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Birmingham Barons
Founded in 1885 Birmingham, Alabama
Team logo Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class	Double-A (1946–1961; 1964–1965; 1967–1975; 1981–present)
Previous classes	Class-A1 (1936–1945) Class-A (1902–1935) Class-B (1892–1901)
League	Southern League (1972–1975; 1981–present)
Division	North Division
Previous leagues	Dixie Association (1971) Southern League (1964–1965; 1967–1970) Southern Association (1901–1961) Southern League (1885; 1887–1889; 1892–1893; 1896; 1898)
Major league affiliations
Team	Chicago White Sox (1986–present)
Previous teams	Detroit Tigers (1957–1961; 1981–1985) Oakland Athletics (1968–1975) Kansas City Athletics (1964–1965; 1967) New York Yankees (1953–1956) Boston Red Sox (1948–1952) Philadelphia Athletics (1947) Pittsburgh Pirates (1946) Cincinnati Reds (1939–1945) Chicago Cubs (1938)
Minor league titles
Dixie Series titles (6)	1929 1931 1948 1951 1958 1967
League titles (13)	1928 1936 1948 1951 1958 1967 1983 1987 1989 1993 2002 2013 2024
Pennants (10)	1888 1892 1906 1912 1914 1928 1929 1931 1958 1959
Division titles (9)	1983 1987 1989 1991 1993 2002 2013 2021 2024
First-half titles (11)	1983 1987 1989 1991 2000 2002 2008 2009 2011 2013 2024
Second-half titles (6)	1990 1993 2001 2003 2004 2005
Team data
Name	Birmingham Barons (1981–present)
Previous names	Birmingham A's (1967–1975) Birmingham Barons (1901–1961; 1964–1965) Birmingham Reds (1898) Birmingham Bluebirds (1896) Birmingham Blues (1893) Birmingham Grays (1892–1893) Birmingham (1889) Birmingham Maroons (1888) Birmingham Ironmakers (1887) Birmingham Coal Barons (1885)
Colors	Black, red, gray
Mascot	Babe Ruff (1992-present) Lillie Mays (2006-present) WickyWood (1981-1992)
Ballpark	Regions Field (2013–present) Rickwood Field (1910–1961, 1964–1965, 1981–1987, 1996–present)
Previous parks	West End Park (aka "The Slag Pile") (1885-1910) Rickwood Field (1910–1961, 1964–1965, 1981–1987) Hoover Metropolitan Stadium (1988–2012)
Owner(s)/ Operator(s)	Diamond Baseball Holdings
General manager	Jonathan Nelson
Manager	Sergio Santos
Website	milb.com/birmingham

The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Barons were previously located in Montgomery, Alabama, and known as the Montgomery Rebels.

History

Most of the professional baseball teams that have played in Birmingham have used the name Barons. The current team began playing in Birmingham in 1981, having previously played in Montgomery, Alabama as the Montgomery Rebels. Like previous Barons teams, they played at Rickwood Field on a full-time basis from 1981 to 1987. Since then, they have only played at Rickwood on special occasions. From 1988 to 2012, the team played at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in the suburb of Hoover, Alabama, where former basketball star Michael Jordan played with the team in 1994. Since 2013, the team plays at Regions Field in the downtown part of Birmingham.

As a result of Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Barons were organized into the eight-team Double-A South. In 2022, the Double-A South became known as the Southern League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.

In 2023, Diamond Baseball Holdings purchased the team from The Logan Family.

Playoffs and championships

• Southern League playoff appearances (17): 1983, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2024
• Southern League championships (7): 1983, 1987, 1989, 1993, 2002, 2013, 2024
• Dixie Series championships (6): 1929, 1931, 1948, 1951, 1958, 1967

Television and radio

All Birmingham Barons games are televised live on MiLB.TV. All games are also broadcast on radio on either WJQX 100.5 FM, WJOX-FM 94.5 FM or WJOX-AM 690 AM. Birmingham Barons Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Curt Bloom is the broadcast commentator for both WERC and MiLB.TV and has been the voice of the Barons since 1992.

