| Hickory Crawdads | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
| |||||
| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Class | Single-A (2025–present) | ||||
| Previous classes | |||||
| League | Carolina League (2025–present) | ||||
| Division | South Division | ||||
Previous leagues | South Atlantic League (1993–2024) | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Team | Texas Rangers (2009–present) | ||||
| Previous teams |
| ||||
| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles(3) |
| ||||
| Division titles(4) |
| ||||
| First-half titles(4) |
| ||||
| Second-half titles(5) |
| ||||
| Team data | |||||
| Name | Hickory Crawdads (1993–present) | ||||
| Colors | Red, black, Crawdad blue, white | ||||
| Ballpark | L. P. Frans Stadium (1993–present) | ||||
Owner/ Operator | Diamond Baseball Holdings | ||||
| General manager | Douglas Locascio | ||||
| Manager | Carlos Maldonado | ||||
| Website | milb.com/hickory | ||||
TheHickory Crawdads are aMinor League Baseball (MiLB) team of theCarolina League and theSingle-A affiliate of theTexas Rangers. They are located inHickory, North Carolina, and play their home games atL. P. Frans Stadium, which opened in 1993 and has roughly 4,000 fixed seats.
Established in 1993 as members of the South Atlantic League (SAL), the Crawdads were affiliated with theChicago White Sox through 1998. They became afarm club of thePittsburgh Pirates in 1999 and won theSouth Atlantic League championship in 2002 and 2004. Hickory has been affiliated with the Texas Rangers since 2009. The Crawdads won a third SAL championship in 2015. They moved to the High-A East in 2021, but this was renamed the South Atlantic League in 2022. They joined the Carolina League in 2025.
SeveralMinor League Baseball (MiLB) teams known as theHickory Rebels played inHickory, North Carolina, intermittently from 1936 to 1960.[1] Local businessman Don Beaver purchased theGastonia Rangers and relocated them fromGastonia, North Carolina, to Hickory for the 1993 season.[2] Prior to the move, the Gastonia team had served as a minor-league affiliate of both the Rangers and theMontreal Expos.
Fans were invited to submit suggestions for the team's name. Among the finalists were "Woodchucks", "River Rats", "Valley Cats", and "Hound Dogs".[3] The chosen name, "Crawdads", was selected because of the animals' strength and presence in local waterways.[3]
The Crawdads played in theSouth Atlantic League (SAL) as theClass A affiliate of theChicago White Sox in their inaugural 1993 season. The six-year affiliation regularly had Hickory at or near the bottom of the standings, though they did qualify for the playoffs twice. On both occasions, however, they were eliminated without winning any games. The affiliation ended after the 1998 season with team accumulating a 374–464 record over that period.[1]
Hickory entered into a new affiliation with thePittsburgh Pirates in 1999. The Crawdads reached the postseason in five of ten seasons with Pittsburgh. They won twoSouth Atlantic League championships, the first in 2002 and the second in 2004.[4] The affiliation ended after the 2008 season with Hickory going 705–677 over a span of 10 years.[1]
The Crawdads became an affiliate of theTexas Rangers in 2009.[1] Since then, they reached the SAL finals on two occasions and won the championship in 2015.[4] Following the 2017 season, the Rangers purchased the team from Beaver.
In conjunction withMajor League Baseball's restructuring of MiLB in 2021, the Crawdads were organized into theHigh-A East.[5] In 2022, the High-A East became known as the South Atlantic League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.[6]
In July 2024, MiLB announced that the Crawdads, while remaining an affiliate of the Texas Rangers, were to be demoted to class Single-A and join the Carolina League in 2025.[7]
| Season | Regular season | Postseason | MLB affiliate | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record | Win % | League | Division | GB | Record | Win % | Result | |||
| 1993 | 52–88 | .371 | 13th | 6th | 32+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Chicago White Sox | [8] |
| 1994 | 86–54 | .614 | 2nd | 1st | — | 0–2 | .000 | Won Second Half Northern Division title Lost Northern Division title vs.Hagerstown Suns, 2–0[9] | Chicago White Sox | [10] |
| 1995 | 49–89 | .355 | 14th | 7th | 35+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Chicago White Sox | [11] |
| 1996 | 55–85 | .393 | 14th | 6th | 31 | — | — | — | Chicago White Sox | [12] |
| 1997 | 76–64 | .543 | 4th | 2nd | 1 | 0–2 | .000 | Lost quarterfinals vs.Delmarva Shorebirds, 2–0[13] | Chicago White Sox | [14] |
| 1998 | 56–84 | .400 | 13th | 6th | 33+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Chicago White Sox | [15] |
| 1999 | 70–70 | .500 | 6th | 3rd | 12+1⁄2 | 3–2 | .600 | Won quarterfinals vs.Macon Braves, 2–0 Lost semifinals vs.Augusta GreenJackets, 2–1[16] | Pittsburgh Pirates | [17] |
