Merrillville Muddogs

The Merrillville Muddogs are the only professional baseball team in the history of Merrillville, IN. They led the Mid-America League in attendance (18,351) its sole season of operation (1995); they played their home games at Merrillville High School. The Muddogs finished third in the four-team league at 27-31 and were managed by Ron Kittle. Their first pitching coach was Steve Trout, but he was fired before the season ended. The club boasted five All-Stars: catcher Donnie Diffenbaugh (.322), 3B Craig Tucker (.276), SS Jeff Laschinski, P Ryan Lewis (3-2, 4.08) and P Javier Gomez (5-4, 2.43). Gomez led the league in ERA and was named pitcher of the year.

Source: 1995 Baseball Almanac