Beloit Sky Carp

The Beloit Sky Carp are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Beloit, Wisconsin, and play their home games at ABC Supply Stadium. They previously played at Harry C. Pohlman Field from its opening in 1982 until moving into their current ballpark in August 2021.

Originally known as the Beloit Brewers from 1982 to 1994 and the Beloit Snappers from 1995 to 2021, the team played in the Class A Midwest League from 1982 to 2020. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's reorganization of Minor League Baseball in 2021, Beloit was shifted to the High-A Central, though this was renamed the Midwest League in 2022. The team rebranded as the Sky Carp prior to the 2022 season.

History

The Beloit Brewers joined the Midwest League as an expansion franchise in 1982. The club was a Milwaukee Brewers farm team from its inception through 2004. Beloit switched to the Minnesota Twins' farm system for the 2005 season. The organization adopted the Snappers nickname in 1995 after using its parent team's nickname for its first 13 seasons. The Snappers' name was inspired by the history of the Beloit area, which includes Turtle Creek, a local town named Turtle, and turtle-shaped burial mounds near Beloit College.

After the Brewers and Snappers ended their affiliation, efforts were started to build a new stadium similar to the facilities used by the Rockford RiverHawks or the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. One possible scenario involved construction on a site near Janesville, which could have included renaming the team to reflect a broader Rock County audience. However, no new stadium was built and improvements, including redoing the entire field and repairing the concrete concourse, were made to the existing site. After the 2012 season, the city of Beloit appropriated $100,000 in order to completely redo the outfield. The outfield was raised and leveled with the infield and a new sprinkler system was installed.

In September 2018, the team entered into the process of being sold to a new group of investors who planned to build a new ballpark in downtown Beloit. The sale was cancelled in May 2020 amid uncertainty surrounding the Professional Baseball Agreement between Minor and Major League Baseball set to expire after the 2020 season. The group, led by Quint Studer, retained the right to operate the Snappers in 2020 and continued to move forward with plans to build a new stadium. On June 15, 2020, construction began on the new ABC Supply Stadium. The Snappers started the 2021 season at Pohlman Field, and played their first game at ABC Supply Stadium on August 3.

Prior to the 2021 season, the Snappers were organized into the High-A Central. Plans to rebrand the team for the 2021 season, with a new name selected through a "name the team contest" and a new mascot, were postponed until 2022. In November 2021, the team rebranded as the Beloit Sky Carp, taking their new moniker from a nickname for geese. In July 2022, the Sky Carp welcomed their new mascot Poopsie, who was named after a term of endearment used toward a child or significant other. In 2022, the High-A Central became known as the Midwest League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.

Former players The 2003 team included two sons of former major league players. Prince Fielder, the son of former American League home run champion Cecil Fielder and Tony Gwynn Jr., son of Tony Gwynn. Future major leaguer Danny Valencia played for the 2007 team. Another noted major leaguer, Jim Morris of The Rookie fame played for the Beloit Brewers when he came out of college in the 1980s. Other former Snappers players who moved on to major league ball include Greg Vaughn, Geoff Jenkins, Jeff D'Amico, Ron Belliard, and Yovani Gallardo. Minnesota Twins players that have come through include Matt Garza and Kevin Slowey.

