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West Michigan Whitecaps
West Michigan Whitecaps
Founded in 1994 ; Comstock Park, Michigan ;
Minor league affiliations
Class	High-A (2021–present)
Previous classes	Class A (1994–2020)
League	Midwest League (1994–present)
Division	East Division
Major league affiliations
Team	Detroit Tigers (1997–present)
Previous teams	Oakland Athletics (1994–1996)
Minor league titles
League titles (6)	1996; 1998; 2004; 2006; 2007; 2015;
Division titles (6)	1996; 1998; 2004; 2006; 2007; 2015;
Team data
Name	West Michigan Whitecaps (1994–present)
Colors	Navy, medium blue, light blue, white;
Ballpark	LMCU Ballpark (1994–present)
Owner(s)/; Operator(s)	Lew Chamberlin and Denny Baxter
General manager	Jim Jarecki
Manager	Brayan Peña
Website	milb.com/west-michigan

The West Michigan Whitecaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Comstock Park, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids, and play their home games at LMCU Ballpark.

Franchise history

The Midwest League came to the Grand Rapids area in 1994 upon the arrival of the former Madison Muskies. The Whitecaps were brought to West Michigan by local businessmen Lew Chamberlin and Dennis Baxter. The Whitecaps were affiliated with the Oakland Athletics before they joined the Tigers' farm system in 1997.

Their home ballpark is LMCU Ballpark in Comstock Park. Before the 2002 season it was known as Old Kent Park; the name was changed when the park's title sponsor, Old Kent Bank, was purchased by Fifth Third Bank. Before the 2021 season, the Lake Michigan Credit Union renamed the venue "LMCU Ballpark". The team's official mascots are Crash the River Rascal, Roxy the River Rascal and Franky the Swimming Pig.

The franchise's attendance record of 547,401 was set in 1996.

Several league and team records were set during the 2006 season. The team posted the second best record in franchise history, going 89–48, including going 23–6 in July. Michael Hollimon hit 3 home runs in one game. Cameron Maybin hit 2 grand slams in the season. Michael Hernandez became the first person in the history of the Midwest League to hit for the cycle twice. The Whitecaps went on to defeat the Kane County Cougars in four games to win their fourth Midwest League Championship.

In 2009, the team drew the attention of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine after a 4-pound (1.8 kg), 4,800-calorie hamburger called the Fifth Third Burger was placed on the menu of the team's concession stand. It was so named in part for the ballpark sponsor and part for its 1.6666 (or 5/3) pounds of meat. The Committee requested that the team put a label on the burger indicating that it was a "dietary disaster".^[1] To date, more than 100 fans, or about a half of the people who have attempted the challenge, have conquered the burger and earned a commemorative T-shirt. On July 15, 2009, Travel Channel's "Man v. Food" and its host Adam Richman came to Fifth Third Ballpark to attempt to conquer the burger in an episode of the popular show. The episode aired on September 30, 2009, wherein he successfully met the challenge. In 2012, The Whitecaps installed a new scoreboard and high resolution video display screen which was installed by TS Sports out of Dallas, Texas.

On January 3, 2014, a fire started in one of the suites. It spread and caused extensive damage, close to one half of the suites and 1st base concourse were destroyed.^[2] Thanks to extensive work, the park was restored and up and running by opening day.^[3]

In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Whitecaps were organized into the High-A Central.^[4] In 2022, the High-A Central became known as the Midwest League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.^[5]

Regular season

Season	W	L	Pct.
1994	74	65	.532
1995	67	69	.492
1996	77	61	.557	MWL Champions
1997	92	39	.702
1998	83	57	.593	MWL Champions
1999	68	72	.485
2000	88	52	.629
2001	65	72	.474
2002	83	57	.593
2003	67	73	.478
2004	69	70	.496	MWL Champions
2005	73	70	.510
2006	89	48	.649	MWL Champions
2007	83	57	.593	MWL Champions
2008	73	76	.532
2009	83	57	.593
2010	62	77	.446
2011	70	69	.504
2012	72	68	.514
2013	69	70	.496
2014	82	58	.586
2015	75	64	.540	MWL Champions
2016	71	65	.522
2017	91	45	.669
2018	69	70	.496
2019	49	90	.353
2021	58	62	.483
2022	72	59	.550
2023	68	62	.523