Roster

Notable Barons/A's

• Jeff Abbott
• Tim Anderson
• Wilson Álvarez
• Dylan Axelrod
• Wally Backman (manager)
• Sal Bando
• Jason Bere
• Eddie Brinkman (manager)
• Vida Blue
• Britt Burns (pitching coach)
• Mark Buehrle
• Mike Cameron
• Bert Campaneris
• Phil Cavarretta (manager)
• Ron Coomer
• Joe Crede
• Rob Dibble
• Dave Duncan
• Ray Durham
• Darrell Evans
• Scott Eyre
• Rollie Fingers
• Terry Francona (manager)
• Jon Garland
• Brad Goldberg
• Burleigh Grimes
• Sam Hairston (bench coach) (Patriarch of the 3-generation Hairston MLB family)
• Mike Heath (manager)
• Roberto Hernández
• Bo Jackson
• Reggie Jackson
• Bobby Jenks
• Howard Johnson
• Michael Jordan
• Paul Konerko
• Marcel Lachemann
• Rene Lachemann
• Tony La Russa
• Carlos Lee
• Paul Lindblad
• Rube Marquard
• Jack McDowell
• John McNamara (manager)
• Bob Melvin
• Jim Nash
• Blue Moon Odom
• Miguel Olivo
• Magglio Ordóñez
• Jake Peavy
• Rico Petrocelli (manager)
• Jimmy Piersall
• Aaron Poreda
• Johnny Riddle (player/manager)
• Luis Robert
• Aaron Rowand
• Joe Rudi
• Marcus Semien
• Razor Shines (manager)
• Bill Stafford
• Wally Taylor
• Gene Tenace
• Bobby Thigpen
• Frank Thomas
• Pie Traynor
• Robin Ventura
• Omar Vizquel (manager)
• Phil Weintraub
• Bob Wickman

See also

• Birmingham Black Barons

References

1. ^ Reitz, Ian (12 September 2023). "Birmingham Barons sold to new ownership group". WVTM. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
2. "1965-1980 Montgomery Rebels - Fun While It Lasted". Fun While It Lasted. November 18, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
3. Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
4. "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
5. O'Neal, Bill (1994), The Southern League: Baseball in Dixie, 1885–1994, Eakin Press, pp. 307–308, ISBN 0890159521
6. "MiLB.tv". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
7. "Covering the Barons" (PDF). Birmingham Barons Media Guide. Minor League Baseball. p. 108. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
8. "Barons Front Office Staff" (PDF). Birmingham Barons Media Guide. Minor League Baseball. p. 105. Retrieved July 28, 2017.

External links

• Official website
• BirminghamProSports.com
• Birmingham Barons at Bhamwiki.com
• "Our Summer with Michael", newspaper story about Michael Jordan's season with the Barons

v t e Sports teams based in Alabama
Baseball	SL Birmingham Barons Montgomery Biscuits Rocket City Trash Pandas
Basketball	G League Birmingham Squadron
Football	UFL Birmingham Stallions
Hockey	SPHL Birmingham Bulls Huntsville Havoc
Roller derby	WFTDA Rocket City Roller Derby Tragic City Rollers
Soccer	USLC Birmingham Legion FC MLSNP Huntsville City FC NPSL AFC Mobile North Alabama SC USL2 Dothan United Dragons
College athletics	NCAA Division I Alabama Alabama A&M Alabama State Auburn Jacksonville State North Alabama Samford South Alabama Troy UAB NCAA Division II Alabama–Huntsville Auburn–Montgomery Miles Montevallo Spring Hill Stillman Tuskegee West Alabama NCAA Division III Huntingdon

• Birmingham Barons
• Baseball teams established in 1885
• Chicago White Sox minor league affiliates
• Detroit Tigers minor league affiliates
• Oakland Athletics minor league affiliates
• New York Yankees minor league affiliates
• Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates
• Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates
• Kansas City Athletics minor league affiliates
• Philadelphia Athletics minor league affiliates
• Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates
• Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates
• Southern League (1964–present) teams
• Southern League (1885–1899) teams
• Professional baseball teams in Alabama
• 1885 establishments in Alabama
• Double-A South teams