Nice milestone for Darrell Handelsman, coach of the Green Bay Bullfrogs (summer collegiate; Northwoods League): yesterday he recorded his 599th and 600th summer-collegiate coaching victories. After earning victory 599 in game one on Monday afternoon in Green Bay, the Bullfrogs won the nightcap in Wausau, 12-5, to sweep the Woodchucks and give Handelsman his 600th […]
Tag Archives | northwoods league
Cedar Rapids Kernels buying Waterloo Bucks
The Cedar Rapids Kernels (Low Class A; Midwest League) are buying a team just up the road in the form of the Waterloo Bucks (summer collegiate; Northwoods League). It’s basically a done deal: Minor League Baseball and the Midwest League have signed off on the purchase and the team’s bank loan to buy the Bucks. […]
Kingfish’s McGhee guarantees win, will sleep in Bambino
Kenosha Kingfish (summer collegiate; Northwoods League) GM Jake McGhee is guaranteeing a win next Monday night and will sleep in the Bambino, the boat built into the Simmons Field home-run fence, if the team loses. Fans will also receive a ticket to a future game if the team loses. But McGhee will be sleeping in […]
What happens at a ballpark before a game? Lots of prep
We know most of our readers work in the baseball industry, but for those who don’t and want a glimpse of the glamor that is game prep, here’s a look at a typical Madison Mallards (summer collegiate; Northwoods League) pregame routine. It’s all pretty standard: beer deliveries, food preparation, field grooming. One interesting note: former […]
New Green Bay ballpark back in play
Mayor Jim Schmitt wants Green Bay to explore a new downtown ballpark for the Green Bay Bullfrogs (summer collegiate; Northwoods League) as an alternative to a new Walmart store. The Bullfrogs currently play at Joannes Stadium, the long-time home to baseball in the city. It’s a small facility, and for years former Bullfrogs owner Jeff […]
Kalamazoo off to strong start in summer-collegiate ball
Fresh off setting a league record for the largest attendance total in a debut game, the Kalamazoo Growlers (summer collegiate; Northwoods League) are off to a strong start, as baseball returns to Homer Stryker Field. As you’ll recall, Stryker Field was home to independent Frontier League teams for several years, then sat empty after Kalamazoo […]
Simmons Field / Kenosha Kingfish
This, friends, is why summer-collegiate leagues exist: to provide new life to old ballparks – evidenced by the makeover of Simmons Field, home of the Northwoods League’s Kenosha Kingfish. A successful business model for summer-collegiate ball is pretty simple: take an old ballpark formerly used for minor-league or industrial-league play, fix it up, and play […]
Green Bay Bullfrogs open new era at Joannes Stadium
The new owners of the Green Bay Bullfrogs (summer collegiate; Northwoods League) unveiled improvements to Joannes Stadium in last night’s season opener. As you’ll recall, Big Top Baseball — the ownership group that also owns the Madison Mallards, the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters and the Kenosha Kingfish — acquired the Bullfrogs in the offseason, with Liz […]
A thousand more fans per game approved for Kingfish
Capacity at Simmons Field is now a thousand more than planned after ballpark and parking-lot improvements were implemented by the Kenosha Kingfish (summer collegiate; Northwoods League). The Kenosha City Council voted 12-1 Monday night to approve a Simmons Field capacity of 3,218 after presentation of a new parking plan. Ballpark capacity is determined by the […]
The most unique outfield wall in baseball? Meet The Bambino
We’ve seen outfield party spaces designed to look like a boat, but this takes the cake: a real fishing boat from the 1930s is being installed at Simmons Field, home of the Kenosha Kingfish (summer collegiate; Northwoods League), for the 2014 season. The 43-feet-long by 13-feet-wide fishing boat originally named the “Bambino” (yes, really) was […]
Final renovation work underway at Wausau’s Athletic Park
This season will be a big one for the summer-collegiate Northwoods League: Besides new teams in Kenosha and Kalamazoo, the Wisconsin Woodchucks will be playing at a renovated Athletic Park. A Civilian Conservation Corps-funded and constructed facility that was once a longtime home to Midwest League and Wisconsin State League baseball (John Henry Moss, of […]
Witter Field to be outfitted with Interactive Accessible Seating Area
This could end up being a model for other ballparks: The summer-collegiate Northwoods League today announced plans to build an Interactive Accessible Seating Area at Witter Field, home of the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters, for the 2014 season pending city approval. A concrete patio will be connected to the existing grandstand on the first-base side to […]
Kalamazoo to prep selfie unis this summer
We’ve had teams create jerseys with fan hashtags, but the Kalamazoo Growlers (summer collegiate; Northwoods League) are going one step beyond by creating a jersey this season made up of selfies. The team is planning the Salute to Selfie Night on Thursday, July 24, but collecting the selfies now through April 1. To participate in […]