Louisville Redbirds were a Triple-A minor league baseball team that played in Louisville, Kentucky from 1982 through 1998.

Contents 1 History 2 Year-by-Year Record 3 See also 4 Sources

[edit] History

In 1978, the St. Louis Cardinals moved their AAA team of the American Association, the Redbirds, from Springfield, Illinois to Louisville.

During the 1982 season, the Redbirds broke the minor league attendance record by drawing over 800,000 fans.

In 1983, the Redbirds were the first minor league team to draw over one million fans in a single season.

In 1998, the American Association folded and the league's teams moved to either the International League or the Pacific Coast League. The Redbirds joined the International League.

During the 1998 season Louisville was affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers. In that year the Louisville minor league team became the Louisville RiverBats, which by 2002 became the Louisville Bats.

From the time the Redbirds arrived in 1982 until the 1999 season, they played their home games at Cardinal Stadium (formally called Fairgrounds Stadium), located at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center. The stadium, configured for baseball, seated over 30,000 fans. This capacity allowed Louisville to break the minor league attendance records.

The Louisville Redbirds were the American Association champions in 1984, 1985 and 1995. They were the league runner up in 1983, when they won the Eastern Division.

Successful major leaguers who played for the Louisville Redbirds include Willie McGee, Vince Coleman, Andy Van Slyke and Terry Pendleton., Fan favorites who never had sustained major league success included Rick Greenlee, Gene Roof, Mike Calise and Kelly Paris. Jim Fregosi was the team's manager from 1983 into 1986, leading the club to two consecutive American Association championships and one league runner up season.

[edit] Year-by-Year Record

Year	League	Affiliation	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1982	American Association	Cardinals	73-62	2nd (tie)	Joe Frazier
1983	American Association	Cardinals	78-57	1st	Jim Fregosi	Lost League Championship
1984	American Association	Cardinals	79-76	4th (tie)	Jim Fregosi	American Association Champs
1985	American Association	Cardinals	74-68	1st	Jim Fregosi	American Association Champs
1986	American Association	Cardinals	64-78	4th	Jim Fregosi; Dyar Miller; Dave Bialas
1987	American Association	Cardinals	78-62	2nd	Mike Jorgensen	Lost in semifinals
1988	American Association	Cardinals	63-79	4th	Mike Jorgensen
1989	American Association	Cardinals	71-74	4th	Mike Jorgensen
1990	American Association	Cardinals	74-72	3rd	Gaylen Pitts
1991	American Association	Cardinals	51-92	4th	Mark DeJohn
1992	American Association	Cardinals	73-70	3rd	Jack Krol; Mark Riggins
1993	American Association	Cardinals	68-76	3rd	Jack Krol; Mark Riggins
1994	American Association	Cardinals	74-68	4th	Joe Pettini	Lost in semifinals
1995	American Association	Cardinals	74-70	4th	Joe Pettini	American Association Champs
1996	American Association	Cardinals	60-84	4th	Joe Pettini
1997	American Association	Cardinals	58-85	4th	Gaylen Pitts
1998	International League	Brewers	77-67	1st	Gary Allenson	Lost in semifinals

[edit] See also

• Louisville Colonels
• Louisville Bats

[edit] Sources

• 'Baseball, Professional', The Encyclopedia of Louisville, John E. Kleber, Editor in Chief, ISBN 0-8131-2100-0

Preceded by Louisville Colonels	Minor league baseball in Louisville, Kentucky 1982–1998	Succeeded by Louisville RiverBats
Preceded by Denver Bears	American Association champions 1984–1985	Succeeded by Indianapolis Indians
Preceded by Springfield Redbirds	St. Louis Cardinals AAA affiliate 1982–1998	Succeeded by Memphis Redbirds