Tigers & Mud Hens Affiliation Continues
The Toledo Mud Hens and Detroit Tigers today announced a two-year working relationship through the 2012 season. This extends the affiliation between these two historic franchises that began in 1987.
The Toledo Mud Hens finished the 2008 campaign with an overall record of 75-69. This marked their fourth consecutive winning season – the first such streak for the franchise since 1941-44. The team attracted 584,596 fans in 2008 and welcomed their 4-millionth fan to Fifth Third Field on the final home game last season.
Toledo President/General Manager, Joseph Napoli said, “Since moving downtown to Fifth Third Field in 2002, the Toledo Mud Hens have enjoyed the best stretch of baseball in the history of the franchise with a record of 533-470 (.531). Dave Dombrowski, Al Avila, Dan Lunetta, and Glenn Ezell have made a commitment to provide the fans of Toledo with a team that they can be proud of and for that, we are thankful. We look forward to the continuation of this partnership which is currently the 6th longest in Triple-A baseball.”
Toledo Mud Hen Chairman, Mike Miller added, “We look forward to extending our player development contract with the Detroit Tigers. The relationship continues to be very beneficial for all parties.
Detroit Tigers’ Director of Minor League Operations, Dan Lunetta said, "We are thrilled and delighted to be entering into this agreement to extend our affiliation an additional two years. The Mud Hens represent everything a major league organization looks for in an affiliate relationship and this is and has been a perfect fit for each other for many years and hopefully for many more years to come. Toledo is an integral part of our developmental process and the fan support we have received has certainly played a role in the success of our back to back championships."
Lunetta added, "The Tigers are very appreciative of the way the Mud Hens and the Toledo community treat our players and staff and we are very proud to be associated with the Mud Hens organization. Mike Miller and Joe Napoli run a first class organization in every respect. The affiliate relationship is much more than what takes place on the field and our agreement to extend to 2012 reflects the strength of that relationship."
Detroit’s 2008 roster had plenty of former Mud Hens – 33 total: OF Brent Clevlen, OF Curtis Granderson, 3B Mike Hessman, 2B Michael Hollimon, 3B Brandon Inge, OF Matt Joyce, 1B Jeff Larish, OF Ryan Raburn, C Dusty Ryan, SS Ramon Santiago, C Dane Sardinha, OF Marcus Thames, OF Clete Thomas, RHP Denny Bautista, RHP Yorman Bazardo, RHP Francis Beltran, RHP Eddie Bonine , RHP Francisco Cruceta, RHP Freddy Dolsi, LHP Casey Fossum, RHP Armando Galarraga, RHP Freddy Garcia, RHP Gary Glover, RHP Jason Grilli, RHP Chris Lambert, RHP Aquilino Lopez, RHP Zach Miner, LHP Clay Rapada, LHP Nate Robertson, RHP Fernando Rodney, LHP Bobby Seay, LHP Dontrelle Willis, and RHP Joel Zumaya all wore Mud Hens jerseys at some point during their career.
Longest Running Triple-A Affiliate Relationships
Triple-A Club Major League Club First Year
Richmond/Gwinnett Braves Atlanta Braves 1966
Omaha Royals Kansas City Royals 1969
Pawtucket Red Sox Boston Red Sox 1973
Iowa Cubs Chicago Cubs 1981
Oklahoma City RedHawks Texas Rangers 1983
Toledo Mud Hens Detroit Tigers 1987
Toledo Affiliation History
1987-Current Detroit Tigers
1978-1986 Minnesota Twins
1976-1977 Cleveland Indians
1974-1975 Philadelphia Phillies
1967-1973 Detroit Tigers
1965-1966 New York Yankees
1956-1964 No baseball in Toledo
1953-1955 Milwaukee Braves
1949-1952 Detroit Tigers
1940-1948 St. Louis Browns
1936-1939 Detroit Tigers
1883-1935 No affiliation
Press Release Contact Name: Jason Griffin
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Press Release Contact Phone: (419) 725-4371
Organization Name: Toledo Mud Hens Baseball Club
Website or Link: www.mudhens.com
Organization Address: Toledo, OH