Postseason

The Whitecaps won the best-of-five Midwest League championship six times in six opportunities. They defeated the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in 1996, the Rockford Cubbies in 1998, the Kane County Cougars twice (2004 and 2006), the Beloit Snappers in 2007, and the Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2015. West Michigan is 55–32 all-time in playoff games.

Oakland Athletics affiliation

Year	Record	Results	Opponents
1994	0–2	Lost in First Round	Rockford (0–2)
1995	3–3	Lost in Second Round	Kane County (2–1), Michigan (1–2)
1996	7–2	Won Championship	Lansing (2–1), Rockford (2–0), Wisconsin (3–1)

Detroit Tigers affiliation

Year	Record	Results	Opponents
1997	0–2	Lost in First Round	Fort Wayne (0–2)
1998	7–2	Won Championship	Michigan (2–1), Clinton (2–0), Rockford (3–1)
2000	1–2	Lost in First Round	Dayton (1–2)
2002	3–2	Lost in Second Round	Dayton (2–0), Lansing (1–2)
2004	7–3	Won Championship	Lansing (2–1), South Bend (2–0), Kane County (3–2)
2005	2–2	Lost in Second Round	Fort Wayne (2–0), South Bend (0–2)
2006	7–2	Won Championship	Fort Wayne (2–1), Lansing (2–0), Kane County (3–1)
2007	7–2	Won Championship	Lansing (2–0), South Bend (2–0), Beloit (3–2)
2014	1–2	Lost in First Round	Fort Wayne (1–2)
2015	7–3	Won Championship	Fort Wayne (2–0), Lansing (2–1), Cedar Rapids (3–2)
2016	3–3	Lost in Second Round	South Bend (2–1), Great Lakes (1–2)
2017	1-2	Lost in First Round	Dayton (1-2)
2018	2-2	Lost in Second Round	Great Lakes (2-0), Bowling Green (0-2)

Managers

Since 1994, the Whitecaps have had nine managers. In 2007, former Tigers' third baseman Tom Brookens became the fifth manager in the history of the Whitecaps.

Listed here is each manager and their won/loss record:

Detroit Tigers affiliation

Bruce Fields 1997–2000 (331–220)
Brent Gates 2001 (65–72)
Phil Regan 2002–2003 (150–130)
Matt Walbeck 2004–2006 (231–179)
Tom Brookens 2007 (83–57)
Joe DePastino 2008–2010 (215–201)
Ernie Young 2011–2012 (142–135)
Larry Parrish 2013 (69-70)
Andrew Graham 2014–2016 (228-187)
Mike Rabelo 2017 (91-45)
Lance Parrish 2018-2019 (118-160)
Brayan Peña 2021-2023 (198-183)
Tony Cappuccilli 2024-present

Roster

West Michigan Whitecaps roster
v
t
e
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 33 Joe Adametz 20 Max Alba 18 Colin Fields 17 Jaden Hamm 39 Connor Holden 12 Eiker Huizi 28 Marco Jimenez 16 Tanner Kohlhepp 29 Carlos Marcano 31 Matt Merrill 14 Joe Miller 25 Joseph Montalvo 24 Yosber Sanchez 37 Bryce Tassin #		Catchers 15 Ricardo Hurtado 10 Bennett Lee 44 Thayron Liranzo Infielders 9 Luke Gold 4 Jim Jarvis 34 Andrew Jenkins 21 Kevin McGonigle 21 Izaac Pacheco 23 John Peck Outfielders 27 Brett Callahan 11 Roberto Campos 13 Max Clark 3 Dom Johnson 2 Seth Stephenson -- Cole Turney		Manager 46 Tony Cappuccilli Coaches 15 Francisco Contreras (hitting) 13 Collin Murray (assistant pitching) 43 Daniel Ricabal (pitching) 60-day injured list 81 Colin Burgess 84 Aaron Haase -- Jordan Marks (full season) 25 Dylan Smith 7-day injured list * On Detroit Tigers 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated November 6, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB • Midwest League → Detroit Tigers minor league players

Former Whitecaps in the majors

Below is a list of West Michigan Whitecaps who have played in the major leagues.

