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Thunder Bay Border Cats

FieldValue
nameThunder Bay Border Cats
logoThunder Bay Border Cats logo.png
leagueNorthwoods League
locationThunder Bay, Ontario
stadiumPort Arthur Stadium
founded2003
league_champs2 (2005, 2008)
colorsRed, black, white
mascotBoomer
managerJoe Ellison
division_champs3 (2005, 2006, 2008)

The Thunder Bay Border Cats are a baseball team that plays in the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league. The league's only Canadian team, their home games are played at Port Arthur Stadium in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

The Border Cats have been Northwoods League champions twice, defeating the Madison Mallards two games to one in both 2005 and 2008. They also were in the Northwoods League championship in 2006, but lost to the Rochester Honkers.

As of 2024, the Border Cats have sent 14 players to the major leagues. Matt Mangini was the first to make the jump, playing 11 games for the Seattle Mariners in 2011. Shortstop Jonathan Diaz followed two years later, playing four games with the Boston Red Sox in 2013. Diaz also spent time with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2014, almost making the team out of spring training. Pitcher Blaine Hardy became a regular in the Detroit Tigers bullpen in 2014. Seth Frankoff pitched in one game for the Chicago Cubs, while A.J. Schugel spent time with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Wes Parsons is currently with the Toronto Blue Jays in a relief role.

The Border Cats sat out the 2020, 2021 and 2022 seasons due to "the ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic regarding the Canada-US border closure as well as outdoor gathering numbers". A travel team known as the Minnesota Mud Puppies, based in the Twin Cities region, played the Border Cats' originally scheduled 36 road games during the 2021 season. The Border Cats ultimately returned for the 2023 season.

2009 All-Star Game

The 2009 Northwoods League All-Star Game was held on July 21 in Thunder Bay. This was the first time the All-Star game played in Canada. The guest speaker for the event was Ferguson Jenkins, a Canadian member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. The game was won 4-2 by the South Division squad, led by the MVP performance of Kurtis Muller, who went 3-for-5.

Notable active alumni & those reaching Majors

NamePositionTeamsStatusMLB Years
Jonathan DiazINFBoston Red Sox, Toronto Blue JaysRetired
Matt ManginiINFSeattle MarinersNot active
A.J. SchugelRHPPittsburgh PiratesRetired
Ryan Court3BSeattle MarinersRetired
Blaine HardyRHPDetroit Tigers, Milwaukee BrewersRetired
Jason VoslerSSSan Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle MarinersActive (AAA)
Michael PapierskiCSeattle MarinersActive (AAA)
Greg WeissertRPNew York Yankees, Boston Red SoxActive (AAA)
Wes ParsonsRHPAtlanta Braves, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland GuardiansActive (Released)
Seth FrankoffRHPChicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, Arizona DiamondbacksRetired
Jacob RobsonOFDetroit TigersRetired
Matthew Batten2BSan Diego PadresActive (AAA)
Penn MurfeeRPSeattle Mariners, Chicago White SoxActive (AAA)
Brandon WilliamsonSPCincinnati RedsActive (IL)
Billy Cook1BPittsburgh PiratesActive
Andy WeberSSAmarillo (AA)Active

Year-by-year records

YearLeagueDivisionWLW%ManagerPlayoffs
2003Northwoods LeagueNorth3133.484Mitch Dunn
2004Northwoods LeagueNorth3232.500Mitch Dunn
2005Northwoods LeagueNorth4424.647Chad Miller
2006Northwoods LeagueNorth2938.433John Herrera
2007Northwoods LeagueNorth2840.412Jared Manske
2008Northwoods LeagueNorth4226.618Devin McIntosh
2009Northwoods LeagueNorth2741.397Joel Barta
2010Northwoods LeagueNorth3138.449Mike Steed
2011Northwoods LeagueNorth2940.420Mike Steed
2012Northwoods LeagueNorth3237.449Andy Judkins
2013Northwoods LeagueNorth2149.300Dan Holcomb
2014Northwoods LeagueNorth2349.319John Hernandez
2015Northwoods LeagueNorth3338.465Danny Benedetti
2016Northwoods LeagueNorth2151.282Danny Benedetti
2017Northwoods LeagueNorth2743.386Mitch Feller
2018Northwoods LeagueNorth2250.306Mitch Feller
2019Northwoods LeagueGreat Plains East2447.338Eric Vasquez
2023Northwoods LeagueGreat Plains East2741.397J.M. Kelly
2024Northwoods LeagueGreat Plains East3534.507J.M. Kelly
2025Northwoods LeagueGreat Plains East------Joe Elliott
TOTAL----558751.426--

References

References

  1. Millea, John. (2004-07-27). "Fielding big dreams". [[Star Tribune]].
  2. "Northwoods League Official Colors (1994 through present)".
  3. Milewski, Todd. (2005-08-22). "Mallards Dethroned By Late Run". [[The Capital Times]].
  4. Reichard, Kevin. (March 5, 2021). "Thunder Bay drops out of 2021 Northwoods League season". August Publications.
  5. "Minnesota Mud Puppies".
  6. "Border Cats return to field with commanding win".
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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