| Knoxville Smokies | |||||
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Class | Double-A (1963–present) | ||||
| Previous classes | |||||
| League | Southern League (1964–present) | ||||
| Division | North Division | ||||
Previous leagues |
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| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Team | Chicago Cubs (2007–present) | ||||
| Previous teams |
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| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles(4) |
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| Division titles(10) |
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| First-half titles(8) |
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| Second-half titles(11) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Name | Knoxville Smokies (2025–present) | ||||
Previous names |
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| Colors | Royal blue, light blue, red, gold, white[1] | ||||
| Mascots | Knox, Jackson, Smokie Joe[2] | ||||
| Ballpark | Covenant Health Park (2025–present) | ||||
Previous parks |
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Owner/ Operator | Boyd Sports[3] | ||||
| General manager | Tim Volk[3] | ||||
| Manager | Lance Rymel | ||||
| Media | MiLB.TV andWKCE | ||||
| Website | milb.com/knoxville | ||||
TheKnoxville Smokies are aMinor League Baseball team based inKnoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in theSouthern League, is theDouble-A affiliate of theChicago Cubs. The team was based inKodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, from 2000 to 2024 as theTennessee Smokies atSmokies Stadium. The team moved intoCovenant Health Park in Knoxville in 2025.[4][5] The team's nickname refers to theGreat Smoky Mountains which permeate the region; mountains in the chain are often clouded in a hazy mist that may appear as smoke rising from the forest.
Knoxville has hostedMinor League Baseball teams since the late 19th century. The city's professional baseball history dates back to 1896 with the formation of theKnoxville Indians who played two seasons in theSoutheastern League.[6] They were followed by theKnoxville Reds (1902–1905). In 1904, the Reds won the city's first professional championship in theTennessee–Alabama League.[6] TheKnoxville Appalachians began play in 1909 as members of the originalClass BSouth Atlantic League. They dropped out of the "Sally League" that season, but continued in theClass D Southeastern League (1910) andAppalachian League (1911–1914). The Appalachians adopted the Reds moniker from the previous Knoxville team in 1912.
The club returned to the South Atlantic loop, now Class B, as the Smokies from 1925 to 1929. On July 22, 1931, theMobile Bears franchise of the A1Southern Association moved to Knoxville and played as the Smokies through July 5, 1944, when the club returned to Mobile. The transfer marked the end of Knoxville's membership in the Southern Association.
In 1946, the Smokies joined the Class BTri-State League and played in it until the loop folded in 1955. But in July 1956, when theMontgomery Rebels of the Class ASouth Atlantic League needed a new home, they transferred to Knoxville. The Smokies'manager that season wasEarl Weaver who was elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame in 1996.
The Smokies were reclassified as Double-A with the rest of the Sally League in 1963, and were charter members of the Sally's successor, the Southern League, in 1964. Apart from a four-year (1968–1971) hiatus, they have continued in the Southern loop ever since.
Knoxville returned in 1972 as the Knoxville White Sox or Knox Sox, theChicago White Sox's Double-A club. They transferred their affiliation to theToronto Blue Jays in 1980, a link that lasted until 1999. For the first 13 of those years, the team was officially known as the Knoxville Blue Jays, or locally referred to as simply the K-Jays. The historic Smokies moniker was reintroduced beginning in the 1993 season.
From 1954 to 1999, Knoxville baseball teams played inBill Meyer Stadium, formerly known as Knoxville Municipal Stadium, on Neal Ridley Field.[7] The stadium was named for Knoxville native son and formerPittsburgh Pirates managerBilly Meyer. The field was named in memory of Neal Ridley, a former team owner, in 1984, following his death the previous year.[8][9]
From 1999 to 2005, the Smokies were the Double-A affiliate of theSt. Louis Cardinals. However, when the Cardinals purchased theEl Paso Diablos, which had been theArizona Diamondbacks' Double-A affiliate, the Diamondbacks retained the Smokies as their new Double-A affiliate. On September 21, 2006, theChicago Cubs, who had previously had a Double-A affiliation with division rivalWest Tenn Diamond Jaxx, reached a two-year player development contract with the Smokies through the 2008 season.
In December 2008, Hall of Famer and former Chicago Cubs All-Star second basemanRyne Sandberg was named manager for the 2009 season. Sandberg led the Smokies to a second-half Southern League North Division crown and a 3–1 divisional playoff series win over theHuntsville Stars. The Smokies would eventually fall 3-games-to-1 to theJacksonville Suns for the 2009 Southern League Championship.
