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Fort Wayne TinCaps
Fort Wayne TinCaps
Founded in 1993 ; Fort Wayne, Indiana ;
Minor league affiliations
Class	High-A (2021–present)
Previous classes	Class A (1993–2020)
League	Midwest League (1993–present)
Division	East Division
Major league affiliations
Team	San Diego Padres (1999–present)
Previous teams	Minnesota Twins (1993–1998)
Minor league titles
League titles (1)	2009;
Division titles (3)	2009; 2012; 2017;
Second-half titles (1)	2023;
Team data
Name	Fort Wayne TinCaps (2009–present)
Previous names	Fort Wayne Wizards (1993–2008)
Colors	Forest green, red, tin, black, white;
Mascot	Johnny Tincap
Ballpark	Parkview Field (2009–present)
Previous parks	Memorial Stadium (1993–2008)
Owner(s)/; Operator(s)	Hardball Capital
President	Mike Nutter
Manager	Mike Daly
Website	milb.com/fort-wayne

The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The TinCaps compete in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Parkview Field. The TinCaps won the Midwest League championship in 2009.

History

The Midwest League came to Fort Wayne in 1993. The franchise is the oldest in the Midwest League and dates back to the league's beginning as the Illinois State League, starting in 1947 in Mattoon, Illinois as the Mattoon Indians. In 1958 the team moved to Keokuk, Iowa, where it spent five seasons as the Keokuk Cardinals; it was then based in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin (1963–1983) and Kenosha, Wisconsin (1984–1992) before moving to Fort Wayne. The team was a Minnesota Twins farm team before they affiliated with the Padres in 1999. When the team moved to Fort Wayne in 1993, it adopted a new name, the Wizards.

The name TinCaps was chosen following the 2008 season, alluding to John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed (1774–1845).^[1] The Tin Cap refers to the story (dating back to the 19th century), that Johnny Appleseed wore a tin cooking pot as a hat, though this depiction has been disputed by historians.^[2] Chapman spent his final years in Fort Wayne and is buried in the city.^[3]

The team's home park was Memorial Stadium, opened in 1993; a franchise attendance record of 318,506 was also set that year. As part of the Harrison Square revitalization project, Parkview Field became the official home of the TinCaps at the start of the 2009 season.^[4] To coincide with the new ballpark, the team held a contest to determine a new name for the Wizards once that new ballpark opened, and "TinCaps" was the result.^[5]

The mascot of the TinCaps is Johnny TinCap. Previously, for the Wizards, it was Dinger the Dragon and prior to that, the Wizards were represented by Wayne the Wizard.

The team won the Midwest League 2009 championship by sweeping the Burlington Bees, 3–0. The first two games were played at Parkview Field and the final, decisive game was played in Burlington, Iowa. The team and its staff were honored at Parkview Field in a special victory rally on September 18, 2009.^[6] In addition to winning a franchise record-setting 94 games in their new home, fans shattered the previous attendance record for the season, with 378,529 coming through the turnstiles.^[7]

The TinCaps also clinched playoff spots in every season of Parkview Field's existence with the exception of 2016.

In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the TinCaps were organized into the High-A Central.^[8] 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.^[9]

Playoffs

Season	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Finals
1993–1994	DNQ
1995	L, 2–0, Michigan	-	-
1996	DNQ
1997	W, 2–0, West Michigan	L, 2–0, Lansing	-
1998	W, 2–1, Peoria	L, 2–0, Rockford	-
1999	DNQ
2000	L, 2–0, Michigan	-	-
2001–2002	DNQ
2003	L, 2–0, Battle Creek	-	-
2004	L, 2–0, South Bend	-	-
2005	L, 2–1, West Michigan	-	-
2006	L, 2–1, West Michigan	-	-
2007–2008	DNQ
2009	W, 2–1, South Bend	W, 2–1, Great Lakes	W, 3–0, Burlington
2010	L, 2–0, Great Lakes	-	-
2011	W, 2–0, Bowling Green	L, 2–0, Lansing	-
2012	W, 2–0, Lansing	W, 2–1, Lake County	L, 3–1, Wisconsin
2013	W, 2–0, Bowling Green	L, 2–1, South Bend	-
2014	W, 2–1, West Michigan	L, 2–0, Lake County	-
2015	L, 2–0, West Michigan	-	-
2016	DNQ
2017	W, 2–0, Bowling Green	W, 2–1, Dayton	L, 3–0, Quad Cities
2018–2019	DNQ
2020	Season canceled
2021–2022	DNQ
2023	-	L, 2–1, Great Lakes	-

Awards and honors

2009 – Midwest League championship
2009 – MiLBY Awards "Overall Team of the Year"^[10]

All-time team

On August 24, 2008, The Journal Gazette and the franchise selected the all-time Wizards team members.

Manager
- Randy Ready
Catcher
- Javier Valentín
First Baseman:
- John Scheschuk
Second Baseman:
- Josh Barfield
Third Baseman:
- Sean Burroughs
Shortstop:
- Luis Rivas
Designated Hitter:
- Josh Loggins
Outfielders:
Starting Pitchers:
- Jake Peavy
- LaTroy Hawkins
- Tom Mott
- Mike Ekstrom
- Gabe Ribas
Relief Pitchers:
- J. J. Trujillo
- Dale Thayer

Roster

Fort Wayne TinCaps roster
v
t
e
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 14 Manuel Castro 17 Ruben Galindo 29 Will Geerdes 44 Joan Gonzalez 26 Harry Gustin 22 Jagger Haynes 21 Isaiah Lowe 34 Dwayne Matos 41 Tyler Morgan 28 Braden Nett 16 Enmanuel Pinales 30 Jose Luis Reyes 18 Fernando Sanchez 5 Will Varmette 33 Eric Yost		Catchers 9 Colton Bender 20 Addison Kopack 12 Ethan Salas Infielders 2 Nerwilian Cedeño 3 Wyatt Hoffman 25 Ethan Long 4 Nik McClaughry 23 Devin Ortiz 8 Rosman Verdugo Outfielders 7 Jacob Campbell 1 Kai Murphy 11 Tyler Robertson 10 Nick Vogt		Manager 15 Mike Daly Coaches 45 Thomas Eshelman (pitching) 13 Jed Morris (hitting) 24 Jhonaldo Pozo (bench) 60-day injured list 86 Albert Fabian (full season) 84 Jesus Gonzalez 99 Garrett Hawkins 98 Bodi Rascon 7-day injured list * On San Diego Padres 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated September 1, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB • Midwest League → San Diego Padres minor league players