The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-leaguebaseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Northern League from 1994 until 2010. The Goldeyes were champions of the Northern League in 1994. They are also three-time champions of the American Association; having won in 2012, and back-to-back in 2016 and 2017. The team is named after the goldeye, a fish usually served as a smoked delicacy and commonly called Winnipeg goldeye.[1]
History
There have been two separate and distinct baseball teams based out of Winnipeg to use the Goldeyes name, each playing in different incarnations of the Northern League. They first played in the original Northern League from 1954 until 1964. During that time, the Goldeyes were a minor league affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals and they won the league championship three times (1957, 1959, and 1960). The Goldeyes returned to the Short Season-A Northern League for one season, 1969, as an affiliate of the expansionKansas City Royals,[2] but they did not return in 1970, and the entire league shut down after the 1971 season.
The Goldeyes name was resurrected in 1994 when the independent league Rochester Aces of the new Northern League relocated to Winnipeg. It was decided the team would take on the name of the former Winnipeg team in honor of the past. In their inaugural season in Winnipeg, the new Goldeyes captured the Northern League championship.[3]
The Goldeyes became the longest tenured franchise in the Northern League following the departure of the St. Paul Saints, Sioux City Explorers, and Sioux Falls Canaries to the breakaway American Association in 2005; however, the team would jump to the American Association after the 2010 season.[4][5] The Goldeyes captured their first American Association championship in 2012, sweeping the Wichita Wingnuts in the finals.[3]
The Goldeyes fueled their rivalry with Wichita in 2016, when they defeated the Wingnuts in game five in Wichita for their second American Association championship.[6] Next season, the teams would meet again; this matchup looked as if the Wingnuts won the series in game four after a ground-out won the game and the team began celebrating on the mound. However, the umpire had called a balk and the strike was re-thrown; the Goldeyes tied the game later in the at-bat and forced a marathon 17-inning game.[7] This was the longest game in American Association history, which they won to play a game five.[8] The Goldeyes would seal back-to-back championships with an 18–2 victory over Wichita at home in Winnipeg.[9]
In 2020, the league announced that the Goldeyes would compete as one of six teams in a condensed 60-game season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] However, they would not play games at Shaw Park, and were instead based at Newman Outdoor Field (thus sharing a home field with the Fargo Moorhead RedHawks). Due to continued border restrictions, the Goldeyes announced plans to initially play home games during the 2021 season out of The Ballpark at Jackson in Jackson, Tennessee, the former home of the Jackson Generals. However, Jackson Mayor Scott Conger notified the teams that the Generals lost their authority to manage the city-owned ballpark when they lost their affiliation with Minor League Baseball and that they were issued an eviction notice to leave the stadium after May 30, nine days after the Goldeyes' May 21 home opener.[11] On June 1, the Goldeyes entered into a new license agreement with the city to continue use of the facility.[12] On July 22, the Goldeyes were granted permission from the federal and provincial governments to return to Shaw Park for games beginning on August 3.[13]
Stadium
From 1994 to 1998, the Goldeyes played their homes games at Winnipeg Stadium, a Canadian football stadium retrofitted for baseball. The team moved into CanWest Global Park (now Blue Cross Park), their own baseball-only facility, prior to the 1999 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Goldeyes played its 2020 season home games at Newman Outdoor Field, and April–July home games in the 2021 season at The Ballpark at Jackson.
Season-by-season records
First Half
Second Half
Overall
Season
League
Division
W–L
Finish
W–L
Finish
W–L
Win%
Playoffs
1994
NL
N/A
16–24
5th
27–13
1st
43–37
.538
Won championship
1995
NL
N/A
25–17
2nd
22–21
3rd
47–38
.553
Lost championship series
1996
NL
West
25–17
2nd
25–17
2nd
50–34
.595
Lost divisional series
1997
NL
West
29–12
1st
24–18
2nd
53–30
.639
Lost championship series
1998
NL
West
25–18
2nd
33–10
1st
58–28
.674
Lost division series
1999
NL
West
28–15
1st
20–23
3rd
48–38
558
Lost championship series
2000
NL
West
24–19
3rd
24–19
2nd
48–38
.558
Lost Central semi-final
2001
NL
North
29–16
1st
23–22
1st
52–38
.578
Lost championship series
2002
NL
North
28–17
1st
28–17
1st
56–34
.622
Lost championship series
2003
NL
East
26–18
2nd
29–16
1st
55–34
.618
Lost championship series
2004
NL
North
26–21
3rd
30–18
2nd
56–39
.589
Did not qualify
2005
NL
North
22–25
4th
25–23
4th
47–48
.495
Did not qualify
2006
NL
North
27–21
2nd
25–23
2nd
52–44
.542
Lost West final
2007
NL
North
27–20
2nd
25–23
2nd
52–43
.547
Lost Division Finals
2008
NL
N/A
51–45
3rd
N/A
N/A
51–45
.531
Lost semi-final
2009
NL
N/A
55–41
2nd
N/A
N/A
55–41
.573
Lost semi-final
2010
NL
N/A
46–53
6th
N/A
N/A
46–53
.465
Did not qualify
2011
AA
North
60–40
1st
N/A
N/A
60–40
.600
Lost Division Finals
2012
AA
North
55–45
2nd
N/A
N/A
55–45
.550
Won championship
2013
AA
North
56–44
2nd
N/A
N/A
56–44
.560
Did not qualify
2014
AA
North
63–37
1st
N/A
N/A
63–37
.630
Lost division series
2015
AA
North
47–52
2nd
N/A
N/A
47–52
.475
Did not qualify
2016
AA
North
58–42
2nd
N/A
N/A
58–42
.580
Won championship
2017
AA
North
62–38
1st
N/A
N/A
62–38
.620
Won championship
2018
AA
North
41–59
5th
N/A
N/A
41–59
.410
Did not qualify
2019
AA
North
57–43
4th
N/A
N/A
57–43
.570
Did not qualify
2020
AA
N/A
29–31
4th
N/A
N/A
29–31
.483
Did not qualify
2021
AA
North
50–49
4th
N/A
N/A
50–49
.505
Did not qualify
Playoffs
1994 season: Defeated Sioux City 3–1 to win championship