The Down East Wood Ducks were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers . They were located in Kinston, North Carolina , and are named for the wood duck , a colorful local waterfowl. Established in 2017, the team played its home games at Grainger Stadium , which opened in 1949 and holds 4,100 people.
25-565: The Rangers signed a 12-year contract with the city to provide a team to play at Grainger Stadium beginning with the 2017 season. They were members of the Carolina League from 2017 to 2020. With the 2021 restructuring of the minor leagues, the Wood Ducks were placed in the Low-A East, though this was renamed the Carolina League and reclassified as Single-A in 2022. Their lone Carolina League title
50-539: A Single-A circuit. In May 2023, the Texas Rangers sold the Wood Ducks to Diamond Baseball Holdings , which owns and operates many minor league baseball teams across the United States. The team will move to Fifth Third Park in downtown Spartanburg, South Carolina , for the 2025 season. The team will be named the "Hub City Spartanburgers". In July 2024, MiLB announced that the relocated team will remain an affiliate of
75-599: A name the team contest were satisfactory and picked a name of their own choosing, the Eagles . During the Wood Ducks' inaugural season in 2017, they were crowned co-champions of the Carolina League by defeating the Myrtle Beach Pelicans . Down East and the Lynchburg Hillcats were declared co-champions as a result of the playoffs being called off because of Hurricane Irma . In September 2017, Ballpark Digest named
100-438: A team to Kinston and that there would be a naming contest for the fans. On September 16, the team announced the finalists in the contest: Down East Eagles, Down East HamHawks, Down East Hogzillas, Down East Shaggers, and Down East Wood Ducks. At first, the names drew negative reaction from fans who were upset that the team would not be known by the town name, that Kinston was not part of "Down East" North Carolina , and that some of
125-547: A three-season gap in the mid-1970s. But in late 2010, Carolina Mudcats owner Steve Bryant announced his purchase of the Kinston Indians franchise to replace his Southern League club in Zebulon for 2012. League travel rules, combined with the gradual shift of other franchises further south and west, had made a Southern League franchise in eastern North Carolina untenable, and a Pensacola, Florida -based ownership group purchased
150-704: Is a prominent old family name in Lenoir County . The Texas Rangers invested in a multi-year renovation project to improve the 4,100-seat facility. Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches [REDACTED] 7-day injured list * On Texas Rangers 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated November 9, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB • Carolina League → Texas Rangers minor league players As of
175-510: The Buies Creek Astros . Both clubs officially entered the Carolina League as expansion franchises, with their predecessor California League franchises terminated rather than relocated. The new ownership group, Rangers Kinston, LLC, filed a trademark application for the name Wood Ducks on August 15, 2016. One week later, on August 22, the ownership group announced that the Rangers were bringing
200-653: The California League to the Carolina League, most likely the Bakersfield Blaze and High Desert Mavericks . After the Indians' departure, Kinston became an obvious destination; by 2013, rumors suggested strongly that one club would be earmarked for Kinston in any California–Carolina shift. In July 2015, the Texas Rangers signed a tentative lease agreement with the city of Kinston should a franchise become available, but
225-881: The Class A-Advanced minor-league baseball team Down East Wood Ducks that plays in Kinston. WRQM is a public radio station formerly known as Down East Radio and was hosted out of North Carolina Wesleyan College . Events include the Down East Holiday Show in Greenville and the Down East Music Festival and Elizabeth City State University 's Down East Viking Football Classic, both in Rocky Mount. 34°51′N 76°32′W / 34.85°N 76.53°W / 34.85; -76.53 This article about
250-571: The Bakersfield and High Desert franchises to prepare for relocation. On August 22, the Rangers announced that they would indeed site an owned-and-operated High-A affiliate in Kinston for the 2017 season. The Astros would eventually announce their own stadium deal in Fayetteville, but with no suitable facility available until the 2019 season, the Astros temporarily placed their club at Campbell University as
275-522: The Carolina League, MLB created the Low-A East , a 12-team circuit divided into three divisions. Prior to the 2022 season, MLB renamed the Low-A Easr as the Carolina League, and it carried on the history of the league prior to reorganization. In 2021, the Low-A East held a best-of-five series between the top two teams in the league, regardless of division standings, to determine a league champion. As of 2022,
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#1732855831534300-660: The Down East Wood Ducks the best logo/branding for Minor League Baseball in 2017. During the 2018 season, Down East wore uniforms of the Kinston Indians at seven "Throwback Thursday" games to honor the history of baseball at Grainger Stadium. The 2019 Wood Ducks won the first half of the season with a 50–20 record, but lost to the Fayetteville Woodpeckers , 3–2, in the South Division finals. Corey Ragsdale
