St. Paul Saints
Location: St. Paul, MN
League: Northwestern League 1887; Western League 1892, 1897, 1899, 1901; American Association 1902-1960; Northern League 1993-2005; American Association 2006-2019; Triple-A East 2021; International League 2022-
Affiliation: Chicago White Sox 1936-1942; Brooklyn Dodgers 1944-1957; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1960; Minnesota Twins 2021-
Ballpark: Lexington Park 1897-1956; Midway Stadium 1957-1960 and 1993-2014; CHS Field 2015-
Team History[edit]
The St. Paul Saints, formerly of the independent American Association, briefly in Triple-A East, and now in the International League, are widely known for offbeat promotions and hilarious non-conformity. They play their home games at CHS Field in St. Paul, MN.
MLB's 2021 Minor League Reorganization pulled the Saints from independent baseball - one of three such teams - to become the nearby Minnesota Twins' top affiliate.
Team owners include actor Bill Murray and Mike Veeck, son of legendary baseball team owner and promoter Bill Veeck. Their promotions fit Veeck's genealogy - out-drawing other indies by having a pig for a mascot, playing a game without umpires (don't ask!), and hosting Atheists Night as the St. Paul Aints. The Saints debuted in the indy Northern League in 1993, then in 2006 chartered what would become the larger but also-indy Association.
The Saints play Copa de la Diversión Hispanic engagement campaign games as Los Santos de St. Paul, a literal translation of their brand.
City Baseball History[edit]
St. Paul had a long history in the original American Association, from 1902 to 1960 - as did Minneapolis. For some reason people confuse the Saints with the Apostles, who played during the 19th Century in St. Paul in a completely different league. While they were referred to in the press as the Apostles as an informal name, the official team name of the American Association's St. Paul club was the Saints.
The long-time rivals of the Minneapolis Millers, they often played home-and-road doubleheaders with their twin city on holidays, with the first game would be played in one city in the morning and the second in the other in the afternoon. The rivalry was especially heated when the Saints were a Brooklyn Dodgers farm club and the Millers were allied with Brooklyn's rival, the New York Giants.
The Saints finished first nine times, but won only one Little World Series, in 1924. In 1925, they were bought by Bob Connery, formerly the chief scout for the New York Yankees, with Yankees manager Miller Huggins as a minority owner (although the fact was not publicized at the time). From that year until 1932, St. Paul acted as a quasi-farm team for the Yankees, as the club would regularly sell players to the Bronx Bombers (an estimated 29 players were transferred between the two teams during the period), with the Yankees sending around $300,000 to St. Paul in total for these purchases. Most prominent among those players were Mark Koenig and Fred Heimach. Connery sold the team to St. Paul investors after the 1934 season.
Roy Campanella played for the Saints in 1948 prior to making his major league debut.
Three Saints clubs are considered among the greatest minor league teams of all time:
The Northern League entry of 1993 drew some of the biggest names in that circuit's first decade, including J.D. Drew, Darryl Strawberry, Ila Borders and Jack Morris. The team's 1996 season was chronicled for the documentary series Baseball, Minnesota, which aired on FX. After the 2005 season, the Saints announced they were leaving the Northern League for the following season, and the next season they chartered the new American Association.
Year-by-Year Record[edit]
Year | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs |
---|---|---|---|---|
1887 | 75-45 | 3rd | John Barnes | none |
1892 | 20-31 overall | -- | A.M. Thompson / Billy Alvord | Team moved to Fort Wayne on May 25 |
1897 | 86-51 | 4th | Charles Comiskey | none |
1899 | 57-69 | 5th | Charles Comiskey | none |
1901 | 69-54 | 2nd | Jimmy Ryan | none |
1915 | 90-63 | 2nd | Mike Kelley | none |
1916 | 86-79 | 4th | Mike Kelley | none |
1917 | 88-66 | 3rd | Mike Kelley | none |
1918 | 39-38 | 6th | Mike Kelley | League suspended operations on July 21 |
1919 | 94-60 | 1st | Mike Kelley | none League Champs |
1920 | 115-49 | 1st | Mike Kelley | none League Champs |
1921 | 80-87 | 6th | Mike Kelley | none |
1922 | 107-60 | 1st | Mike Kelley | none League Champs |
1923 | 111-57 | 2nd | Mike Kelley | none |
1924 | 96-70 | 1st | Nick Allen | none League Champs |
1925 | 91-75 | 3rd | Nick Allen | none |
1926 | 82-81 | 6th | Nick Allen | none |
1927 | 90-78 | 4th | Nick Allen | none |
1928 | 88-80 | 5th | Nick Allen | none |
1929 | 102-64 | 2nd | Bubbles Hargrave | none |
1930 | 91-63 | 2nd | Lefty Leifield | none |
1931 | 104-63 | 1st | Lefty Leifield | none League Champs |
1932 | 70-97 | 7th | Lefty Leifield | none |
1933 | 78-75 | 4th | Emmett McCann (70-71) / Phil Todt (8-4) | |