Oakland Athletics affiliation (1994–1996)

Benito Baez 1996
Jason Beverlin 1995
Emil Brown 1995
Ryan Christenson 1996
Steve Cox 1994
D. T. Cromer 1994
Jeff D'Amico 1994, 1995
Jeff DaVanon 1996
Mario Encarnacion 1996
Ben Grieve 1995
Ramon Hernandez 1996
Tim Kubinski 1994
Jason McDonald 1994
Chris Michalak 1994
Willie Morales 1994
Juan Moreno 1996
David Newhan 1995
Derrick White 1996
George Williams 1994

Detroit Tigers affiliation (1997–present)

Burke Badenhop 2006
Adam Bernero 1999
Willie Blair 1997 Pitched one game on rehab assignment
Brennan Boesch 2007
Jeremy Bonderman 2009 Pitched one game on rehab assignment
Dave Borkowski 1997
Brent Clevlen 2003
Francisco Cordero 1997
Nate Cornejo 1999
Casey Crosby 2009
Freddy Dolsi 2005
Eulogio de la Cruz 2004
Eric Eckenstahler 2000
Robert Fick 1997
Jason Frasor 1999, 2000
Tony Giarratano 2004
Curtis Granderson 2008 Played three games on rehab assignment
Jack Hannahan 2001
Michael Hollimon 2006
Omar Infante 2000
Brandon Inge 1999
Matt Joyce 2006
Jair Jurrjens 2005
Kris Keller 1999
Don Kelly 2002
Rodney Lindsey 1998
Nook Logan 2001
Shane Loux 1998, 1999
Bobby Lynch 2014
Cameron Maybin 2006
Matt Miller 1998
Dave Mlicki 2000 Pitched one game on rehab assignment
Brian Moehler 2000 Pitched one game on rehab assignment
Scott Moore 2003
Eric Munson 1999
Magglio Ordóñez 2008 Played one game on rehab assignment
Adam Pettyjohn 1998
Luis Pineda 1999
Mike Rabelo 2002, 2003
Ryan Raburn 2002, 2003
Mike Rivera 1998
Fernando Rodney 2000
Kenny Rogers 2007 Pitched one game on rehab assignment
Cody Ross 2000
Pedro Santana 1997, 1998
Ramón Santiago 2000
Jordan Tata 2004
Clete Thomas 2005
Andres Torres 1999
Andy Van Hekken 2000
Virgil Vasquez 2004
Chris Wakeland 1997
Jeff Weaver 1998
Joel Zumaya 2003
Nicholas Castellanos 2011
Reese Olson 2021

Broadcasting

In February 2019, the Whitecaps extended their broadcasting contract with Cumulus Media, but switched radio frequencies to air games on the newly-launched "The Ticket" for the 2019 season with radio simulcast on four stations: 106.1-FM and 1340-AM in Grand Rapids, and 99.1-FM and 1490-AM in Muskegon.^[6] Select games are aired in Holland, Michigan, on WHTC on 1450-AM and 99.7-FM. Dan Hasty is the Voice of the Whitecaps and also serves as the Host of the Detroit Tigers' Road to Detroit podcast,^[7] as well as serving as radio voice of Men's Basketball for the University of Detroit Mercy.^[8]

In popular culture

B-Roll footage of a game between the Whitecaps and South Bend Silver Hawks at Fifth Third Ballpark, was aired in Champ's Whammy! home runs scene in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. Officials with the West Michigan Whitecaps were unaware they would be featured in the movie and only found out after the movie was released in December 2013.^[9]