Huntsville Stars Information & Huntsville Stars Links at HealthHaven.com

	Huntsville Stars; Founded in 1985; Huntsville, Alabama;
; Team Logo	; Cap Insignia
	Class-level
	Double-A (1985–present);
	Minor league affiliations
	Southern League (1985–present) North Division; ;
	Major league affiliations
	Milwaukee Brewers (1999–present); Oakland A's (1985–1998);
	Name
	Huntsville Stars (1985–present);
	Ballpark
	Joe W. Davis Stadium (1985–present);
	Minor league titles
League titles	1985, 1994, 2001
Division titles	1985, 1986, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007
	Owner(s)/Operated by: Miles Prentice / Huntsville Stars, LLC
	Manager: Bob Miscik
	General Manager: Buck Rogers

The Huntsville Stars are a minor league baseball team of the Southern League and are the Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in in Huntsville, Alabama and are named for the space industry (NASA conducts operations at the nearby Marshall Space Flight Center, a major area employer). The team plays their home games at Joe W. Davis Stadium, named after the former mayor of Huntsville; built in 1985, the park seats 10,200 fans and is sometimes referred to as "The Joe."

[edit] Team history

[edit] Athletics era (1985–1998)

The Stars came to Huntsville by way of Evansville, Indiana and Nashville, Tennessee. In June 1984, Larry Schmittou purchased the Triple-A Evansville Triplets and, after the season, moved them to Nashville where they became the Nashville Sounds. His previous Double-A Southern League franchise was relocated to Huntsville. The City of Huntsville, led by Mayor Joe W. Davis, built a brand new 10,000 seat multipurpose stadium which lured the franchise to town. The Triplets' history was retired, the Sounds inherited the Double-A franchise's history, and the Stars began their own history.

Huntsville Stars logo, 1985-2007

The Stars began play in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics in 1985 with Don Mincher as the team's General Manager. Mincher, a Huntsville native and 12-year veteran of the Major Leagues, guided the franchise through its infancy as they won the Southern League Championship in their first season. The Stars won the league championship by defeating the Charlotte Knights three games to two. Future superstar José Canseco was the MVP of the league that year.

Terry Steinbach won the MVP award in 1986 solidifying the base of the A's Championship teams of the late 1980s. That same season the Stars met again with Charlotte in the championship series, this time losing the series two games to three.

In 1994, Mincher and a group of local investors purchased the team from Schmittou to keep baseball in Huntsville. The Stars once again won the Southern League title that season. Led by Ernie Young, the Stars swept the Chattanooga Lookouts to win the Western Division, then defeated the Carolina Mudcats three games to one to take the title. In 1997, the Stars made another appearance in the league championship series losing to the Greenville Braves three games to two.

[edit] Brewers era (1999–present)

Following the 1998 season, the Stars and A's parted ways and the Milwaukee Brewers came to town as the new Stars affiliate. Long regarded as having one of the best Minor League systems around, the Brewers struggled through management changes but still managed to give the Stars their third Southern League title in 2001. With the help of all-time Stars home run leader Josh Klimek, the Stars made the playoffs and went on to defeat their rivals, the Birmingham Barons, in the fifth game of the series for the Western Division crown. The Stars would face the Jacksonville Suns, who dominated the Eastern Division winning both halves and the first round, but due to the September 11 attacks, the championship series was cancelled and the Stars and Suns were declared co-champions.

Huntsville Stars cap insignia, early Brewers era (?-2007)

In 2000, Mincher became the Interim President of the Southern League when League President Arnold Fielkow left for the NFL. At the conclusion of the 2000 season, Mincher and his group put the Stars up for sale once again. He resigned from his position as President of the Stars and the Southern League removed the "interim" tag to make him league president for 2001. Pulling double duty until the team was sold, Mincher desired to keep the Stars in Huntsville. The group waded through countless offers to buy the Stars looking to find the right investors who would commit to keeping the team in the Tennessee Valley. Early in 2001, Mincher found his man in New York attorney Miles Prentice who also owns the Double-A Texas League Midland RockHounds, serves as a Director for the Texas League, and is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Minor League Baseball. Prentice promised to keep the team in Huntsville despite several offers for new stadiums in various locales.

In 2003, the Stars played against the Carolina Mudcats in the Southern League championship series where they lost three games to two. They made another championship attempt in 2006, losing three games to two against the Montgomery Biscuits. In 2007, Stars manager Don Money was named the Southern League's Manager of the Year as voted upon by the league's field managers, radio broadcasters, and print media. Also in 2007, the team captured its division title (beating the Tennessee Smokies three games to two) and went on to the SL championship series where they lost to Montgomery, three games to two.

To start the 2008 season, the Stars set a new team record for best start, by sweeping their first series with the Mississippi Braves 5 games to nothing to start the season 5–0.^[1] On April 26, 2008, the Stars turned their second triple play in franchise history, the last coming in 2002. The Stars won the 2009 first-half title, qualifying them for the playoffs.