In June 2013, the then-Smokies' ownership group, led byCleveland Browns ownerJimmy Haslam, sold the team toRandy Boyd, a local Knoxville businessman. Though a devoted baseball fan, Boyd is not involved in the day-to-day management of the team, delegating those responsibilities to CEO Doug Kirchhofer and General Manager Brian Cox.[10] In 2016, speculation began that Boyd was wanting to move the Smokies back to Knoxville after he had purchased several parcels in downtown Knoxville. Boyd said he had envisioned a baseball stadium on that site, but at that time had no plans to bring the baseball team back to Knoxville until 2025, when the current stadium contract expires.[11][12]
On July 11, 2014, The Chicago Cubs and Tennessee Smokies announced an extension to their Player Development Contract (PDC) for the maximum possible term of four years. The agreement meant the Smokies were to remain the Cubs' Double-A affiliate through the 2018 season.[13]
On October 22, 2014, the Smokies revealed new logos, colors, and uniforms that reflected their ongoing relationship with the Chicago Cubs organization.[14]
Smokies Stadium experienced its largest baseball attendance ever of 7,958 on May 13, 2017, against the Montgomery Biscuits. The Smokies lost the game 3–1, which was alsoStar Wars Night.[15] The previous attendance record was the 7,866 on July 24, 2015, against the Chattanooga Lookouts. The Smokies won the game 8–4, which was alsoToy Story Night and Daddy-Daughter Date Night.[16]
In conjunction withMajor League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Smokies were organized into theDouble-A South.[17] In 2022, the Double-A South became known as the Southern League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.[18]
In 2021, Tennessee Smokies owner Randy Boyd announced that the team would be moving back to Knoxville in a new stadium built in theOld City neighborhood, with the plans to play at thenew stadium in 2024.[19] It was announced the team would revive its former name of the Knoxville Smokies upon the move.[20][21]
The 2022 Smokies qualified for the Southern League playoffs by virtue of having the second-best full-season record in the Northern Division behind theRocket City Trash Pandas, who won both halves of the season.[22] Tennessee defeated Rocket City, 2–1, to win the Northern Division title and advance to the finals against thePensacola Blue Wahoos.[23]
| Season | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 71–69 | 4th | Rocket Wheeler | — |
| 2001 | 80–60 | 2nd | Rocket Wheeler | — |
| 2002 | 69–71 | 6th | Rocket Wheeler | — |
| 2003 | 72–67 | 4th | Mark DeJohn | Lost toCarolina Mudcats, 3–1, in semifinals |
| 2004 | 69–71 | 6th | Mark DeJohn | DefeatedChattanooga Lookouts, 3–1, in semifinals Declared co–Southern League champions withMobile BayBears* |
| 2005 | 64–76 | 7th | Tony Perezchica | — |
| 2006 | 70–69 | 5th | Bill Plummer | — |
| 2007 | 73–65 | 2nd | Pat Listach | Lost toHuntsville Stars, 3–2, in semifinals |
| 2008 | 62–77 | 5th | Buddy Bailey | — |
| 2009 | 71–69 | 2nd | Ryne Sandberg | DefeatedHuntsville Stars, 3–1, in semifinals Lost toJacksonville Suns, 3–1, in championship |
| 2010 | 86–53 | 1st | Bill Dancy | DefeatedWest Tenn Diamond Jaxx, 3–1, in semifinals Lost toJacksonville Suns, 3–1, in championship |
| 2011 | 83–57 | 1st | Brian Harper | DefeatedChattanooga Lookouts, 3–0, in semifinals Lost toMobile BayBears, 3–1, in championship |
| 2012 | 72–68 | 3rd | Buddy Bailey | — |
| 2013 | 76–62 | T-1st | Buddy Bailey | Lost toBirmingham Barons, 3–2, in semifinals |
| 2014 | 66–73 | 2nd | Buddy Bailey | — |
| 2015 | 76–63 | 3rd | Buddy Bailey | — |
| 2016 | 58–81 | 9th | Mark Johnson | — |
| 2017 | 68–70 | T-6th | Mark Johnson | — |
| 2018 | 67–71 | T-5th | Mark Johnson | — |
| 2019 | 58–81 | 9th | Jimmy Gonzalez | — |
| 2020 | Cancelled due toCOVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2021 | 46–63 | 7th | Mark Johnson | — |
| 2022 | 71–66 | 2nd | Michael Ryan | DefeatedRocket City Trash Pandas, 2–1, in semifinals Lost toPensacola Blue Wahoos, 2–1, in championship |
| 2023 | 75–62 | 1st | Michael RyanM Kevin Graber | DefeatedChattanooga Lookouts, 2–0, in semifinals DefeatedPensacola Blue Wahoos, 2–0, in championship |
| 2024 | 87–50 | 1st | Lance Rymel | Lost toBirmingham Barons, 2–1, in semifinals |
| Totals | 1,690–1,614 | — | — | 2 League titles, 6 Division titles |
* Due toHurricane Ivan, the finals series was cancelled. Tennessee andMobile were declared co-champions.
All Smokies games are shown live onMiLB.TV. Some games are televised onMarquee Sports Network, which is not available in Tennessee. All games are also broadcast on 92.5 WKCE and AM 1180 in Knoxville. The current voice of the Smokies is Mick Gillispie. The secondary broadcaster is Andy Brock. The pre and postgame shows are hosted by Jackson Williams and Joseph Bonanno.Bear Trax is a weekly television show hosted by Mick Gillispie and Charlie Walter about the Smokies and airs at 11pm ET onWTNZ Fox43.
| Players | Coaches/Other |
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Pitchers
Catchers Infielders
Outfielders
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 Sports teams based inTennessee | ||
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| Baseball |  | |
| Basketball | ||
| Football | ||
| Hockey | ||
| Roller derby | ||
| Soccer | ||
| College athletics (NCAA Division I) | ||
