Hickory Crawdads

• Location: Hickory, NC
• League: South Atlantic League 1993-2019; High-A East 2021; South Atlantic League 2022-
• Affiliation: Chicago White Sox 1993-1998; Pittsburgh Pirates 1999-2008; Texas Rangers 2009-present
• Ballpark: L.P. Frans Stadium

Team History

cap logo

The Hickory Crawdads, of the High-A South Atlantic League and briefly in High-A East, have one of Professional Development League baseball's most popular logos - a baseball-pinching crawdad. The Texas Rangers farmhands play their home games at L.P. Frans Stadium in Hickory, NC.

In April 2023, The News Herald of Morganton, NC, reported that Diamond Baseball Holdings and the 'Dads owner and parent, the Texas Rangers, had agreed for DBH to buy the farm club. That sale was finally announced by the two principles - at the same time announcing that DBH would also acquire the Down EAst Wood Ducks from the Rangers - on May 23, 2023. Both sales have since closed. Entertainment giant Endeavor created DBH in 2021 specifically to acquire farm teams in the wake of - and under new rules created by - MLB's Minor League Reorganization. Endeavor later sold DBH to Silver Lake Partners. Those rules reportedly include caps of 24 teams total and nine in any given level. Former owners Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney remain with the operation.

The Rangers had bought the 'Dads after the 2017 season. The 2021 reorganization raised the 'Dads one level.

The Gastonia Rangers moved from nearby Gastonia after the 1992 season to become the Crawdads. The team captured league championships in 2002 and 2004.

They play Copa de la Diversión Hispanic engagement campaign games as Llamas de Hickory ("llamas" salutes the South American pack animal).

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs	Hitting coach	Pitching coach	Coach
1993	52-88	13th	Fred Kendall		Mark Salas	Curt Hasler	Paul Casanova
1994	86-54	2nd	Fred Kendall	Lost in 1st round	Mark Haley	Curt Hasler	Paul Casanova
1995	49-89	14th	Mike Rojas		Dave Keller
1996	55-85	14th	Chris Cron		Michael Barnett	Sean Snedeker
1997	76-64	4th	Chris Cron	Lost in 1st round	Dallas Williams	Sean Snedeker
1998	56-84	13th	Mark Haley		Gregg Ritchie	Sean Snedeker
1999	70-70	6th	Tracy Woodson	Lost in 2nd round	Ben Oglivie	Steve Watson
2000	75-66	5th	Jay Loviglio		Greg Briley	Blaine Beatty
2001	67-73	10th	Pete Mackanin		Tracy Sanders	Bob Milacki
2002	83-56	1st	Tony Beasley	League Champs	Greg Briley	Scott Lovekamp
2003	82-54	2nd	Tony Beasley	Lost in 1st round	Matt Winters	Bob Milacki
2004	85-55	2nd	Dave Clark	League Champs	Matt Winters	Bob Milacki
2005	54-80	15th	Jeff Branson		Greg Briley	Ray Searage
2006	67-70	10th	Jeff Branson		Greg Briley	David Lundquist
2007	70-66	7th	Gary Green	Lost in 1st round	Ryan Newman	David Lundquist
2008	52-87	15th	Gary Green		Josh Bonifay	Jeff Johnson
2009	63-76	15th	Hector Ortiz		Brian Dayett	Brad Holman
2010	75-64	4th (t)	Bill Richardson	Lost in 1st round	Jason Hart	Brad Holman
2011	79-58	1st	Bill Richardson	Lost in 1st round	Jason Hart	Storm Davis	Corey Ragsdale
2012	74-65	5th	Bill Richardson		Josue Perez	Storm Davis	Humberto Miranda
2013	76-63	5th	Corey Ragsdale		Justin Mashore	Ryan O'Malley
2014	80-59	5th	Corey Ragsdale		Bobby Rose	Oscar Marin	Travis Adair
2015	81-57	3rd	Corey Ragsdale	League Champs	Francisco Matos	Oscar Marin	Chad Comer
2016	74-66	5th	Steve Mintz		Francisco Matos	Jose Jaimes	Matt Hagen
2017	64-76	11th	Spike Owen		Kenny Hook	Jose Jaimes	Sharnol Adriana
2018	70-68	7th	Matt Hagen		Chase Lambin	Jose Jaimes	Turtle Thomas
2019	83-52	2nd	Matt Hagen	Lost League Finals	Jared Goedert	Jose Jaimes	Josh Johnson
2020	Season cancelled
2021	46-68	11th	Josh Johnson		Chad Comer	Jordan Tiegs	Hiram Bocachica
2022	66-65	6th	Carlos Cardoza		Ryan Tuntland	Jon Goebel	Kawika Emsley-Pai, Jay Sullenger
2023			Chad Comer		Drew Sannes	Jose Jaimes	Justin Jacobs, Jay Sullenger

External Link

• Official Web Site of the Hickory Crawdads