[edit] Season-by-season record

Huntsville Stars (Southern League)
Year	Regular Season			Post-season
Year	Record	Win %	Finish*	Record	Win %	Result
1985	78–66	.542	2^nd	6–3	.667	Won Western Division Championship vs Knoxville Blue Jays, 3–1 Won SL Championship vs Charlotte Orioles, 3–2
1986	78–63	.553	1^st	5–4	.556	Won Western Division Championship vs Knoxville Blue Jays, 3–1 Lost SL Championship vs Columbus Astros, 2–3
1987	74–70	.514	1^st	0–3	.000	Lost Western Division Championship vs Birmingham Barons, 0–3
1988	59–85	.410	5^th	—	—	—
1989	82–61	.573	2^nd	?	?	Lost Western Division Championship vs Birmingham Barons, ?–?
1990	79–65	.549	1^st	—	—	—
1991	61–83	.424	4^th	—	—	—
1992	81–63	.563	2^nd	1–3	.250	Lost Western Division Championship vs Chattanooga Lookouts, 1–3
1993	71–70	.504	4^th	—	—	—
1994	81–57	.587	1^st	6–1	.857	Won West Division Championship vs Chattanooga Lookouts, 3–0 Won SL Championship vs Carolina Mudcats, 3–1
1995	70–74	.486	3^rd	—	—	—
1996	66–74	.471	5^th	—	—	—
1997	77–62	.554	1^st	5–5	.500	Won West Division Championship vs Mobile Bay Bears, 3–2 Lost SL Championship vs Greenville Braves, 2–3
1998	72–68	.514	2^nd	0–3	.000	Lost West Division Championship vs Mobile Bay Bears, 0–3
1999	64–77	.454	5^st	—	—	—
2000	64–75	.460	5^th	—	—	—
2001	75–63	.543	3^rd	3–2	.600	Won West Division Championship vs Birmingham Barons, 3–2 SL Championship series vs Jacksonville Suns canceled due to September 11, 2001 attacks. Both teams are declared co-champions.
2002	70–69	.504	4^th	—	—	—
2003	75–63	.543	1^st	5–5	.500	Won West Division Championship vs Birmingham Barons, 3–2 Lost SL Championship vs Carolina Mudcats, 2–3
2004	65–75	.464	4^th	—	—	—
2005	60–79	.432	4^th	—	—	—
2006	67–71	.486	4^th	4–3	.571	Won North Division Championship vs Chattanooga Lookouts, 3–0 Lost SL Championship vs Montgomery Biscuits, 1–3
2007	75–62	.547	3^rd	5–5	.500	Won North Division Championship vs Tennessee Smokies, 3–2 Lost SL Championship vs Montgomery Biscuits, 2–3
2008	73–67	.521	4^th	—	—	—
Totals	1,717–1,662	.508	—	?	?	3 League Championships
Note: * Finish denotes their position in the overall league standings. ? denotes missing information.

[edit] Current roster

Huntsville Stars roster

Players

Coaches/Other

Pitchers

18 Casey Baron
40 Zach Braddock
16 Bobby Bramhall
24 Nick Green
23 Donovan Hand
19 Jim Henderson
41 Mark Holliman
32 Brandon Kintzler
44 Mike McClendon
38 David Welch
37 Robert Wooten
30 Brae Wright

Catchers

35 J. R. Hopf
6 Jonathan Lucroy

Infielders

17 Taylor Green
2 Shane Justis
13 Brett Lawrie
3 Yohannis Perez
-- Zelous Wheeler
-- Steffan Wilson

Outfielders

4 Chuckie Caufield

Manager

12 Bob Miscik

Coaches

30 John Curtis (pitching)
15 Jim Lett (hitting)
Vacant (trainer)

† Disabled list
* On Milwaukee Brewers 40-man roster
∞ Reserve list
§ Suspended list
‡ Restricted list
# Rehab assignment
Roster updated 2009-11-20
Transactions · Coaching staff

[edit] Retired numbers

5 - Don Mincher, General Manager (1985–2001) and owner (1994–2001), Retired June 6, 2008^[2]
42 - Jackie Robinson., Retired throughout professional baseball on April 15, 1997

[edit] Notable former players

[edit] See also

[edit] References

"Southern League Champions." Southern League. 3 August 2007. Retrieved on 3 August 2007.

^ Pollock, Brett. "Stars Start Season With Series Sweep." Huntsville Stars. 7 April 2008. Retrieved on 22 June 2009.
^ "Stars Retire #5 in Honor of Mincher." Huntsville Stars. 6 June 2008. 11 June 2008.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Huntsville Stars

[0] Pollock, Brett. "Stars Start Season With Series Sweep." Huntsville Stars. 7 April 2008. Retrieved on 22 June 2009.

[1] "Stars Retire #5 in Honor of Mincher." Huntsville Stars. 6 June 2008. 11 June 2008.

[1]

[2]

Contents