Roster

Season-by-season record Season-by-season recordYear Regular season Postseason Record Win % Record Win % Result 1982 71–68 .511 6th 2nd 13.5 — — — 1983 66–71 .482 9th 3rd 8.5 — — — 1984 86–53 .619 2nd 1st — 0–2 .000 Lost semifinals vs. Springfield Cardinals, 2–0 1985 79–57 .581 2nd 1st — 1–2 .333 Lost semifinals vs. Peoria Chiefs, 2–1 1986 70–69 .504 6th 2nd 7.5 — — — 1987 76–64 .543 3rd 1st — 1–2 .333 Lost semifinals vs. Kenosha Twins, 2–1 1988 66–74 .471 8th 3rd 18 — — — 1989 62–72 .463 10th 6th 24 — — — 1990 72–63 .533 7th 3rd 5.5 — — — 1991 70–67 .511 6th 3rd 6.5 — — — 1992 77–58 .570 4th 1st — 4–4 .500 Won semifinals vs. Appleton Foxes, 2–1Lost MWL Championship vs. Cedar Rapids Reds, 3–2 1993 60–74 .448 10th 7th 19 — — — 1994 76–64 .543 3rd 2nd 13.5 — — — 1995 88–51 .633 1st 1st — 7–1 .875 Won quarterfinals vs. Rockford Cubbies, 2–0Won semifinals vs. Quad Cities River Bandits, 2–1Won MWL Championship vs. Michigan Battle Cats, 3–0 1996 88–51 .633 1st 1st — 1–2 .333 Lost quarterfinals vs. Rockford Cubbies, 2–1 1997 60–73 .451 11th 5th 13 — — — 1998 64–75 .460 12th 5th 9 — — — 1999 59–80 .424 14th 5th 20 — — — 2000 71–64 .526 t-5th 3rd 5.5 4–5 .444 Won quarterfinals vs. Clinton LumberKings, 2–1Won semifinals vs. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, 2–1Lost MWL Championship vs. Michigan Battle Cats, 3–0 2001 67–71 .486 7th 4th 21 0–2 .000 Lost quarterfinals vs. Kane County Cougars, 2–0 2002 57–82 .410 12th 7th 28.5 — — — 2003 71–65 .551 2nd 2nd 3.5 4–4 .500 Won quarterfinals vs. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, 2–0Won semifinals vs. Clinton LumberKings, 2–1Lost MWL Championship vs. Lansing Lugnuts, 3–0 2004 72–68 .514 t-7th 5th 11.5 — — — 2005 69–71 .493 8th 4th 7.5 1–2 .333 Lost quarterfinals vs. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, 2–1 2006 74–64 .536 6th 4th 4.5 2–3 .400 Won quarterfinals vs. Peoria Chiefs, 2–1Lost semifinals vs. Kane County Cougars, 2–0 2007 79–61 .564 2nd 1st — 6–3 .667 Won quarterfinals vs. Quad Cities River Bandits, 2–0Won semifinals vs. Clinton LumberKings, 2–0Lost MWL Championship vs. West Michigan Whitecaps, 3–2 2008 71–67 .514 8th 5th 7.5 — — — 2009 57–83 .407 13th 14th 25.0 — — — 2010 71–65 .522 7th 4th 11.0 — — — 2011 69–69 .500 8th 3rd 12.5 — — — 2012 77–63 .550 4th 2nd 1.5 1–2 .333 Lost quarterfinals vs. Clinton LumberKings, 2–1 2013 77–62 .554 5th 3rd 11.5 2–2 .500 Won quarterfinals vs. Clinton LumberKings, 2–0Lost semifinals vs. Quad Cities River Bandits, 2–0 2014 55–84 .396 16th 8th 35.5 — — — 2015 55–84 .396 14th 6th 33.5 — — — 2016 65–77 .458 15th 8th 26.5 — — — 2017 65–73 .471 11th 5th 14.0 — — — 2018 69–69 .500 — 5th 11.0 — — — 2019 54–84 .391 — 7th 26.5 — — — 2021 55–65 .458 — 4th 14.0 — — — 2022 62-67 .481 — 4th 8.0 — — — 2023 56–75 .427 — 5th 25.5 — — —202460-69.465—4th16.0———202568-63.519—3rd5.51-2.333Lost MWL Western Division Finals vs Cedar Rapids Kernels, 2-1202666-65.504—4th12.5——— Totals 2,696–2,664 — — — 35–38 .479 1 MWL Championship

Notable alumni Baseball Hall of Fame alumni

Paul Molitor (1990) Inducted, 2004

Non-HOF and current players

Skye Bolt Matt Chapman (2014) MLB All-Star, 3x MLB Gold Glove Award Matt Olson (2013) Ryan Dull (2013) Miguel Sano (2012) MLB All-Star Brian Dozier (2010) MLB All-Star Eddie Rosario (2012) 2021 NLCS MVP J. J. Hardy (2010) 2 x MLB All-Star Aaron Hicks (2010) Ben Revere (2008) Yangervis Solarte (2008) Wilson Ramos (2007) 2014 Tony Conigliaro Award Danny Valencia (2007) Brian Duensing (2006) Matt Garza (2005) Evan Meek (2005) MLB All-Star Trevor Plouffe (2005) Carlos Silva (2005) Kevin Slowey (2005) Chris Capuano (2004) MLB All-Star Yovani Gallardo (2004) MLB All-Star Carlos Villanueva (2004) Tony Gwynn Jr. (2003) Manny Parra (2003) Rickie Weeks (2003) MLB All-Star Tom Wilhelmsen (2003) Mike Adams (2002) Prince Fielder (2002–03) 6 x MLB All-Star; 2007 NL Home Run Leader; 2009 NL RBI Leader Geoff Jenkins (2001) MLB All-Star Mark Leiter (2001) Bill Hall (2000) Don Money (2000–04, MGR) 4 x MLB All-Star Fernando Vina (1999) MLB All-Star Chad Fox (1998) Mike Matheny (1998) José Valentín (1997) Ronnie Belliard (1995) MLB All-Star Jeff D'Amico (1995, 1997) Kevin Seitzer (1994) 2 x MLB All-Star; Cory Lidle (1996) Died: Age 34 Greg Vaughn (1994) 4 x MLB All-Star Mike Boddicker (1993) MLB All-Star Jeff Cirillo (1992) MLB All-Star Teddy Higuera (1992) MLB All-Star Darren Holmes (1991) Ed Nunez (1991) Jim Gantner (1990) Bill Krueger (1990) Greg Brock Cal Eldred (1989) Paul Mirabella (1989) Dale Sveum (1989) Pat Listach (1988) 1992 AL Rookie of the Year Dave Nilsson (1988, 1998) MLB All-Star Steve Sparks (1988) John Jaha (1987, 1995, 1998) MLB All-Star Bill Spiers (1987, 1992) Greg Vaughn (1987) Narciso Elvira (1987) Doug Henry (1986) Randy Veres (1986) B.J. Surhoff (1985) MLB All-Star Tom Candiotti (1984) MLB All-Star Jim Morris (1984–85) subject: The Rookie Jeff Parrett (1984) Chris Bosio (1983–84, 1990) MLB All-Star Chuck Crim (1983, 1990) Juan Nieves (1983) Bill Wegman (1982, 1990)

References

External links

Statistics from Baseball-Reference