| 2000 | 75–66 | .532 | 4th (tie) | 3rd | 17 | — | — | — | Pittsburgh Pirates | [18] |
| 2001 | 67–73 | .479 | 10th | 5th | 25 | — | — | — | Pittsburgh Pirates | [19] |
| 2002 | 83–56 | .597 | 1st | 1st | — | 5–2 | .714 | Won First Half Northern Division title Won Northern Division title vs.Delmarva Shorebirds, 2–0 WonSAL championship vs.Columbus RedStixx, 3–2[20] | Pittsburgh Pirates | [21] |
| 2003 | 82–54 | .603 | 2nd | 1st | — | 1–2 | .333 | Won First Half Southern Division title Lost Southern Division title vs.Rome Braves, 2–1[22] | Pittsburgh Pirates | [23] |
| 2004 | 85–55 | .607 | 2nd | 1st | — | 5–0 | 1.000 | Won Second Half Northern Division title Won Northern Division title vs.Charleston Alley Cats, 2–0 WonSAL championship vs.Capital City Bombers, 3–0[24] | Pittsburgh Pirates | [25] |
| 2005 | 54–80 | .403 | 15th (tie) | 7th (tie) | 24+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Pittsburgh Pirates | [26] |
| 2006 | 67–70 | .489 | 10th | 5th | 16 | — | — | — | Pittsburgh Pirates | [27] |
| 2007 | 70–66 | .515 | 6th | 2nd | 12 | 1–2 | .333 | Won Second Half Northern Division title Lost Northern Division title vs.West Virginia Power, 2–1[28] | Pittsburgh Pirates | [29] |
| 2008 | 52–87 | .374 | 15th | 7th | 27+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Pittsburgh Pirates | [30] |
| 2009 | 63–76 | .453 | 15th | 7th | 19 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [31] |
| 2010 | 75–64 | .540 | 4th (tie) | 2nd | 9 | 0–2 | .000 | Lost Northern Division title vs.Lakewood BlueClaws, 2–0[32] | Texas Rangers | [33] |
| 2011 | 79–58 | .577 | 1st | 1st | — | 0–2 | .000 | Won First Half Northern Division title Lost Northern Division title vs.Greensboro Grasshoppers, 2–0[34] | Texas Rangers | [35] |
| 2012 | 74–65 | .532 | 5th | 3rd | 9 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [36] |
| 2013 | 76–63 | .547 | 5th | 3rd | 5+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [37] |
| 2014 | 80–59 | .576 | 5th | 3rd | 6+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [38] |
| 2015 | 81–57 | .587 | 3rd | 2nd | 5+1⁄2 | 5–1 | .833 | Won First Half Northern Division title Won Northern Division title vs.West Virginia Power, 2–1 WonSAL championship vs.Asheville Tourists, 3–0[39] | Texas Rangers | [40] |
| 2016 | 74–66 | .529 | 5th | 3rd | 9 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [41] |
| 2017 | 64–76 | .457 | 11th | 6th | 13 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [42] |
| 2018 | 70–68 | .507 | 6th (tie) | 4th (tie) | 17 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [43] |
| 2019 | 83–52 | .615 | 2nd | 2nd | 5+1⁄2 | 3–3 | .500 | Won Second Half Northern Division title Won Northern Division title vs.Delmarva Shorebirds, 2–0 LostSAL championship vs.Lexington Legends, 3–1[44] | Texas Rangers | [45] |
| 2020 | Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)[46] | Texas Rangers | [47] | |||||||
| 2021 | 46–68 | .404 | 11th | 6th | 34 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [48] |
| 2022 | 66–65 | .504 | 6th | 3rd | 12+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [49] |
| 2023 | 70–55 | .560 | 2nd | 1st | — | 0–2 | .000 | Won Second Half Southern Division title Lost Southern Division title vs.Greenville Drive 0-2[50] | Texas Rangers | [51] |
| 2024 | 62 | 70 | 9th | 4th | 14+1⁄2 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [52] |
| 2025 | 68 | 62 | 4th | 3rd | 1 | — | — | — | Texas Rangers | [53] |
| Totals | 2,210–2,165 | .505 | — | — | — | 23–22 | .511 | 3 league titles, 4 division titles, 9 half division titles | — | – |
| Affiliation | Regular season | Postseason | Composite | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record | Win % | Apps. | Record | Win % | Record | Win % | |
| Chicago White Sox (1993–1999) | 374–464 | .446 | 2 | 0–4 | .000 | 374–468 | .444 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates (1999–2008) | 705–677 | .510 | 5 | 15–8 | .652 | 720–685 | .512 |
| Texas Rangers (2009–present) | 1,131–1024 | .525 | 5 | 8—10 | .444 | 1,009–902 | .528 |
| All-time | 2,210–2,165 | .505 | 11 | 23–22 | .535 | 2,103–2,055 | .506 |
Conrad the Crawdad has been the official mascot of the Crawdads since 1993. Conrad, along with his wife Candy, entertain fans during games. The two got engaged on Mother's Day weekend in 2018 and were married in an on-field ceremony on June 24, 2018.
| Players | Coaches/Other |
|---|---|
Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
| Manager
Coaches
|
Four players and two managers have won South Atlantic League awards in recognition for their performance with the Crawdads.
| Award | Recipient | Season | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | J. R. House | 2000 | [54] |
| Most Valuable Player | Walter Young | 2002 | [55] |
| Most Valuable Player | Jorge Cortes | 2003 | [54] |
| Most Valuable Player | Jurickson Profar | 2011 | [56] |
| Most Outstanding Prospect | Walter Young | 2002 | [55] |
| Manager of the Year | Fred Kendall | 1994 | [57] |
| Manager of the Year | Tony Beasley | 2002 | [55] |