1934 | 67-84 | 7th | Bob Coleman | |
1935 | 75-78 | 5th | Marty McManus | none |
1936 | 84-68 | 2nd | Gabby Street | Lost in 1st round |
1937 | 67-87 | 7th | Gabby Street (28-45) / Phil Todt (39-42) | |
1938 | 90-61 | 1st | Babe Ganzel | Lost League Finals |
1939 | 73-81 | 5th | Babe Ganzel | |
1940 | 69-79 | 5th | Babe Ganzel | |
1941 | 61-92 | 7th | Red Kress | |
1942 | 57-97 | 8th | Truck Hannah (32-47) / interim (2-0) / Bob Tarleton (23-50) | |
1943 | 67-85 | 7th (t) | Salty Parker | |
1944 | 85-66 | 4th | Ray Blades | Lost League Finals |
1945 | 75-76 | 4th | Ray Blades | Lost League Finals |
1946 | 80-71 | 3rd | Ray Blades | Lost in 1st round |
1947 | 69-85 | 7th | Herman Franks (52-74) / Curt Davis (17-11) | |
1948 | 86-68 | 3rd | Walter Alston | League Champs |
1949 | 93-60 | 1st | Walter Alston | Lost in 1st round |
1950 | 83-69 | 4th | Clay Hopper | Lost in 1st round |
1951 | 85-66 | 2nd | Clay Hopper | Lost League Finals |
1952 | 80-74 | 3rd | Clay Bryant | Lost in 1st round |
1953 | 72-82 | 6th | Clay Bryant | |
1954 | 75-78 | 5th | Clay Bryant | |
1955 | 75-78 | 5th | Max Macon | |
1956 | 75-78 | 5th | Max Macon (66-66) / Roy Hartsfield (9-12) | |
1957 | 82-72 | 4th | Max Macon | Lost League Finals |
1958 | 70-84 | 7th | Max Macon | |
1959 | 81-81 | 5th (t) | Max Macon | |
1960 | 83-71 | 4th | Danny Ozark | Lost in 1st round |
1993 | 49-29 | 1st | Tim Blackwell | League Champs |
1994 | 43-36 | 3rd | Tim Blackwell | |
1995 | 53-31 | 1st | Marty Scott | League Champs |
1996 | 45-40 | 3rd | Marty Scott | League Champs |
1997 | 45-39 | 4th | Marty Scott | Lost in 1st round |
1998 | 40-46 | 4th (t) | Marty Scott | Lost League Finals |
1999 | 38-47 | 5th | Marty Scott | |
2000 | 43-43 | 4th (t) | Marty Scott | Lost in 1st round |
2001 | 37-53 | 6th (t) | Doug Sisson | |
2002 | 39-50 | 7th | Jimmy Johnson | |
2003 | 52-38 | 3rd | George Tsamis | Lost in 1st round |
2004 | 61-34 | 1st | George Tsamis | League Champs |
2005 | 55-40 | 2nd | George Tsamis | Lost in 1st round |
2006 | 54-42 | 4th | George Tsamis | Lost League Finals |
2007 | 57-39 | 2nd | George Tsamis | Lost League Finals |
2008 | 42-54 | 9th | George Tsamis | |
2009 | 49-47 | 4th (t) | George Tsamis | |
2010 | 45-51 | 7th | George Tsamis | |
2011 | 56-44 | 3rd | George Tsamis | Lost League Finals |
2012 | 52-48 | 6th | George Tsamis | |
2013 | 47-53 | 9th | George Tsamis | |
2014 | 48-52 | 6th (t) | George Tsamis | |
2015 | 74-26 | 2nd | George Tsamis | Lost in 1st round |
2016 | 61-39 | 1st | George Tsamis | Lost in 1st round |
2017 | 48-52 | 7th | George Tsamis | |
2018 | 59-41 | 1st | George Tsamis | Lost League Finals |
2019 | 64-36 | 1st | George Tsamis | League Champs |
Year | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs | Hitting coach | Pitching coach | Coach |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | 61-59 | 10th | Toby Gardenhire | 6-4 | Matt Borgschulte | Cibney Bello & Mike McCarthy | Tyler Smarslok |
2022 | Toby Gardenhire | Ryan Smith | Cibney Bello & Virgil Vasquez | Tyler Smarslok |
Further Reading[edit]
- Roger A. Godin: "The 1924 Junior World Series: The St. Paul Saints' Magnificent Comeback", in The National Pastime, SABR, Volume 28 (2008), pp. 119-128.
- Rex Hamann: "Baseball's Twin Towers in the Twin Cities: The Minneapolis Millers and the St. Paul Saints in the American Association, 1902-1960", in Daniel R. Levitt, ed.: Short but Wondrous Summers: Baseball in the North Star State, The National Pastime, Volume 42 (2012), pp. 29-37.
- Rex Hamann: The Millers and the Saints: Baseball Championships of the Twin Cities Rivals, 1903–1955, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2014. ISBN 978-1-4766-1599-8
- Dick Harris: The St. Paul Saints Baseball Club, 1902-1961: A Historical Chronicle, Bookhouse Fulfillment, Beaver's Pond Press, Edina, MN, 2008.
- Neal Karlen: Slouching Towards Fargo, William Morrow, New York, NY, 1999. ISBN 978-0380974849
- Joe O'Connell: "The Saints-Millers Holiday Series", in Daniel R. Levitt, ed.: Short but Wondrous Summers: Baseball in the North Star State, The National Pastime, Volume 42 (2012), pp. 44-46
- Steve Steinberg: "The St. Paul-New York Underground Railroad", in Daniel R. Levitt, ed.: Short but Wondrous Summers: Baseball in the North Star State, The National Pastime, Volume 42 (2012), pp. 38-43.
- Stew Thornley: The St. Paul Saints: Baseball in the Capital City, Minnesota Historical Society Press, St. Paul, MN, 2015. ISBN 978-0-8735-1958-8
Related Sites[edit]
- Official site of the St. Paul Saints
- [1] website dedicated to the first 61 seasons of the original minor league American Association, including the eight original teams: the Columbus Senators, Columbus Red Birds, Indianapolis Indians, Kansas City Blues, Louisville Colonels, Milwaukee Brewers, Minneapolis Millers, St. Paul Saints and Toledo Mud Hens. This website is an off-shoot of the hard copy publication The American Association Almanac which has been in circulation since 2001.
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