The Cedar Rapids Kernels are Minor League Baseball team of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganiza ...

and the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

affiliate of the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

. They are located in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Kernels are owned by Cedar Rapids Ball Club, Inc. (also known as Cedar Rapids Baseball Club, Inc.).

Cedar Rapids baseball history

Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. I ...

first began play in 1890 and have played 110 seasons through 2015. The franchise has been a member of various leagues preceding the Midwest League. They have been a member of the

Central Association The Central Association was an American minor league baseball league. It began operations in 1908, as it was essentially renamed from the 1907 Iowa State League. The Central Association ran continuously through 1917. It was reorganized thirty year ...

(1949), Western League (1934–1937),

Mississippi Valley League The Mississippi Valley League (MVL) was a baseball Class D level minor league that operated from 1922 through 1933. Playing its last year as a Class B level league, the league franchises were based in Iowa and Illinois. Like many leagues at the ...

(1922–1932),

(1913–1917), Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (1901–1909, 1920–1921, 1938–1942, 1950–1961),

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Wester ...

(1896–1899), Eastern Iowa League (1895) and the Illinois–Iowa League (1890–1891). The team also had numerous nicknames prior to joining the Midwest League: Cedar Rapids Braves (1958–1962), Cedar Rapids Raiders (1953–1957), Cedar Rapids Indians (1950–1952), Cedar Rapids Rockets (1949), Cedar Rapids Raiders (1934–1942), Cedar Rapids Red Raiders (1963–1964), Cedar Rapids Bunnies (1904–1932), Cedar Rapids Rabbits (1896–1903) and Cedar Rapids Canaries (1890–1891). When Cedar Rapids was awarded a Midwest League franchise in 1962, the franchise switched back to the Red Raiders (1962–1964) nickname. Subsequently, the team used the name of the major league franchise it affiliated with: the Cardinals (1965–1972), the

Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 afte ...

(1973–1974), the Giants (1975–1979), and the Reds (1980–1992). The team adopted the current "Kernels" nickname before the 1993 season. On the field, the franchise won Midwest League championships in 1988, 1992, and 1994. In conjunction with

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Kernels were organized into the High-A Central. In 2022, the High-A Central became known as the Midwest League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.

Ballpark

The team's first home ballpark was Belden Hill Park, followed by the original Veterans Memorial Stadium, which opened in 1949. In August 2000 voters approved a referendum to build a new ballpark adjacent to the old one, which was demolished after the 2001 season. The new Veterans Memorial Stadium was completed in time for the opening of the 2002 season, and the Kernels set a franchise attendance record of 196,066 in the new park's inaugural year.

Roster

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

alumni *

Lou Boudreau Louis Boudreau (July 17, 1917 – August 10, 2001), nicknamed "Old Shufflefoot", "Handsome Lou", and "The Good Kid", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 15 seasons, primarily as a ...

(1938) Inducted, (1970) *

Trevor Hoffman Trevor William Hoffman (born October 13, 1967) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 2010. A long-time closer, he pitched for the Florida Marlins, San Diego ...

(1991) Inducted, (2018) *

John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 189 ...

(1891) Inducted, (1937) *

Ted Simmons Ted Lyle Simmons (born August 9, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. A switch-hitter, Simmons was a catcher for most of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the St. Louis Cardinals (1968–1980), the Milwau ...

(1967) Inducted, (2020) Notable alumni *

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(1903) * Bill Wambsganss (1913) *

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(1932) * Allie Reynolds (1940–41) 5 x MLB All-Star; 1952 AL ERA Leader * Rocky Colavito (1952) 6 x MLB All-Star; 1959 AL Home Run Leader; 1965 AL RBI Leader * John Roseboro (1955) 4 x MLB All-Star *

Denis Menke Denis John Menke (July 21, 1940 – December 1, 2020) was a professional baseball infielder and coach. He played all or parts of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1974. He played for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1962–67), Hou ...

(1958–59) 2 x MLB All-Star * Tony Cloninger (1959) *

Tommie Aaron Tommie Lee Aaron (August 5, 1939 – August 16, 1984) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball. Aaron was the younger brother of Hall of Fame member Hank Aaro ...

