Billings Mustangs
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Billings Mustangs Founded in 1948 Billings, Montana | |||||
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| Class-level | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current | Advanced Rookie | ||||
| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| League | Pioneer League (1948-1963, 1969–present) | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Current | Cincinnati Reds (1974–present) | ||||
| Previous |
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| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles .mw-parser-output .noboldfont-weight:normal (15) |
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| Division titles (10) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Nickname | Billings Mustangs (1948-1963, 1969–present) | ||||
| Ballpark | Dehler Park (2008–present) | ||||
Previous parks | Cobb Field (1948-1963, 1969-2007) | ||||
Owner(s)/ Operator(s) | Main Street Baseball | ||||
| General Manager | Gary Roller | ||||
The Billings Mustangs are a minor league baseball team based in Billings, Montana. The Mustangs are the Pioneer League Rookie affiliate of the Major League Cincinnati Reds. The team has been a part of the Pioneer League since 1948 with a five-year gap between 1964 and 1968, and has been affiliated with the Reds since 1974 (after an affiliation with the Kansas City Royals). Along with the Elizabethton Twins, the Mustangs affiliation with the Reds is the longest-running among all rookie-level teams.[1] The team was officially established on November 4, 1947.
The Mustangs play at Dehler Park, named after Jon Dehler, a Billings businessman who bought the naming right to the field in 2007. Prior to the 2008 season the Mustangs played at Cobb Field (named after Bob Cobb who was responsible for bringing professional baseball to the city of Billings). Cobb Field was demolished in September 2007 to make way for the new park.
The Mustangs won three consecutive Pioneer League titles from 1992 and 1994, then won another in 1997. In 2003, Billings swept the Provo Angels in the Championship Series, winning two games to none. Provo had tied the league record for wins that year with 54. Billings, the last team to qualify for the postseason, won Game 1 at Provo 8-5 in 11 innings, then, Billings won 3-0 on a no-hitter by James Paduch to win the Championship in front of a sold-out Cobb Field in Billings. The game was a classic pitchers duel between two of the top pitchers in the league (Provo's being 2003 Pioneer League Pitcher of the Year Abel Moreno). In 2006, Chris Valaika set a Pioneer League record with a 32-game hitting streak during the Mustangs 51-win campaign.
Many Major League stars have begun their pro careers in Billings. These include George Brett, Reggie Sanders, Paul O'Neill, Trevor Hoffman, Keith Lockhart, Danny Tartabull, Ben Broussard, Scott Sullivan, Aaron Boone, Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, and B. J. Ryan.
After years of award-winning work in the front office, Assistant General Manager Gary Roller was promoted to General Manager for the 2005 season. Roller took over for long time GM and Mustangs Hall-of-Famer Bob Wilson. Matt Bender, who formerly handled the duties of Official Scorer, took over the vacated Assistant General Manager position.
Dehler Park (and before at Cobb Field) is renowned in the Pioneer League for the "Beer Batter" tradition. Every game the Mustangs Beer Boosters designate one player as the "Beer Batter." If that player gets a hit, attendees can buy four beers for $10. Many eager buyers stand at the stairs anticipating a hit and the oncoming rush of people.
The Billings Mustangs changed their logo for the 2006 season. The 2007 season was their last at Cobb Field and the Mustangs begin the 2008 season at Dehler Park. On September 11, 2014, the Mustangs defeated the Orem Owlz for their first Pioneer League Championship since the 2003 season.
Contents
1 Playoffs
2 Current roster
3 Hall of Fame alumni
4 Notable alumni
5 References
6 External links
Playoffs
- 2016: Defeated Great Falls 2-0 in semifinals; lost to Orem 2-0 in finals.
- 2015: Lost to Missoula 2-1 in semifinals.
- 2014: Defeated Great Falls 2-0 in semifinals; defeated Orem 2-0 to win league championship.
- 2003: Defeated Provo 2-0 to win league championship.
- 2001: Defeated Provo 2-0 to win league championship.
- 1999: Lost to Missoula 2-0 in finals.