325-594: The Rangers needed a move partner before Minor League Baseball would permit a switch. Such a partner emerged in April 2016 when the Houston Astros , affiliated with the California League's Lancaster JetHawks only through the end of that season, began discussions with Fayetteville, North Carolina , about siting their affiliate at a new stadium. During the 2016 season, the Astros and Rangers worked to secure ownership of
350-467: The Texas Rangers and be promoted to class High-A , joining the South Atlantic League . The Down East Wood Ducks played their home games at Grainger Stadium , located at 400 East Grainger Avenue in Kinston. The original structure was built by architect John J. Rowland in 1949 at a cost of $ 170,000 inclusive of everything except the land, with $ 150,000 raised by bond issue. The stadium is owned by
375-475: The city and was leased by the team. A dedicatory plaque identifies the structure as "Municipal Stadium", but it has been called Grainger Stadium since it was first built. Kinston Indians ownership referred to it as "Historic Grainger Stadium" due to its age relative to other fields in the Carolina League; it is the second-oldest stadium in the circuit. The name Grainger comes from its location on Grainger Avenue as well as its early use by Grainger High School; Grainger
400-597: The club to move to a new stadium there for 2012, arranging Bryant's deal to replace them with a Carolina League club under the same branding at the same time. The Indians' move left Kinston without affiliated professional baseball for the first time since 1977. Prior to that, the area was served by the Kinston Expos franchise, which operated as an affiliate of four different Major League Baseball clubs from 1962 to 1974. Meanwhile, there were reports as early as 2008 that two Class A-Advanced franchises could eventually move from
425-440: The completion of the 2020 season, 24 Wood Ducks players had also played in at least one game for a Major League Baseball team. These players were: List of Carolina League champions The Carolina League of Minor League Baseball is a Single-A baseball league in the United States that began play in 1945. A league champion was determined at the end of each season by either postseason playoffs or being declared champion by
450-487: The group of communities east of Beaufort in Carteret County in the coastal plain region of the state. These communities are Bettie, Otway , Straits, Harkers Island , Gloucester , Marshallberg , Tusk, Smyrna, Williston, Davis , Stacy, Masontown, Sea Level , Atlantic and Cedar Island . Many residents of these communities feature a High Tider ("Hoi Toider") accent, a dialect remnant of Elizabethan English that
475-593: The league office. As of 2019, the first-half and second-half winners in each division (Northern and Southern) competed in a best-of-five division series. Then, the Northern and Southern division winners played a best-of-five series to determine a league champion. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic , and the league ceased operations before the 2021 season in conjunction with Major League Baseball 's (MLB) reorganization of Minor League Baseball. In place of
500-463: The names were demeaning. This backlash later subsided as the community grew to embrace the moniker. On November 2, the team announced that the new name would be the name that they trademarked on August 15, Down East Wood Ducks, without naming a winning fan. A similar situation happened when Kinston joined the Virginia League in 1925. The owners of that club decided that none of the submitted names in
525-605: The state, roughly where the Pamlico Sound watershed is between the Tar - Pamlico and Neuse river basins . Towns and cities in the watershed include but are not limited to Greenville , Goldsboro , Kinston , New Bern , Rocky Mount , Tarboro , Washington , and Wilson . There are a number of organizations and events with Down East in the name. Organizations include the Down East Partnership for Children in Rocky Mount and
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#1732855831534550-416: The winners of each division from both the first and second halves of the season meet in a best-of-three division series, with the winners of the two division series meeting in a best-of-three championship series. Down East (North Carolina) In North Carolina , Down East refers to the historical group of coastal communities east of Beaufort in Carteret County . Down East historically refers to
575-462: Was once spoken in colonial Carolina. This dialect is indigenous to the lowland areas of North Carolina, in combination with the general southern accent common in the Southeast . The area is a major fishing area, including shrimping and blue crabs. The term Down East has broadened in usage over the years to refer to Eastern North Carolina in general or more specifically the central coastal plain of
600-502: Was selected for the league's Manager of the Year Award. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Wood Ducks were organized into the Low-A East at the Low-A classification. In 2022, the Low-A East became known as the Carolina League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization, and was reclassified as
625-587: Was won in 2017. Kinston has hosted farm clubs for 11 different major league franchises and one minor league club in its history. Professional baseball in Kinston dates back to a 1908 squad in the Eastern Carolina League . The team relocated at the end of the 2024 season to Spartanburg, South Carolina , becoming the Hub City Spartanburgers . Kinston's Grainger Stadium hosted Carolina League baseball every season from 1962 to 2011, bar
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