The St. Paul Saints are a professional baseball team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the United States. The Saints are a member of the North Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Since the 1993 season to the present, the Saints have played their home games at Midway Stadium. Founded in 1993, today's Saints were a Northern League team through 2005. In 2006 the team was a founding member of the modern American Association. The majority owner is Marvin Goldklang who also owns a stake in five other minor league baseball teams throughout the country (Fort Myers Miracle, Sioux Falls Canaries, Hudson Valley Renegades, Charleston RiverDogs and Brockton Rox). Before the arrival of the Minnesota Twins in 1961, there was a long history of minor-league baseball teams called the St. Paul Saints , as well as their crosstown rivals the Minneapolis Millers. One incarnation of the Saints participated in the Union Association, a short-lived major league, in 1884. A second incarnation was active in the Western League from 1894 to 1899, and became a forerunner of the modern Chicago White Sox. The third and most long-lived incarnation of the Saints was active in the American Association from 1915 to 1960, until it and the Millers were folded upon the arrival of the Twins.

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History

The current inception of the St. Paul Saints were formed in 1993 in the Northern League, one of several independent leagues not affiliated with Major League Baseball. The Saints are known for promotions that are over-the-top even by the standards of minor league baseball. Mike Veeck, formerly the team's principal owner and still owner of a large interest in the team, is the son of legendary Major League owner Bill Veeck, who was best-known for outrageous promotions as owner of the St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox. Comedian and actor Bill Murray is also a part owner.

Despite the considerable naysaying at their inception, the Saints have been one of the most successful teams in the Northern League and all of independent baseball. In 2002-2004, the Saints saw severely reduced attendance, owing partially to renewed interest in the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball, who won the 2002, 2003, and 2004 American League Central Division championships. In spite of an initially cool, if not outright hostile reception, the Saints and their Major League neighbor (less than 10 miles away) have worked together for several years in hopes of increasing support for the sport of baseball.

The Saints have figured prominently in the creation of modern independent baseball. They were featured in a couple books ("Rebel Baseball" by Steve Perlstein, 1993; "Slouching Toward Fargo" by Neal Karlen, 1998) and a cable network series ("Baseball, Minnesota," FX Network, 1996-97). Mike Veeck wrote a book that covered the mantra "Fun is Good" (2005) and describes the business approach he has used for many years.

A major factor in the continued success of the Saints in the face of the Twins' presence is the fact that Midway Stadium, the Saints' home field, is an open-air facility; many Twins fans have bemoaned the unfairness of being forced to go indoors to watch a baseball game on a warm Minnesota summer evening. This will change with the 2010 opening of the open-air Target Field. Another is the love of tailgating by fans in the Twin Cities metropolitan area - the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, situated in the middle of downtown Minneapolis, has little space available for tailgating.

On September 29, 2005, the Saints left the Northern League, along with the Lincoln Saltdogs, Sioux City Explorers, and the Sioux Falls Canaries to start the American Association for the 2006 season.

In June 2009 the Saints began a push to build a new stadium in Downtown Saint Paul. The proposed 7,500 seat stadium would be located in the Lowertown neighborhood near what is to be a maintenance facility of the proposed Central Corridor light rail line. The stadium is currently designed to face southwest, unique among outdoor ballparks which normally face east to shield batters eyes from the evening sun. The downtown buildings are expected to shield batter's eyes. The city of Saint Paul requested $25 million dollars in its 2010 bonding wish list to the Minnesota Legislature. Mayor Chris Coleman suggested that the Saints look at a site near West Seventh and Otto Avenue but the idea was strongly opposed by the neighborhood. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

St. Paul Saints (1894-1899)

As described in Lee Allen's book, The American League Story (Putnam, 1962), the team began as the Sioux City franchise in a minor league called the Western League. The WL had reorganized itself in November, 1893, with Ban Johnson as President. Johnson, a Cincinnati-based reporter, had been recommended by his friend Charles Comiskey, former major league star with the St. Louis Browns in the 1880s, who was then managing the Cincinnati Reds. After the 1894 season, when Comiskey's contract with the Reds was up, he decided to take his chances at ownership. He bought the Sioux City team and transferred it to St. Paul, where it enjoyed some success over the next 5 seasons.

In 1900, the Western League changed its name to the American League. It was still officially a minor league, a part of the National Agreement and an underling of the National League. The NL actually gave permission to the AL to put a team in Chicago, and on March 21, 1900, Comiskey moved his St. Paul club to the South Side, where they became the Chicago White Sox.

St. Paul Saints (1915-1960)

Another team called the Saints played minor league baseball in the American Association from 1915 to 1960. The Saints finished first in the American Association nine times, and won the Little World Series in 1924. During this period, the Saints were a farm club of the Chicago White Sox (1936-1942), the Brooklyn Dodgers (1944-1957), and the Los Angeles Dodgers (1958-1960). The Saints played streetcar home and away double headers with its crosstown rival the Minneapolis Millers. Both Twin Cities teams were folded by Major League Baseball when the Minnesota Twins came to town in 1961. Lexington Park served as the Saints' home stadium for most of those years.