- 1997: Defeated Great Falls 2-0 to win league championship.
- 1994: Defeated Helena 2-1 to win league championship.
- 1993: Defeated Helena 3-2 to win league championship.
- 1992: Defeated Salt Lake 2-0 to win league championship.
- 1984: Lost to Helena 3-1 in finals.
- 1983: Defeated Calgary 3-1 to win league championship.
- 1980: Lost to Lethbridge 2-1 in finals.
- 1978: Defeated Idaho Falls 2-0 to win league championship
Current roster
Billings Mustangs roster | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Players | Coaches/Other | |||
Pitchers
| Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
| Manager
Coaches
| ||
7-day disabled list
Hall of Fame alumni
George Brett (1971) Inducted, 1999
Trevor Hoffman (1989) Inducted, 2018
Notable alumni
- 1951
- Larry Shepard (Player-Manager)
- 1955
Bennie Daniels, Dick Stuart- 1957
- Chris Cannizzaro
- 1958
- Jim Hickman
- 1969
- Gorman Thomas
- 1970
Al Cowens, Jim Wohlford- 1971
- Mark Littell
- 1972
- Jamie Quirk
- 1973
Ruppert Jones, Bob McClure, Rodney Scott- 1974
Ron Oester, Harry Spilman- 1975
- Larry Rothschild
- 1976
- Eddie Milner
- 1977
- Tom Foley
- 1978
Skeeter Barnes, Nick Esasky, Gary Redus- 1980
Dave Miley, Danny Tartabull- 1982
Tom Browning, Kal Daniels- 1983
Gary Denbo, Rob Dibble, Lenny Harris, Joe Oliver, Kurt Stillwell- 1986
- Keith Lockhart
- 1987
Jack Armstrong, Butch Henry, Reggie Jefferson, Ed Taubensee- 1988
Reggie Sanders, Jerry Spradlin- 1989
- Trevor Hoffman
- 1992
Chad Mottola, Eric Owens- 1993
Paul Bako, Chris Sexton, Scott Sullivan- 1994
- Aaron Boone
- 1995
Ray King, Jason LaRue, John Riedling- 1996
- Lance Davis
- 1997
Gookie Dawkins, Donnie Scott (Manager), Scott Williamson, DeWayne Wise- 1998
Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, B. J. Ryan- 1999
Ben Broussard, Scott Dunn, John Koronka, Brad Salmon- 2000
Russ Nixon (Manager), Randy Ruiz- 2001
Todd Coffey, Edwin Encarnación, Ted Power (Pitching Coach)- 2002
- William Bergolla
- 2003
Rick Burleson (Manager), Chris Dickerson, Miguel Perez, Joey Votto- 2004
Paul Janish, Chris Sabo (Hitting Coach), Craig Tatum- 2005
Jay Bruce, Carlos Fisher, Sam LeCure, Adam Rosales, Jeff Stevens, Travis Wood- 2006
Danny Dorn, Juan Francisco, Chris Heisey, Marcos Mateo, Logan Ondrusek, Denis Phipps, Josh Roenicke, Jordan Smith, Drew Stubbs, Justin Turner, Chris Valaika- 2007
Scott Carroll, Enerio Del Rosario, Todd Frazier, Jeremy Horst, Curtis Partch- 2008
Justin Freeman, Josh Ravin, Miguel Rojas, Dave Sappelt, Neftali Soto- 2009
Daniel Corcino, Didi Gregorius, Donnie Joseph- 2010
Tucker Barnhart, Billy Hamilton, Yorman Rodriguez- 2011
Tony Cingrani, Carlos Contreras, Steve Selsky, Kyle Waldrop- 2012
Amir Garrett, Jon Moscot, Sal Romano, Robert Stephenson, Jesse Winker- 2013
Layne Somsen, Zack Weiss, Daniel Wright
References
^ "Let's Stay Together: Minor League Stalwarts". MiLB.com. 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2014-09-12..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
External links
- Billings Mustangs official site
- Billings Mustangs (OurSportsCentral)
