Midland RockHounds
- Location: Midland, TX
- League: Texas League 1999-2019; Double-A Central 2021; Texas League 2022-
- Affiliation: Oakland A's 1999-present
- Ballpark: Max H. Christensen Stadium 1999-2001; Momentum Bank Ballpark 2002-present.
Team History[edit]
The Midland RockHounds, of the Texas League and briefly in Double-A Central, are the last affiliated team to win four straight league championships, 2014 through 2017. The Oakland Athletics farmhands play their home games at Momentum Bank Ballpark, which has been known by a variety of names over its existence.
The four-peat started as ordinarily as a championship can in 2014 but ended anything but in 2017 - when the club had a losing record, slipped into the playoffs by winning a wild-card playoff berth on the last day of the regular season, overcame a 2-1 deficit to win the best-of-five semi-final and then overcame a 2-0 deficit to win the best-of-five championship series.
Midland has raised future A's longer than future "anything elses". One of them made history in the 2006 American League Championship Series: Mark Kiger made the first modern big-league debut in post-season play and became the only man whose entire MLB career, incredibly, did not include a single regular-season game. The A's, short of middle infielders due to free agency and injuries, lost their second baseman to another injury during the Division Series. They called up fifth-round draft pick Kiger, who played mostly with Midland from 2004 through 2006. Kiger played an inning at second base in the ALCS, recording a put-out but not getting to bat. Released the following November, he retired after three more seasons in the New York Mets' and Seattle Mariners' farm systems.
From 1985 through 1998, the club was known as the Midland Angels, and previously the Midland Cubs - both derived from their parent clubs. After only seven winning seasons in 28 years as the Cubs and Angels, the RockHounds had nine winning campaigns in their first 12 years with the A's. Before their streak of four straight crowns, they won the league championship in 2005 and 2009.
In late 2022, RockHounds' ownership sold the club to Diamond Baseball Holdings, the entity created by entertainment giant Endeavor Group Holdings but later sold to Silver Lake Partners. It was the third such announcement in two days, with DBH already owning 10 minor league teams.
The RockHounds play Copa de la Diversión Hispanic engagement campaign games as Matamoscas de Midessa (Midessa [contraction of Midland and Odessa] Fly Swatters).
Year-by-Year Record[edit]
Related Sites[edit]
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