Current roster

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Active (22-man) roster				Coaches
Catchers 33 Chris Herbert 26 Kyle Johnson 12 Scott Knazek Infielders  1 Andrew Bennett  7 Steve Butler  6 Stephen Derrick  0 Jeff Eure 13 Ron Fenwick  9 Tony Mansolino 25 Todd Self Outfielders 24 Jacob Butler 15 Brent Krause  4 Andrew Schmiesing		Pitchers 11 Mike Bille 34 Reed Dickert 36 Kyle Foster 10 Brandon Kintzler 46 Kerry Ligtenberg 45 Mark Moriarty 16 Charlie Ruud 27 Scott Vander Weg 28 Mitch Wylie Inactive

Notable Former Saints Players

• Leon "Bull" Durham (1993-1994, formerly with the Chicago Cubs)
• Minnie Miñoso (1993, 2003, former Negro League and Major League player)
• Kevin Millar (1993, formerly with the Florida Marlins and Boston Red Sox, and currently playing for the Toronto Blue Jays)
• Rey Ordoñez (1993, signed by and played for the New York Mets)
• Darryl Motley (1995, formerly with the Kansas City Royals)
• Darryl Strawberry (1996, formerly with the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees)
• Jack Morris (1996, formerly with the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, Toronto Blue Jays, and Cleveland Indians)
• J. D. Drew (1997-1998, signed by the St. Louis Cardinals currently playing for the Boston Red Sox)
• Matt Nokes (1998, formerly with the Detroit Tigers and New York Yankees)
• Ila Borders (1997, first woman to pitch in a men's professional baseball league)
• Tanner Scheppers (2009, drafted in the first supplemental round of the 2009 MLB Draft Texas Rangers)

Notable promotions

In an attempt to gain publicity in a metropolitan area that hosts four major pro sports teams and a major college program, the Saints have grabbed headlines numerous times for their unique promotions. ^[5]

• The Saints announced a giveaway for their May 23, 2009 game against the Sioux Falls Canaries of 2,500 bobblehead dolls dressed as the Sesame Street character Count von Count, supposedly celebrating the 40th anniversary of the series. The Saints' version of this doll, however, has the face of Al Franken on one side and Norm Coleman on the other and is named "Count von Re-Count"—referring to the prolonged recount in the 2008 U.S. Senate election between the two men. The Saints planned to make further jabs at the race: ^[6]
• * The ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Dean Barkley, who ran in that election as a third-party candidate.
• * Fans were asked during the game to spin the heads of their dolls to either Coleman or Franken. Attorneys were present to count the "votes" from this process. The team's official web site stated that fans could challenge the "results" at the team's Fan Services booth during the game.
• * The team also facetiously stated on its site that it would not make the results of that night's game official until mid-June—around the time that the entire Minnesota Supreme Court was scheduled to rule on Coleman's appeal of a panel ruling that Franken had won. (The Court issued its ruling in Franken's favor on June 30, with Coleman then conceding.)
• In May, 2008, the Saints announced the giveaway of 2,500 bobble foot dolls, ostensibly to celebrate National Tap Dance Day. The dolls, which feature two feet visible beneath the door of a bathroom stall, have been covered in the national news for their reference to Senator Larry Craig, notorious for soliciting sex in a Minneapolis-Saint Paul Airport restroom in August 2007. ^[7]
• In August, 2007, the Saints announced that rubber dog toys would be given out as a jab to the federal dogfighting case involving Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. ^[8]
• In April 2006, the Saints announced that rubber boats would be given out during a May 27, 2006 game, ostensibly to honor the 30th anniversary of the television show The Love Boat . However, details of the promotion indicate that it was intended as a jab at the 2005 boat scandal involving the Minnesota Vikings, where several members of the team were allegedly involved in illicit behavior on a private cruise. The promotional rubber boats used the same color as the Vikings uniforms (purple and yellow) and were named Minnetonka Queen (a reference to Lake Minnetonka, where the cruise took place).
• In August 2003, the Saints held "Randy Moss Hood Ornament Night", poking fun at Randy Moss, then a wide receiver for the Vikings. Earlier that year, Moss was involved in an incident where he bumped a traffic control officer with his car while he attempted to make a turn.
• During the 2002 Major League Baseball labor negotiations, the Saints gave away seat cushions with pictures of commissioner Bud Selig on one side and player's association Executive Director Donald Fehr on the other.
• In 2002, in response to Selig's controversial decision to end the MLB All-Star Game in a 7-7 tie, the Saints gave out neckties (or "ties") with Bud Selig's image.

Fast facts

References

1. Havens, Chris (June 26, 2009) "Wish list: New home for Saints" ''Star Tribune''. Retrieved on June 27, 2009
2. Orrick, Dave (June 25, 2009) "Now batting for the Saints: Bill Murray" ''Saint Paul Pioneer Press''. Retrieved on June 27, 2009
3. Kimball, Joe (June 25, 2009) "Bill Murray shows his stripes; pushes stadium, skips mayor" ''MinnPost.com'' Retrieved on June 27, 2009
4. McClure, Jane (July 1, 2009) "City Unveils 2010 bonding requests" ''Villager''
5. Another last laugh for the St. Paul Saints
6. Saints' gimmick jabs at Senate race
7. Minn. team's promotional giveaway features 'bobble foot' in toilet stall
8. Saints Continue to Slide at Home Lose 7-3
9. "Boar" ack O"Ham"a Claims St. Paul Saints Pig Name