The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Class A minor league baseball team, affiliated with the Detroit Tigers, that plays in the Midwest League. Their home games are played in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids. They are currently the defending champions of the Midwest League.

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Franchise history

The Midwest League came to the Grand Rapids area in 1994 upon the arrival of the former Madison Muskies. The Whitecaps were brought to West Michigan by local businessmen Lew Chamberlin and Dennis Baxter. The Whitecaps were affiliated with the Oakland Athletics before they joined the Tigers' farm system in 1997.

Their home ballpark is Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park. Before the 2002 season it was known as Old Kent Park; the name was changed when the park's title sponsor, Old Kent Bank, was purchased by Fifth Third Bank. Fifth Third also sponsors ballparks in Dayton and Toledo, Ohio. The team's official mascots are Crash the River Rascal and Franky the Swimming Pig.

The franchise's attendance record of 547,401 was set in 1996.

Several league and team records were set during the 2006 season. The team posted the second best record in franchise history, going 89-48, including going 23-6 in July. Michael Hollimon hit 3 home runs in one game. Cameron Maybin hit 2 grand slams in the season. Michael Hernandez became the first person ever in the history of the Midwest League to hit for the cycle twice. The Whitecaps went on to defeat the Kane County Cougars in four games to win their fourth Midwest League Championship.

Controversies

The team drew the attention of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine after a 4-pound, 4,800-calorie hamburger called the Fifth Third Burger was placed on the menu of the team's concession stand. It was so named in part for the ballpark sponsor and part for its 1.6666 (or 5/3) pounds of meat. The Committee requested that the team put a label on the burger indicating that it was a "dietary disaster". ^[1] To date, more than 100 fans, or about a half of the people who have attempted the challenge, have conquered the burger and earned a commemorative t-shirt. On July 15th, 2009, Travel Channel's "Man vs. Food" and its host Adam Richman will come to Fifth Third Ballpark to attempt to conquer the burger in an episode of the popular show.



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Regular season

Season	W	L	Pct.
1994	74	65	.532
1995	67	69	.492
1996	77	61	.557	MWL Champions
1997	92	39	.702
1998	83	57	.593	MWL Champions
1999	68	72	.485
2000	88	52	.629
2001	65	72	.474
2002	83	57	.593
2003	67	73	.478
2004	69	70	.496	MWL Champions
2005	73	70	.510
2006	89	48	.649	MWL Champions
2007	83	57	.593	MWL Champions

Postseason success

The Whitecaps have won the best-of-5 Midwest League championship five times in five opportunities. They defeated the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in 1996, the Rockford Cubbies in 1998, the Kane County Cougars twice (2004 and 2006), and the Beloit Snappers in 2007. West Michigan is 43-25 all time in playoff games. They’ve made the playoffs 11 times in 14 seasons.

Oakland Athletics affiliation

Year	Record	Results	Opponents
1994	0–2	Lost in First Round	Rockford (0–2)
1995	3–3	Lost in Second Round	Kane County (2–1), Michigan (1–2)
1996	7–2	Won Championship	Lansing (2–1), Rockford (2–0), Wisconsin (3–1)

Detroit Tigers affiliation

Year	Record	Results	Opponents
1997	0–2	Lost in First Round	Fort Wayne (0–2)
1998	7–2	Won Championship	Michigan (2–1), Clinton (2–0), Rockford (3–1)
1999	Did not qualify for playoffs
2000	1–2	Lost in First Round	Dayton (1–2)
2001	Did not qualify for playoffs
2002	3–2	Lost in Second Round	Dayton (2–0), Lansing (1–2)
2003	Did not qualify for playoffs
2004	7–3	Won Championship	Lansing (2–1), South Bend (2–0), Kane County (3–2)
2005	2–2	Lost in Second Round	Fort Wayne (2–0), South Bend (0–2)
2006	7–2	Won Championship	Fort Wayne (2–1), Lansing (2–0), Kane County (3–1)
2007	7–2	Won Championship	Lansing (2–0), South Bend (2–0), Beloit (3–2)

Managers

Since 1994, the Whitecaps have had six managers. In 2007, former Tigers' third baseman Tom Brookens became the seventh manager in the history of the Whitecaps.

