Tennessee Smokies

• Location: Kodak, TN
• League: Southern League 2000-2019; Double-A South 2021; Southern League 2022-
• Affiliation: Toronto Blue Jays 2000-2002; St. Louis Cardinals 2003-2004; Arizona Diamondbacks 2005-2006; Chicago Cubs 2007-present
• Ballpark: Smokies Stadium

Team History

The Tennessee Smokies, of the Double-A Southern League and briefly in Double-A South, will soon be formerly of Sevier County and again known as the Knoxville Smokies. The Chicago Cubs farmhands play their home games at Smokies Stadium in Kodak, TN.

Smokies owner Randy Boyd, who bought the club from its then-parent Toronto Blue Jays in 2013, is returning the team to Knoxville from the ring county. The formal groundbreaking for a new Knoxville baseball stadium was held June 13, 2023. The new ballpark, using the placeholder name of Knoxville Multi-Use Stadium during construction, is expected to be ready for the start of the 2025 season - which is convenient given the lease on Smokies Stadium will expire with the 2024 season. With the move back into the city, the team is expected to return to its former name as the Knoxville Smokies.

Knoxville hosted many professional baseball teams from 1897 through 1999. Although the Smokies revived their four-decade nickname with their 2000 move to Kodak, they remained in the Blue Jays' system another two seasons. When the K-Jays were planning their move into Sevier County, then-Assistant General Manager Brian Cox said "Tennessee" would refer not to the state but to Tennessee's side of the Great Smoky Mountains. The Smokies affiliated with the Cubs after the 2006 campaign, starting a long partnership after changing parents in consecutive two-season affiliation cycles: St. Louis Cardinals 2003-2004 and Arizona Diamondbacks 2005-2006.

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs	Hitting coach	Pitching coach	Coach
2000	71-69	4th	Rocket Wheeler		Hector Torres	Craig Lefferts
2001	80-60	2nd (t)	Rocket Wheeler		Hector Torres	Craig Lefferts
2002	69-71	6th	Rocket Wheeler		Hector Torres	Craig Lefferts
2003	72-67	4th	Mark DeJohn	Lost in 1st round	Steve Balboni	Blaise Ilsley
2004	69-71	6th	Mark DeJohn	Co-Champs*	Steve Balboni	Blaise Ilsley
2005	64-76	7th	Tony Perezchica		Eric Fox	Dan Carlson
2006	70-69	5th	Bill Plummer		Tony Dello	Dan Carlson
2007	73-65	4th	Pat Listach	Lost in 1st round	Barbaro Garbey	Dennis Lewallyn
2008	62-77	9th	Buddy Bailey		Barbaro Garbey	Dennis Lewallyn
2009	71-69	3rd	Ryne Sandberg	Lost League Finals	Tom Beyers	Dennis Lewallyn
2010	86-53	1st	Bill Dancy	Lost League Finals	Tom Beyers	Dennis Lewallyn
2011	83-57	2nd	Brian Harper	Lost League Finals	Mariano Duncan	Marty Mason
2012	72-68	4th	Buddy Bailey		Mariano Duncan	Jeff Fassero	Nathan Maldonado
2013	76-62	2nd	Buddy Bailey	Lost in 1st round	Desi Wilson	Jeff Fassero	Carlos Figueroa
2014	66-73	5th	Buddy Bailey		Desi Wilson	Storm Davis	Leonel Perez
2015	76-63	4th	Buddy Bailey		Desi Wilson	Storm Davis	Guillermo Martinez
2016	58-81	9th	Mark Johnson		Desi Wilson	Terry Clark	Osmin Melendez
2017	68-70	7th	Mark Johnson		Jacob Cruz	Terry Clark	Ricardo Medina
2018	67-71	5th (t)	Mark Johnson		Jesus Feliciano	Terry Clark	Ben Carhart
2019	58-81	9th	Jimmy Gonzalez		Chad Allen	Ron Villone	Ben Carhart
2020	Season cancelled
2021	46-63	7th	Mark Johnson		Chad Allen	Jamie Vermilyea	Will Remillard
2022	71-66	4th	Michael Ryan	Lost League Finals	Rick Strickland	Jamie Vermilyea	Walker Gentz, Nick Lovullo
2023	75-62	3rd	Michael Ryan (27-23) / Kevin Graber (48-39)	League Finals	Rick Strickland	Jamie Vermilyea	Marco Romero, Tyler Ladendorf
2024			Lance Rymel		Rachel Folden	Jamie Vermilyea	Derron Davis, Henry Haack

* Due to Hurricane Ivan the finals series was canceled. Tennessee and Mobile were declared co-champions.

Related Sites

• SmokiesBaseball.com
• Albany's Kevin Graber enjoying new role as Double-A manager for Cubs