The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in

Eastlake, Ohio Eastlake is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 18,577 at the 2010 census. Dennis Morley is the current mayor of Eastlake. The city was named for the fact it is northeast of Cleveland, following along the shore of Lake ...

, a suburb of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following the 2009 season in a shuffle caused by the

Columbus Catfish The Columbus Catfish were a minor league baseball team in Columbus, Georgia. They were a Class A team in the South Atlantic League, and were an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. The Catfish relocated to Bowling Green, ...

's move to

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the ...

, for the 2009 season. The move alleviated travel costs and time, as it was the South Atlantic League's northernmost team. Prior to the 2003 season, the club was based in Columbus, Georgia, and known as the Columbus RedStixx. The Captains play their home games in

Classic Park Classic Park is a stadium in Eastlake, Ohio, in suburban Cleveland. It is primarily used for baseball, and is the home field of the Lake County Captains minor league baseball team. It was built in 2003 at a cost of $22 million under the name Eastl ...

, which has a capacity of 6,157 and opened in 2003 as Eastlake Stadium. The current stadium name is the result of a naming rights arrangement; the sponsor is Classic Automotive Group, a major area chain of auto dealerships. Classic Park hosted the South Atlantic League All-Star Game on June 20, 2006.

Franchise regular season win–loss records

Columbus Indians (73–69) *1991: 73–69 Columbus RedStixx (823–711) *1992: 77–62 (1st Half Southern Division Champions – SAL) *1993: 86–56 *1994: 87–51 (1st Half Southern Division Champions – SAL) *1995: 80–62 (2nd Half Southern Division Champions – SAL) *1996: 79–63 (2nd Half Southern Division Champions – SAL) *1997: 62–76 *1998: 59–81 *1999: 70–71 (1st Half Southern Division Champions – SAL) *2000: 67–70 (1st Half Southern Division Champions – SAL) *2001: 77–59 *2002: 79–60 (2nd Half Southern Division Champions – SAL) Lake County Captains (853–810 entering 2016) *2003: 97–43 (1st & 2nd Half Northern Division Champions – SAL) (Best regular season record in pro baseball in 2003, min 120 games) *2004: 73–66 *2005: 72–66 *2006: 64–74 *2007: 64–74 *2008: 75–65 (1st Half Northern Division Champions – SAL) *2009: 71–66 *2010: 77–62 (1st Half Eastern Division Champions – MWL & Midwest League Champions) *2011: 53–86 *2012: 71–68 (2nd Half; Clinched MWL Wild Card - Lost in Semifinal Round) *2013: 54–83 *2014: 65–74 (2nd Half; Clinched MWL Wild Card - Lost in Championship Round) *2015: 71–66 *2016: 72–68 *2017: 54–85 *2018: 60–79 *2019: 74–64 (1st Half; Clinched MWL Wild Card - Lost in Quarterfinal Round) *2020: Season Suspended due to Covid-19 Pandemic *2021: 65-55

Franchise records

*Win–loss record entering 2017: 1821-1658 (979–961 as the Lake County Captains) *Longest winning streak: 13 games (May 27 – June 8, 2003) *Longest losing streak: 10 games (June 8–18, 2011) & (April 10–19, 2012) *Pitcher with most wins in a season: Steve Kline, 18 in 1994 (also league leader that year) *Hitter with most home runs in a season:

Russell Branyan Russell Oles Branyan (born December 19, 1975) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians (two occasions), Cincinnati Reds, Milwaukee Brewers (two occasions), Ta ...

, 40 in 1996 (also league leader that year)

Playoffs (since 2005)

*2008: Lost to

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

2-1 in semifinals *2010: Defeated

West Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for an arbitrary region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Most narrowly it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Pe ...

2-1 in quarterfinals; Defeated

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lak ...

2-1 in semifinals *2012: Defeated

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

2–0 in quarterfinals; lost to Fort Wayne 2-0 in semifinals *2014: Defeated

South Bend South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

2–0 in quarterfinals; defeated Fort Wayne 2–0 in semifinals; lost to Kane County 3–0 in finals *2019: Lost to

2-1 in quarterfinals

Roster

Notable franchise alumni

Chris Archer Christopher Alan Archer (born September 26, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins. Archer attended Cla ...

(2007-2009) 2x MLB All-Star * David Bell (1991) *

(1995-1996) * Roberto HernandezKnown as Fausto Carmona during his tenure with Lake County (2003, 2008-2009, 2012) MLB All-Star * Einar Diaz (1993-1994) * Alan Embree (1991) * Maicer Izturis (1999-2000) * Steve Kline (1994) * Ted Kubiak (2010-2011, MGR) * Tim Laker (2002) * Francisco Lindor (2012) 2x MLB All-Star *

Albie Lopez Albert Anthony "Albie" Lopez (born August 18, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He graduated from Mesa Community College. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 20th round of the 1991 Major League Baseball draft. Lopez spent ...

(1992) *

Torey Lovullo Salvatore Anthony "Torey" Lovullo ( ; born July 25, 1965) is an American professional baseball manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB), appointed November 4, 2016. Lovullo served as the first base coach for the Toron ...

(2002, MGR) 2017 NL Manager of the Year * Víctor Martínez (2000) 5x MLB All-Star * Dave Mlicki (1991) * Eli Morgan (2018) * Jhonny Peralta (2000) 3x MLB All-Star * Scott Radinsky (2005, coach) * Jose Ramirez (2012) MLB All-Star * CC Sabathia (1999) 6x MLB All-Star; 2007 AL Cy Young Award * Danny Salazar (2009-2010) MLB All-Star *

Marco Scutaro Marcos Scutaro, better known as Marco Scutaro, (; born October 30, 1975) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder. He bats and throws right-handed. Scutaro made his major league debut with the New York Mets in 2002, and subsequentl ...

(1996) MLB All-Star *

Richie Sexson Richmond Lockwood Sexson (born December 29, 1974), nicknamed "Big Sexy", is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman who played for five teams from 1997 to 2008. He is also the field manager for the Windy City ThunderBolts in the ...

(1994) 2x MLB All-Star * Kelly Stinnett (1991) * Eric Wedge (1998, MGR) 2007 AL Manager of the Year * Jaret Wright (1995) * Steven Wright (2007, 2011) MLB All-Star

Captains Call-Up Club

The names of all Captains players and franchise alumni who have advanced to play Major League Baseball are all enshrined in the Lake County Captains Call-Up Club at Classic Park. The Call-Up Club also includes former Captains coaches and managers who've made it to Major League Baseball coaching staffs as well. A new wall of bronze plaques was installed at the main entrance of Classic Park in August of the 2017 season. The previous "Walk of Fame" started in the outfield of Classic Park and was moved to an interior wall of the ballpark near the right field corner of the stadium.

References

External links

*
Statistics from Baseball-Reference
{{Midwest League Baseball teams established in 2003 Midwest League teams Defunct South Atlantic League teams Cleveland Guardians minor league affiliates Lake County, Ohio Baseball teams in Cleveland Professional baseball teams in Ohio 2003 establishments in Ohio High-A Central teams