PLAY BALL! Hub City Spartanburgers reveal Minor League Baseball affiliation
By Jason Thomas,
2024-07-26
South Carolina’s newest professional baseball team now has a league affiliation.
The Hub City Spartanburgers will compete in the High-A South Atlantic League upon its debut at Fifth Third Park in 2025, according to a news release. The High-A-affiliation marks a significant milestone for Spartanburg as the new club prepares to revive its storied legacy of Minor League Baseball in the Upstate and contribute to the region’s rich baseball culture, the release stated.
The Spartanburgers will compete in the SAL’s South Division, providing local rivalries with the Greenville Drive and Asheville Tourists, as well as with fellow South Division members: Winston-Salem Dash, Rome Emperors, and Bowling Green Hot Rods, the release stated.
The Spartanburgers previously announced Fifth Third Bank as its naming rights partner and broke ground on its future home, Fifth Third Park, last November, followed by a community celebration announcing the name of the team earlier this year, according to the release.
“I am really excited for what this means for our fans and for our community,” said Tyson Jeffers, general manager of the Hub City Spartanburgers, in the release. “The Sally League hosts and develops some of the best young baseball players in the game, and I can’t wait to welcome them to Fifth Third Park. Beyond that, I am looking forward to developing a healthy and fun rivalry with our friends in Greenville and throughout the Carolinas.”
In April 2025, Fifth Third Park will open its gates to usher in the new era of professional baseball and entertainment in downtown Spartanburg, the release stated. Fifth Third Park will be a year-round community asset and gathering place. In addition to 66 home baseball games, Fifth Third Park will host other sporting events, concerts, comedy shows, festivals, educational activities, corporate events and more.
The Down East Wood Ducks, currently playing in Kinston, N.C., will be moving to Spartanburg following the 2024 season to become the Hub City Spartanburgers, at which point the team will take over the Hickory Crawdads’ place in the SAL as the Rangers’ High-A affiliate, the release stated. The Crawdads will return to their roots to compete in the Carolina League, as the Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, after the 2024 season.
Spartanburg’s affiliation with the SAL began in the early years of the league’s existence, hosting various teams under different names and affiliations over the decades, and contributing significantly to the league’s competitive landscape, according to the release. Although the SAL name has existed in MiLB for more than a century, the modern-day Sally League began as the Western Carolina League in 1948. The name South Atlantic League was adopted in 1980, beginning with eight teams as a Class A league. Following a one-year run as the High-A East in 2021, the South Atlantic League returned as a 12-team circuit reaching from New York to Georgia.
Other members of the South Atlantic League will play in the North Division and include: Aberdeen IronBirds, Brooklyn Cyclones, Greensboro Grasshoppers, Hudson Valley Renegades, Jersey Shore BlueClaws and Wilmington Blue Rocks.
In addition to a 3,500-seat stadium, the overall $425 million baseball district development area is the largest economic development project in the city’s history and will include 200,000 square feet of office space, more than 375 apartment units and a 150-room hotel, along with a public plaza. (Rendering/Spartanburg Baseball Club)
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