BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: Spartanburg gets a minor league baseball team, plans downtown stadium

Baseball Primer Newsblog
— The Best News Links from the Baseball Newsstand

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Spartanburg gets a minor league baseball team, plans downtown stadium

Minor league baseball will return to Spartanburg for the first time in three decades when a Texas Rangers Class A affiliate moves into a new stadium to be built downtown next to the A.C. Hotel.

The Down East Wood Ducks, currently based in Kinston, N.C., will relocate to Spartanburg and could start playing as early as the 2025 season, according to a news release shared with The Post and Courier.

The Rangers recently sold the team to Diamond Baseball Holdings, one of the largest owners of minor-league teams. The company owns another team in South Carolina, the Augusta GreenJackets, which plays in North Augusta. There’s no word whether the Wood Ducks will get a new name.

RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: May 24, 2023 at 03:21 PM | 4 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: minor league baseball

Reader Comments and Retorts

Go to end of page

Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.

1. Walt Davis Posted: May 24, 2023 at 04:36 PM (#6129949)

Sad to see Kinston lose its team. I only made it out there a couple of times but true small-town baseball. I suppose Kinston's not all that small anymore.

2. VCar Posted: May 24, 2023 at 06:50 PM (#6129977)

Had a client in Spartanburg about 5 years ago so spent some time there. Downtown is actually more vibrant than I would have expected - good restaurant district and decent pubs. I guess Wofford doesn;t have a b.b. field that could double as a minor league field.

3. Steve Parris, Je t'aime Posted: May 25, 2023 at 07:59 AM (#6130033)

Ahh, too bad. The stadium in Kinston is charming in a Bull Durham way; nothing flashy.

I went to a Kinston Indians game maybe 20 years ago and talked to a guy who'd been going for a while. He'd seen the great Indians hitters who came through in the '80s and '90s: Manny, Albert Belle, Thome, etc. A staggering amount of talent. We were both convinced Ryan Garko was going to be the next one (looking back at his numbers, he was putting up an OPS over 1000 and would be in AAA by the end of the year).

The town seemed pretty drab and I wasn't surprised when the Indians left. But the Wood Ducks arrived in 2017, and when I saw a game around then the town looked like it was on the rebound. Hopefully they'll get baseball back again.

4. Starring Bradley Scotchman as RMc Posted: May 25, 2023 at 10:02 PM (#6130152)

Too bad. The name "Down East Wood Ducks" is kinda cool, and not nearly as stupid as 90% of the current crop of MiLB names (Rumble Ponies, Trash Pandas, Baby Cakes, Yard Goats, et. al., I'm #$%^ looking at you)...

You must be Registered and Logged In to post comments.

<< Back to main

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Spartanburg gets a minor league baseball team, plans downtown stadium

Reader Comments and Retorts

BBTF Partner

Support BBTF

Hot Topics