The Wisconsin Rapids Twins were a Class A

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 ...

team that existed from 1963 to 1983, playing in 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 reorganizat ...

. Affiliated with the Washington Senators (1963) and 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

(1964-1983), they were located in Wisconsin Rapids,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, United States. They played their home games at Witter Field. The franchise evolved from the Wisconsin Rapids White Sox of the

Wisconsin State League The Wisconsin State League was a class D level baseball league that began in 1905, changing its name to the Wisconsin–Illinois League in 1908 and operating through 1914. The league re–organized under that name in 1926. Another Wisconsin Stat ...

(1940–42, 1946–53). For the 1984 season, the franchise became the

Kenosha Twins The Kenosha Twins were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Kenosha, Wisconsin, from 1984 to 1992. They began play in the Midwest League in 1984 when the Wisconsin Rapids Twins relocated. The team played their home games at Simmons Fie ...

, moving to

Kenosha, Wisconsin Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Wisconsin, fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. S ...

. Despite the fact that they existed for 21 seasons, the Twins were Midwest League Champions only once, defeating the Danville Warriors 2 games to 1 and winning the 1973

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

, after having lost to the

Appleton Foxes Appleton may refer to: People and fictional characters * Appleton (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters * Appleton family, an American political, religious and mercantile family * Appleton P. Clark Jr. (1865–1955), Am ...

in the 1967 Championship Series.

Ballpark

They played their home games at Witter Field, located at 521 Lincoln Street in

Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin Wisconsin Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Wisconsin River. The population was 18,877 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Marshfield, Wisconsin, M ...

. Built in 1928, it served as the home park for multiple

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

teams: the Wisconsin Rapids White Sox (1941–42; 1946–53) of the Class-D

. The League folded after the 1953 season, leaving Witter without professional baseball until a new team in the Class-A

started play. The

Wisconsin Rapids Senators Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

(1963) and Wisconsin Rapids Twins (1964–1983) would play for the next two decades. Following the 1983 season, the franchise moved to Simmons Field in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Today, the park is home to the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters of the summer collegiate

Northwoods League The Northwoods League is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league. All players in the league must have National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA eligibility remaining in order to participate. The league is amateur, and players are not ...

, who began play in 2010 .

Notable alumni

The player to win the first Triple Crown in Midwest League history played for the Twins – Elmore "Moe" Hill. In 1974, he led the league with a .339 average, 32 home runs and 113 RBI. * Allan Anderson (1983) 1988 AL ERA Leader *

Steve Barber Stephen David Barber (February 22, 1938 – February 4, 2007) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed pitcher. He pitched for the Baltimore Orioles and six other teams from 1960 to 1974. Barber spent his first eight years with th ...

(1969) 2 x MLB All-Star * Randy Bass (1973) * Steve Braun (1967) * Bud Bulling (1975–76) * Bill Campbell (1971) MLB All-Star; 1977 AL Saves Leader * John Castino (1976) 1979 AL Rookie of the Year *

Rick Dempsey John Rikard Dempsey (born September 13, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player.Jim Eisenreich James Michael Eisenreich ( ; born April 18, 1959) is an American former Major League Baseball player with a 15-year career from 1982 to 1984 and 1987 to 1998. He played for the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals of the American League, and th ...

(1980–81) First Recipient of Tony Conigliaro Award *

Gary Gaetti Gary Joseph Gaetti (, ; born August 19, 1958), is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins (1981–1990), California Angels (1991–1993), Kansas City Royals (1993– ...

(1980) 2 x MLB All-Star * Jerry Garvin (1974) * Johnny Goryl (1970, 1973–75, MGR) *

Tom Hall Tom Hall (born September 2, 1964) is an American video game designer best known for his work with id Software on titles such as '' Doom'', '' Wolfenstein 3D'' and ''Commander Keen''. He has also been the co-founder of Ion Storm, together wit ...

(1967) *

Kent Hrbek Kent Alan Hrbek (; born May 21, 1960), nicknamed "Herbie", is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 14-year baseball career with the Minnesota Twins (1981–1994). Hrbek batted left-handed and threw right-ha ...

(1980) MLB AS * Pat Kelly (1964) MLB All-Star * Dave McKay (1971) *

Charlie Manuel Charles Fuqua Manuel Jr. (born January 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. During his playing career, he appeared over parts of six Major League Baseball seasons for the Minnesota Twins and Los Angel ...

(1967, MGR 1983) Manager: 2008 World Series Champion - Philadelphia Phillies *

George Mitterwald George Eugene Mitterwald (born June 7, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player, coach (baseball), coach and manager (baseball), manager. He played in 887 Major League Baseball games played, games for the Minnesota Twins and Chic ...

(1965, 1968) *

Graig Nettles Graig Nettles (born August 20, 1944), nicknamed "Puff", is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins (1967–1969), Cleveland Indians (1970–1972), New York Yankee ...

(1966) 6 x MLB All-Star 1976 AL Home Run Leader * Mark Portugal (1982) * Rick Stelmaszek (1978-80 MGR) * Gary Ward (1974) 2 x MLB All-Star * Alvis Woods (1974)

Year-by-year record

References

{{Midwest League Baseball teams established in 1963 Baseball teams disestablished in 1983 Defunct Midwest League teams Professional baseball teams in Wisconsin Minnesota Twins minor league affiliates Washington Senators (1961–1971) minor league affiliates Sports in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin Defunct baseball teams in Wisconsin