Myrtle Beach Pelicans
- Location: Myrtle Beach, SC
- League: Carolina League 1999-2019; Low-A East 2021; Carolina League 2022-
- Affiliation: Atlanta Braves 1999-2010, Texas Rangers 2011-2014, Chicago Cubs 2015-Present
- Ballpark: TicketReturn.com Field at Pelicans Ballpark
Team History[edit]
The Myrtle Beach Pelicans, of the Single-A Carolina League and briefly in Low-A East, have the actual franchise that was portrayed in Bull Durham (1988). The Chicago Cubs farmhands play their home games at Pelicans Ballpark in Myrtle Beach, SC.
The film - released nearly halfway into the 1988 campaign - helped hike the Durham Bulls' attendance 25% between the bookending seasons, followed in 1990 by Class A's first 300,000 one-season attendance. That led Durham, NC, to build a bigger ballpark, which drew 390,486 in its first season and helped land the Triple-A team that bumped the Carolina League franchise in 1998. The former Bulls played one season in Danville, VA, as the Danville 97s while Myrtle Beach, SC, built the stadium that has been their home ever since.
The team was league co-champion in its inaugural season, 1999, and captured another title in 2000. An Atlanta Braves affiliate from 1980 - during its "Durham Bulls" days - through 2010, its roster included many future Braves including Marcus Giles, Rafael Furcal, Adam LaRoche, Jeff Francoeur and Joey Devine.
Pelicans owner Chuck Greenberg and pitching great Nolan Ryan led a group that bought the Pels' then-parent Texas Rangers in August 2010, but Greenberg sold out the following March; at their next chance to change affiliations, the Pelicans dropped the Rangers for the Cubs. MLB's 2021 Minor League Reorganization lowered the Pels one level and kept them in the Cubs' system.
The Pels' home, formerly Coastal Federal Field, is considered perhaps the top pitchers' park in affiliated baseball.
The Pelicans play Copa de la Diversión Hispanic engagement campaign games as Pelícanos de Myrtle Beach, a straightforward translation of their name.
Year-by-Year Record[edit]
- * Series canceled due to Hurricane Floyd with Myrtle Beach and Wilmington tied at two games apiece.
External Link[edit]
The Official Website of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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