Edmonton Cracker-Cats

Northern League (2005-2007)
Golden Baseball League (2008)

Tombstone

Born: 2005 – Northern League expansion franchise
Re-Branded: March 18, 2009 (Edmonton Capitals)¹

First Game: May 20,2005 (W 6-2 @ Kansas City T-Bones)
Last Game: September 5, 2008 (L 8-1 @ Calgary Vipers)

Northern League Championships: None
Golden Baseball League Championships: None

Stadium

Telus Field (9,200)²
Opened: 1995

Dimensions (2005): Left: 340′, Center: 420′, Right: 320′

Marketing

Team Colors: Grey, Black, Blue & Silver³

Ownership & Affiliation

Owner: Dan Orlich

Major League Affiliation: Independent

Attendance

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Sources:
2008 Northern League Media Guide (2005-2007 figures)
Baseball America 2009 Almanac (2008 figure)

Background

The Edmonton Cracker-Cats were a shambolic independent baseball operation that arrived at Edmonton’s Telus Field in the spring of 2005 in the wake of the departure of the Class AAA Edmonton Trappers of the Pacific Coast League. The Trappers left town the previous fall to move to Round Rock, Texas.

The Cracker-Cats were an expansion team in the Northern League, an independent circuit based in the American Upper Midwest that also featured a popular franchise in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Cracker-Cats were part of a dual-pronged geographic expansion to Alberta in 2005 that also included a new team for Calgary, another Alberta city that had also lost its Pacific Coast League franchise in recent years.

The Brawl

In four seasons of play, the Cracker-Cats signature moment was not a win or loss, but rather a brawl. On June 13th, 2006, Edmonton faced the Calgary Vipers on the road at Foothills Stadium. In the first two innings alone, Edmonton starter Reggie Rivard hit two Vipers and Calgary pitcher Frank James beaned Greg Morrison of the Cracker-Cats. The benches cleared for two violent brawls during the 2nd inning. Afterwards, the Cracker-Cats refused to return to the field and were handed a 9-0 forfeit of the game.

Brawl footage made it onto ESPN’s Sportscenter. Northern League officials doled out 76 games worth of suspensions to seven players, along with Edmonton manager Terry Bevington and Calgary manager Mike Busch. Bevington, a former Major League manager with the Chicago White Sox from 1995 to 1997, resigned in protest over the length of the suspensions and lack of appeal process.⁴

The Players

The team’s great player success story was late bloomer Scott Richmond, who joined the team as a 25-year old rookie in 2005. Richmond pitched three seasons for Edmonton from 2005 to 2007 before earning a contract with the Toronto Blue Jays organization in 2008. He spent parts of four seasons in the Majors with the Jays between 2008 and 2012.

One other player, pitcher Robert Coello (Cracker-Cats ’08), ultimately advanced to the Big Leagues. Coello pitched partial seasons for the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Angels between 2010 and 2013.

Typical of the Northern League talent pool, the Cracker-Cats also featured several 30-something guys with prior Big League service time. The most experienced of the lot were former Montreal Expos pitcher Mike Johnson (Cracker-Cats ’07), ex-Anaheim Angels reliever Lou Pote (Cracker-Cats ’07), former Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Ricardo Rodriguez (Cracker-Cats ’08) and 39-year old Orlando Miller (Cracker-Cats ’08), who was the Houston Astros starting shortstop way back in 1995 and 1996.

The End

After three seasons in the Northern League, the Cracker-Cats and their arch rivals, the Calgary Vipers, defected to the Golden Baseball League in 2008. The Golden League membership included six other teams located in Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah.

Behind the scenes, the Cracker-Cats struggled from the outset. Floridian owner Dan Orlich churned through three General Managers in the ‘Cats three seasons in the Northern League. The Northern League’s Alberta expansion adventure was a box office flop in both Edmonton and Calgary. The Cracker-Cats and the Vipers’ finances were further weakened by $50,000 annual travel subsidies that both were required to put up to subsidize the increased transportation expenses for the Northern League’s other clubs to journey to Alberta.

In February 2009, Orlich unloaded the Cracker-Cats to the Edmonton Oilers hockey team for the fire sale price of $400,000. The Oilers swiftly re-branded the team as the Edmonton Capitals ahead of the 2009 Golden Baseball League season.

Soon after the club came into stable local ownership, it ran out of places to play. The independent baseball bubble had burst. Three wobbly leagues – the Golden League, the Northern League and United League Baseball of Texas – merged in 2011 to form the North American League. The Capitals won the North American League’s championship in 2011. The league fell into utter disarray prior to its second season and Oilers’ management withdrew the Capitals’ membership in early 2012. The team never returned to the field.