Skip to Search Skip to Live Player Skip to Content Skip to Footer

Charlie & Debbie

Charlotte North Carolina Pitcher Beats Cancer Returns To Baseball

Author Charlie & Debbie

The reason I love sports is best personified by the story of Liam Hendriks this weekend.  Hendriks is a former all-star pitcher with the Chicago White Sox.  In January, he was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  He entered treatment immediately and had his final round of chemotherapy on April 5.  Hendricks posted he was cancer-free on April 20.  Friday, Liam Hendriks returned to the pitcher’s mound for the Charlotte Knights.

Honestly, I’m not as impressed by Hendriks overcoming batters in a baseball game.  By the way, he retired all three that he faced (striking out one).  No, I’m impressed by Hendricks doing this after striking out the disease that is the scourge of society.  How inspiring is this guy?!  Hendriks has gone from chemo back to pro baseball in a month?  Wow.

As you might imagine, when Hendriks entered Friday’s game, both teams gave him a standing ovation. His reaction, according to WCNC was interesting.  Liam, although appreciative, feared the gesture but worried it would throw him off the task at hand.  “Don’t get me wrong, it’s really, really nice and I very much appreciated it. It made me very emotional. But I’m a guy who pitches on anger and it’s really hard to get angry when you know the other team is full of nice people who would do something like that.”  Want some news that doesn’t matter?  The Charlotte Knights lost Friday night’s game 2-0.

In baseball parlance, Hendriks is on a “rehab assignment” here in Charlotte.  The Knights are a minor league affiliate of The Chicago White Sox.  If all goes well, Liam Hendriks will be back saving games as a relief pitcher in the major leagues soon.  However, while he’s here, take the family out to see the Knights and give Henriks the admiration and support he’s earned.

Do You Know Every North Carolina Minor League Baseball Team?

Baseball is widely regarded as America’s pastime. Without a major league team closer than Atlanta or DC minor league baseball takes the stage in North Carolina. So it’s a good thing that we have plenty of North Carolina minor league baseball teams to be a fan of! It can seem like there are so many teams that it’s hard to make sense of what they all mean. It seems like every town has a baseball team. Are they all the same level?

The short answer is no. Minor league baseball is made up of several different levels. These are used for player development and getting players ready to hopefully one day compete in the “big leagues”. Each major league team has 4 minor league teams affiliated with them for a total of 120 teams in the country. Additionally, there are other independent baseball leagues that players can play in and fans can take in games.

Minor league baseball can be a fun and relatively inexpensive outing for families and friend groups alike. Most tickets are very affordable with fun promotions as well as food and drink specials. North Carolina is home to 10 official minor league teams in the triple A, high A, and single A levels. We also have 5 independent baseball teams. Keep reading to learn a little about each of the teams, where they are located, their major league affiliate, and their level!

  • Triple A Teams

    Triple-A is the level just under the major leagues. These players are often good enough to play in the major leagues but there just isn’t space on them on the roster. They can easily be called up due to injury or other situations. North Carolina has 2 Triple-A teams.

  • Charlotte Knights

    Major League Team: Chicago White Sox

    Location: Charlotte, NC

    Website

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgkwo_gLe1s/

  • Durham Bulls

    Major League Team: Tampa Bay Rays

    Location: Durham, NC

    Website

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgno0JGonwP/

  • High A Teams

    High-A formerly known as Class A-Advanced the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball. North Carolina has four High A Teams. 

  • Asheville Tourists

    Major League Team: Houston Astros

    Location: Asheville, NC

    Website

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CgnBG4xsLzQ/

  • Greensboro Grasshoppers

    Major League Team: Pittsburgh Pirates

    Location: Greensboro, NC

    Website

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgf27dAOjf0/

  • Hickory Crawdads

    Major League Team: Texas Rangers

    Location: Hickory, NC

    Website

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CgsGOxlOTBw/

  • Winston-Salem Dash

    Major League Team: Chicago White Sox

    Location: Winston-Salem, NC

    Website

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CghRBH4gi9C/

  • Single A Teams

    Single A or Class A is is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball. North Carolina has 4 single A teams.

  • Carolina Mudcats

    Major League Team: Milwaukee Brewers

    Location: Zebulon, NC

    Website

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CgsRN3CPr_U/

  • Down East Wood Ducks

    Major League Team: Texas Rangers

    Location: Kinston, NC

    Website

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CgmjvSHLJtD/

  • Fayetteville Woodpeckers

    Major League Team: Houston Astros

    Location: Fayetteville, NC

    Website

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgki9TxMrhy/

  • Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Formerly Intimidators)

    Major League Team: Chicago White Sox

    Location: Kannapolis, NC

    Website

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CguRO1RrPf7/

  • Independent League Baseball Teams

    North Carolina is also home to 5 teams that play in independent baseball leagues that are not part of Major League Baseball.

  • Burlington Sock Puppets

    League: Appalachian League

    Location: Burlington, NC

    Website

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgh2jGMO3Od/

  • Gastonia Honey Hunters

    League: Atlantic League

    Location: Gastonia, NC

    Website

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CgsICEmlq6f/

  • High Point Rockers

    League: Atlantic League

    Location: High Point, NC

    Website

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf9YwH_sYb5/

  • High Point Thomasville HiToms

    League: Coastal Plain League

    Location: Thomasville, NC

    Website

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CgqbV49ugUb/

  • Wilson Tobs

    League: Coastal Plain League

    Location: Wilson, NC

    Website

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CggAbo0jUSU/

 

Sign me up for the Country 103.7 email newsletter!

Members get exclusive insights into new music, music news, contests, quizzes, and more!

*
*
By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.
Author Charlie & Debbie
Category:
Tags:
,,,,

More Country 103.7

Load More