Bankrupt Baseball Team Being Replaced In North Carolina Town
I feel as if I’ve been reporting on the closest thing to a sports soap opera as I’ve seen in quite a while. It involves the city of Gastonia, North…
I feel as if I've been reporting on the closest thing to a sports soap opera as I've seen in quite a while. It involves the city of Gastonia, North Carolina, The now defunct Gastonia Honey Hunters baseball team, and CaroMont Health Park (the stadium the team played in). It all started with rumblings of the team's financial woes. Then, those woes became too much to overcome. The Gastonia Honey Hunters went bankrupt and were kicked out of the independent Atlantic League of minor league baseball they were a part of.
My next questions following this debacle were: 1. What was going to be the Honey Hunters next move? Were they just going to take the L and go away quietly into history? 2. What happens to the stadium? I mean that's a lot of tax dollars just sitting empty, plus all who enjoyed going out to the ballpark (and thought this was going to be a regular thing), now have nothing!
Let's answer question number 2 first. GREAT news for the city of Gastonia and its baseball fans. Next Wednesday, February 7, a press conference is scheduled. At that time, a new team will be announced to take over residence at CaroMont Health Park. Question number 1? Oh, boy. A reminder, back in November, the city sued the team for failing to meet its financial obligations. Also, again...the team got kicked out of their league. And now, so much for going quietly. The team countersued for being locked out and claims in court documents they could generate $100,000 in revenue by November if allowed to return. UGHHHH!
The downtown stadium opened in 2021. I look at it like this. You're a landlord of a brand-new rental property. You had the best of hopes for your first tenant. However, they didn't pay their rent. You tried to be understanding, but eventually you had to kick them out. You've still got a great rental property. Time to give tenant number two a chance.
I look forward to next week's press conference where the city of Gastonia will announce the new team the residents will get to enjoy in CaroMont Health Park.
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
Durham Bulls
Major League Team: Tampa Bay Rays
Location: Durham, NC
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
Greensboro Grasshoppers
Major League Team: Pittsburgh Pirates
Location: Greensboro, NC
Hickory Crawdads
Major League Team: Texas Rangers
Location: Hickory, NC
Winston-Salem Dash
Major League Team: Chicago White Sox
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
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
Down East Wood Ducks
Major League Team: Texas Rangers
Location: Kinston, NC
Fayetteville Woodpeckers
Major League Team: Houston Astros
Location: Fayetteville, NC
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Formerly Intimidators)
Major League Team: Chicago White Sox
Location: Kannapolis, NC
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
Gastonia Honey Hunters
League: Atlantic League
Location: Gastonia, NC
High Point Rockers
League: Atlantic League
Location: High Point, NC
High Point Thomasville HiToms
League: Coastal Plain League
Location: Thomasville, NC
Wilson Tobs
League: Coastal Plain League
Location: Wilson, NC
