The Kingsport Axmen are a

summer collegiate baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

team of the

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

. They are located in

Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It lies along the Holston River and had a population of 55,442 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, ...

, and play their home games at

Hunter Wright Stadium Hunter Wright Stadium is a baseball park in Kingsport, Tennessee, named for the popular multi-term former mayor. It is the home field of Kingsport Axmen of the summer collegiate Appalachian League. It was previously home to the Kingsport Mets, a ...

. The team was known as the Kingsport Road Warriors for a brief period late in the 2021 season.

History

Previous Kingsport teams

Professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

was first played in

, by the Kingsport Indians in the

from 1921 to 1925. The team went dormant for 12 years before it returned to the circuit as the

Kingsport Cherokees Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It lies along the Holston River and had a population of 55,442 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, wh ...

from 1938 to 1955—with the exception of the 1942 season as the Kingsport Dodgers and as members of the Mountain States League in 1953 and 1954. The club was later known as the

Kingsport Orioles Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It lies along the Holston River and had a population of 55,442 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, wh ...

(1957),

Kingsport Pirates Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It lies along the Holston River and had a population of 55,442 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, wh ...

(1960–1963),

Kingsport Royals Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It lies along the Holston River and had a population of 55,442 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, w ...

(1969–1973), and Kingsport Braves (1974–1979). The

Kingsport Mets The Kingsport Mets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League from 1921 to 2020. They were located in Kingsport, Tennessee, and were last named for the team's major league affiliate, the New York Mets. The team played its home g ...

were members of the Appy League from 1980 to 2020, except for the 1983 season when the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

temporarily relocated the team to

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

, as the

Gulf Coast League Mets The Florida Complex League Mets are a Rookie-level affiliate for the New York Mets, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Mets. The team plays its home games at ...

, while their home ballpark was being renovated.

Collegiate summer team

In conjunction with a contraction of

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was reorganized as a collegiate summer baseball league, and the Kingsport Mets were replaced by a new franchise in the revamped league designed for rising college freshmen and sophomores. The new team became known as the Kingsport Axmen. The nickname was in reference to frontiersman

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

, who began the

Wilderness Road The Wilderness Road was one of two principal routes used by colonial and early national era settlers to reach Kentucky from the East. Although this road goes through the Cumberland Gap into southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee, the other ...

in Kingsport. The Axmen play their home games at

. Boyd Sports oversees the day-to day operations of the team. On July 15,

USA Baseball The United States Baseball Federation, doing business as USA Baseball, is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that acts as the national Sports governing body, governing body for baseball in the United States. USA Baseball ...

canceled the rest of the Kingsport Axmen's 2021 season after a player was arrested for making threats "to kill multiple people." A new team, called the Kingsport Road Warriors, was assembled to fill the Axmen's remaining schedule, which was to consist of only road games. Two weeks later, the team was cleared to return to Hunter Wright Stadium and resume use of the Axmen moniker.

References

External links

* {{Tennessee Sports 2021 establishments in Tennessee Amateur baseball teams in Tennessee Appalachian League teams Baseball teams established in 2021 Kingsport, Tennessee