Listed here are each manager and their won/loss record:

Oakland Athletics affiliation

• Jim Colborn 1994–1995 (141–134)
• Mike Quade 1996 (77–61)

Detroit Tigers affiliation

• Bruce Fields 1997–2000 (331–220)
• Brent Gates 2001 (65–72)
• Phil Regan 2002–2003 (150–130)
• Matt Walbeck 2004–2006 (231–179)
• Tom Brookens 2007 (83–57)
• Joe DePastino 2008 (1–0)

Current roster

Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 13 Aaron Fuhrman -- Charles Furbush 26 Wilton Garcia 43 Scott Green (baseball) 29 Andrew Hess 12 Brett Jacobson 36 Jon Kibler 21 Noah Krol 35 Emmanuel Miguelez 20 Paul Nardozzi 34 Orlando Perdomo -- Zachary Piccola 32 Mauricio Robles 28 Thad Weber		Catchers 27 Alex Avila 19 Angel Flores Infielders 33 Chris Carlson 16 Audy Ciriaco 17 Justin Henry (baseball)  7 Roger Tomas 10 Joseph Tucker (baseball) Outfielders 22 Andy Dirks  9 Kody Kaiser 25 Cory Middleton 24 Jordan Newton 15 Kyle Peter 14 Christopher White (baseball)		Manager 31 Joe DePastino Coaches 30 Benny Distefano (hitting) 37 Mark Johnson (pitcher) (pitching) † Disabled list * On Detroit Tigers 40-man roster ‡ Reserve list § Suspended list updated 2008-10-09

Former Whitecaps in the majors

Below is a list of West Michigan Whitecaps who have played in the major leagues.

Oakland Athletics affiliation (1994–1996)

• Benito Baez 1996
• Jason Beverlin 1995
• Emil Brown 1995
• Ryan Christenson 1996
• Steve Cox 1994
• D.T. Cromer 1994
• Jeff D'Amico 1994, 1995
• Jeff DaVanon 1996
• Mario Encarnacion 1996
• Ben Grieve 1995
• Ramon Hernandez 1996
• Tim Kubinski 1994
• Jason McDonald 1994
• Chris Michalak 1994
• Willie Morales 1994
• Juan Moreno 1996
• David Newhan 1995
• Derrick White 1996
• George Williams 1994

Detroit Tigers Affiliation (1997–present)

• Burke Badenhop 2006
• Adam Bernero 1999
• Willie Blair 1997 Pitched one game on rehab assignment
• Jeremy Bonderman 2009 Pitched one game on rehab assignment
• Dave Borkowski 1997
• Brent Clevlen 2003
• Francisco Cordero 1997
• Nate Cornejo 1999
• Freddy Dolsi 2005
• Eulogio De La Cruz 2004
• Eric Eckenstahler 2000
• Robert Fick 1997
• Jason Frasor 1999, 2000
• Tony Giarratano 2004
• Curtis Granderson 2008 Played three games on rehab assignment
• Jack Hannahan 2001
• Michael Hollimon 2006
• Omar Infante 2000
• Brandon Inge 1999
• Matt Joyce 2006
• Jair Jurrjens 2005
• Kris Keller 1999
• Don Kelly 2002
• Rodney Lindsey 1998
• Nook Logan 2001
• Shane Loux 1998, 1999
• Cameron Maybin 2006
• Matt Miller 1998
• Dave Mlicki 2000 Pitched one game on rehab assignment
• Brian Moehler 2000 Pitched one game on rehab assignment
• Scott Moore 2003
• Eric Munson 1999
• Magglio Ordóñez 2008 Played one game on rehab assignment
• Adam Pettyjohn 1998
• Luis Pineda 1999
• Mike Rabelo 2002, 2003
• Ryan Raburn 2002, 2003
• Mike Rivera 1998
• Fernando Rodney 2000
• Kenny Rogers 2007 Pitched one game on rehab assignment
• Cody Ross 2000
• Pedro Santana 1997, 1998
• Ramón Santiago 2000
• Jordan Tata 2004
• Clete Thomas 2005
• Andres Torres 1999
• Andy Van Hekken 2000
• Virgil Vasquez 2004
• Chris Wakeland 1997
• Jeff Weaver 1998
• Joel Zumaya 2003

References

1. Doctors Have Beef With Burger ESPN, March 31, 2009