The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the San Diego Padres, that plays in the Midwest League.

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History

The Midwest League came to Fort Wayne in 1993. The franchise dates back from the league's days as the Illinois State League, starting in 1947 in Mattoon, Illinois. In 1958 the team moved to Keokuk, Iowa, where it spent five seasons; it was based in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin (1963-1983) and Kenosha, Wisconsin (1984-1992) before moving to Fort Wayne. The team was a Minnesota Twins farm team before they affiliated with the Padres in 1999. In 2006, the team was sold to a pair of businessmen from Atlanta who also own the Salem Red Sox.

Prior to the 2009 season, the team was formerly known as the Fort Wayne Wizards. The name TinCaps was chosen following the 2008 season, alluding to John Chapman, better known as the cooking pot-wearing Johnny Appleseed. ^[1] Chapman lived in Fort Wayne in his final years and is buried in the city. ^[2]

The team's home park was Memorial Stadium, which opened in 1993; the franchise attendance record of 318,506 was also set that year. As part of the Harrison Square revitalization project, Parkview Field will become the official home of the TinCaps by the start of the 2009 season. ^[3] To coincide with the new ballpark, the team held a contest to determine a new name for the Wizards once that new ballpark opens, and "TinCaps" was the result. ^[4]

The mascot of the TinCaps is Johnny. Previously, for the Wizards, it was Dinger the Dragon and prior to that, the Wizards were represented by Wayne the Wizard.

All-time team

On August 24, 2008 The Journal Gazette and the franchise selected the all-time Wizards team members.

Manager:

• Randy Ready

Catcher:

• Javier Valentin

First Baseman:

• John Scheschuk

Second Baseman:

• Josh Barfield

Third Baseman:

• Sean Burroughs

Shortstop:

• Luis Rivas

Designated Hitter:

• Josh Loggins

Outfielders:

• Torii Hunter
• Jeremy Owens
• Will Venable
• Kevin Reese

Starting Pitchers:

• Jake Peavy
• LaTroy Hawkins
• Tom Mott
• Michael Ekstrom
• Gabe Ribas

Relief Pitchers:

• J.J. Trujillo
• Dale Thayer

Roster

Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 19 Dylan Axelrod 18 Aaron Breit 22 Omar Gutierrez 4 Allen Harrington 21 Colt Hynes 32 Corey Kluber 31 Alexis Lara 11 Cory Luebke 20 Jeremy McBryde 33 Bryan Oland 30 Jackson Quezada 26 Matt Teague		Catchers 1 Luis Martinez 27 Adam Zornes Infielders 16 Justin Baum 9 Zachary Brown 10 Felix Carrasco 2 Andrew Cumberland 4 Kevin Hansen 7 Andrew Parrino Outfielders 25 Sawyer Carroll 23 Yefri Carvajal 8 Brad Chalk 3 Danny Payne 29 Robert Perry		Manager -- Doug Dascenzo Coaches -- Tom Tornincasa (hitting) -- Tom Bradley (pitching) † Disabled list * On San Diego Padres 40-man roster ‡ Reserve list § Suspended list updated 2008-10-22

Former Wizards in the Majors

Tori Hunter Jake Peavy Bobby Scales Joakim Soria Dale Thayer David Freese Will Venable Nick Hundley Greg Burke Matt Antonelli Josh Geer Josh Barfield Eric Cyr AJ Pierzynski Wade LeBlanc Cliff Bartosh Jack Cassel Corey Koskie Ben Johnson Dennis Tankersley JJ Trujillo Michael Thompson Latroy Hawkins Scott Watkins Matt Lawton Dan Naulty ETC>>>

See also

• History of sports in Fort Wayne, Indiana