(1960) * Ron Hunt (1960–61) 2 x MLB All-Star * Nate Colbert (1965) 3 x MLB All-Star * Pedro Borbon (1966) * Jerry Reuss (1967) 2 x MLB All-Star *

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(1969) GG; MLB All-Star * Bob Forsch (1970) * Jerry Mumphrey (1972) MLB All-Star *

Larry Herndon Larry Darnell Herndon (born November 3, 1953), sometimes referred to by the nickname "Hondo", is an American former baseball outfielder and hitting coach. He played in Major League Baseball in 1974 and from 1976 to 1988. Born in Mississippi and ...

(1972) *

Joe Sambito Joseph Charles Sambito (born June 28, 1952) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Houston Astros (1976–1982, 1984), New York Mets (1985) and Boston Red Sox (1986–1987). He batted and threw left-handed. Early lif ...

(1974) MLB All-Star *

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(1977) MLB All-Star; MGR: 2001 World Series Champions – Arizona Diamondbacks *

Chili Davis Charles Theodore "Chili" Davis (born January 17, 1960) is a Jamaican-American former professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder and designated hitter from to for the San Francisco Giants (1981–1987), California Angels (1988–199 ...

(1978) 3 x MLB All-Star *

Rob Deer Robert George Deer (born September 29, 1960) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Early life Deer attended Canyon High School in Anaheim and Fresno City College. During his tenure with the Milwaukee Brewers, he worked for his ...

(1979) * Eric Davis (1982) 2 x MLB All-Star * Paul O'Neill (1982) 5 x MLB All-Star * Chris Sabo (1983) 3 x MLB AS; 1988 NL Rookie of the Year *

Kal Daniels Kalvoski Daniels (born August 20, 1963) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 1992 for the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs.Kurt Stillwell (1984) MLB All-Star * Rob Dibble (1985) 2 x MLB All-Star * Reggie Sanders (1990) MLB All-Star *

Bengie Molina Benjamin José Molina (born July 20, 1974), nicknamed "Big Money", is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher. He played for the Anaheim Angels / Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (1998–2005), Toronto Blue Jays (2006), San Francisco Giants ( ...

(1994–95) *

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(1995) MLB All-Star * Jarrod Washburn (1995) *

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(1997) * Ken Hill (1998) MLB All-Star *

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(2000) MLB All-Star; 2007 AL ERA Leader * Bobby Jenks (2001) 2 x MLB All-Star *

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(2001–02) MLB All-Star * Ervin Santana (2002) 2 x MLB All-Star * Casey Kotchman (2002) * Jeff Mathis (2002) * Joel Peralta (2002) * Joe Saunders (2002) MLB All-Star *

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(2003) *

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(2003) MLB All-Star *

Howie Kendrick Howard Joseph Kendrick III (born July 12, 1983) is an American former professional baseball infielder and current special assistant to the General Manager for the Philadelphia Phillies. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim selected Kendrick in th ...

(2004) MLB All-Star; 2019 World Series Champion – Washington Nationals * Sean Rodriguez (2004) * Alexi Casilla (2004–05) * Miguel González (2005) * Nick Adenhart (2006) Died Age 22 * Darren O'Day (2006) MLB All-Star *

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(2006–07) MLB All-Star * Jordan Walden (2008) MLB All-Star *

Mike Trout Michael Nelson Trout (born August 7, 1991) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). Trout is a ten-time MLB All-Star, three-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MV ...

(2009–10) 8 x MLB All-Star; 2012 AL Rookie of the Year; 3 x AL Most Valuable Player (2014, 2016, 2019) *

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(2010) * Jean Segura (2010) MLB All-Star * Patrick Corbin (2010) 2 x MLB All-Star; 2019 World Series Champion – Washington Nationals * Mike Clevinger (2012) * Byron Buxton (2013) *

Joe Mauer Joseph Patrick Mauer (born April 19, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher and first baseman, who spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Minnesota Twins. A six-time All-Star, Mauer is the onl ...

(2014) 6 x MLB All-Star; 3 x AL Batting Title (2006, 2008, 2009); 2009 AL Most Valuable Player * Ricky Nolasco (2015)

References

Sources

* Dinda, Joel (2003),
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the Midwest League
* Koolbeck, Mike, "History of Cedar Rapids Professional Baseball", published in the ''Cedar Rapids Kernels Souvenir Program'', 2001

External links