincoln made the playoffs three times under Johnson (2005, 2006, and 2007) and won three division championships (American Association 2006 first-half and second-half North Division titles, 2007 first-half North Division title). Johnson resigned as manager at the end of the 2008 season, and was replaced by Marty Scott, who had managed the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs during the 2008 season. Scott won two championships between 1995 and 2000 as the manager of the St. Paul Saints and guided Lincoln to the 2009 championship, his fourth overall as a manager. Over two seasons in Lincoln, Scott compiled a 100–92 (.521) regular-season record and a 6–7 postseason record. Brett Jodie became the ninth Saltdogs manager in franchise history after the club announced his hiring in April 2021.[2] Jodie filled the vacancy left by James Frisbie after he was hired to join the Detroit Tigers.[3]

In 2020, the league announced that the Saltdogs were not selected as one of six teams to participate in a condensed season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] They went on hiatus for the season, then returned to play in 2021 when they celebrated their 20th Season.

The Saltdogs' secondary logo

Roster

Active roster Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 18 Abdallah Aris
  • 27 Zach Keenan
  • -- Jackson Lindley
  • -- Brandon McCabe
  • -- Foster Pace
  • -- Jack Parisi
  • -- Bryan Perez
  • -- Adam Scoggins
  • 12 Wyatt Sparks
  • -- Mitch Stone
  • -- Brett Winkelmann
  • 20 David Zoz



 

Catchers

  • 21 Marshall Awtry
  • -- Max Hewitt
  • 25 Luke Roskam

Infielders

  • -- Alex Baeza
  • -- Jack Dragum
  • -- Gavin Johns
  • -- Gary Mattis

Outfielders

  • -- Matt Pita
  • 10 Aaron Takacs
  • -- Nick Ultsch
  • 16 Zane Zurbrugg
 

Manager

Coaches

  • -- Kash Beauchamp (hitting)
  •    Corey Courtney (trainer)
  •    Matt Honerman (trainer)
  • -- Bryan Kloppe (coach)

Disabled list
‡ Inactive list
§ Suspended list

Roster updated March 27, 2024
Transactions

Notable alumni

Season-by-season records

Northern League

Lincoln Saltdogs (2001–2005) [1]
Season W–L Win % Finish Playoffs
2001 52–38 .578 3rd, Central Division Won in Div. Semi-Finals to Sioux Falls Canaries 3–1
Lost in Div. Championship to Winnipeg Goldeyes 3–1
2002 55–36 .604 2nd, Central Division Lost in Div. Semi-Finals to Winnipeg Goldeyes 3–2
2003 41–49 .456 3rd, Western Division Did not qualify
2004 49–47 .510 3rd, Southern Division Did not qualify
2005 52–44 .542 1st, Central Division Lost in Div. Championship to Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 3–1
Totals (NL) 249–214 .538 7–10

American Association

Lincoln Saltdogs (2006–2020) [2]
Season W–L Win % Finish Playoffs
2006 65–31 .677 1st, Northern Division Lost in Semi-finals to Saint Paul Saints 3–1
2007 57–36 .613 1st, Northern Division Lost in Semi-finals to Saint Paul Saints 3–0
2008 50–45 .526 3rd, Northern Division Did not qualify
2009 49–47 .510 2nd, Northern Division Won in Semi-finals vs. Wichita Wingnuts 3–2
Won in League Championship vs. Pensacola Pelicans 3–2
2010 51–45 .440 2nd, Central Division Lost in Semi-finals to Sioux Falls Canaries 3–0
2011 51–48 .515 3rd, Central Division Did not qualify
2012 41–59 .410 5th, Central Division Did not qualify
2013 49–51 .490 3rd, Central Division Did not qualify
2014 54–46 .540 1st, Central Division Won in Semi-finals vs. Winnipeg Goldeyes 3–1
Lost in League Championship to Wichita Wingnuts 3–0
2015 34–66 .340 4th, Central Division Did not qualify
2016 52–48 .520 3rd, Central Division Did not qualify
2017 58–41 .586 1st, Central Division Lost in Semi-finals to Winnipeg Goldeyes 3–1
2018 51–48 .515 4th, South Division Did not qualify
2019 40–59 .404 4th, South Division Did not qualify
2020 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021 53–47 .530 4th, South Division Did not qualify
Totals (AA) 755–717 .512 11–20

References

  1. ^ Reichard, Kevin (2020-09-24). "American Association, Frontier League now MLB Partner Leagues". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
  2. ^ Star, Lincoln Journal. "Saltdogs needed little time in finding new manager, hire Brett Jodie from Atlantic League". JournalStar.com. Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  3. ^ admin (2021-03-31). "MANAGER JAMES FRISBIE HIRED BY DETROIT TIGERS | IndependentBaseball.net". Retrieved 2022-05-02.
  4. ^ "American Association unveils plans for 2020 season". americanassociationbaseball.com. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  • aabfan.com - yearly league standings and awards (American Association)
  • nlfan.com - yearly league standings and awards (Northern League)

External links

  • Lincoln Saltdogs official website
  • nlfan.com Lincoln Saltdogs' Guide (Northern League 2001–2005)
  • aabfan.com Lincoln Saltdogs' Guide (American Association 2006–present)
  • nlfan.com Madison Black Wolf Guide
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