The Hamilton Cardinals are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Hamilton, Ontario and a member club of the Canadian Baseball League. Founded in 1958, the club is the second oldest sports team in the city of Hamilton. Many of the team's players are former major leaguers and minor professionals. Home games are played at Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium.

The team has gone through several name changes over the years, most recently returning to the Cardinals name, after eight seasons as the Hamilton Thunderbirds. They were named the Thunderbirds when Drew Brady purchased the franchise on January 1, 2005, and the club adopted a new look with revitalized facilities and new uniforms. The Hamilton Cardinals played 1,490 games with a record of 525 wins and 965 losses before becoming the Thunderbirds, and winning the Intercounty title in 1978.

At a press conference on February 1, 2012, the club announced it would again be named the Hamilton Cardinals, because of the club's relationship with the Hamilton Cardinals youth rep program. In late 2013, Gary Molinaro purchased the team and appointed his son JP Molinaro the new team president while also hiring Mike Fortuna as the new general manager.

The team has gone through ownership changes in recent years, first in 2018 when a community ownership group led by Carmens Group was formed, then again in September 2022 when the ownership structure was changed to include local businessman Eric Spearin as the majority owner with PJ Mercanti of Carmens Group maintaining a minority position.

Shortly after the ownership change, the Hamilton Cardinals unveiled a new primary logo and uniforms for the 2023 season. The new logo features a strong modernized cardinal with a bat over its shoulder featuring a “hammer”-inspired bat weight. The logo emphasizes a new black and red colour scheme.

Under Spearin's leadership, the 2023 season heralded significant advancements for the organization, as evidenced by the Cardinals setting new benchmarks in attendance, television viewership, and merchandise sales. On May 21 2023, the Hamilton Cardinals retired #13 in honour of Dean Dicenzo. This was the first jersey number retired in franchise history. On the field, outfielder Tyler Duncan was awarded the franchise's first IBL Most Valuable Player and John Bell Memorial Trophy, boasting a .355 batting average, 6 doubles, 5 triples, a league-leading 16 home runs, and 51 RBIs over all 42 regular season games. Duncan's performance also established new franchise records in home runs and RBIs. Off the field, Spearin's contributions were recognized with the League's Executive of the Year award at the end of the 2023 season.

The conclusion of the 2023 season also marked another significant change for the organization, with long-time Manager Dean Castelli stepped down as Manager and Assistant Coach Chris Piano was named the Manager ahead of the 2024 season.

On November 28, 2024, the team made headlines across the baseball world when they announced that they had signed three-time MLB All-Star Fernando Rodney to a 1-year contract.

In spring 2025, the St. Louis Cardinals challenged the Hamilton Cardinals' application to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office for trademarks for their team name and logo.

Roster

Season-by-season records Hamilton Beavers Season GP Won Lost PCT Field Manager 1958 32 7 25 .219 Dan Lewandowski 1959 28 14 14 .500 Don Cooper Hamilton Cardinals 1960 34 19 15 .559 Bob Salvisburg 1961 34 19 15 .559 Nels Gilmour Hamilton Red Wings 1966 29 10 19 .345 Joe Acciaroli 1967 28 11 17 .393 Dan Burgess / Howard Holt 1968 24 12 12 .500 Bill Rowe 1969 28 16 12 .571 Hamilton Marlins 1970 30 13 17 .433 Bill Rowe 1971 28 11 17 .393 Mike Buist 1972 28 10 18 .357 Hamilton Real McCoys 1973 30 14 16 .467 Phil Beaudoin 1974 30 13 17 .433 Rick DeMarchi Hamilton Cardinals 1975 28 11 17 .393 Rick DeMarchi 1976 32 7 25 .219 Rick DeMarchi / Phil Beaudoin 1977 32 15 17 .469 Phil Duffy 1978 36 19 17 .527 1979 30 9 21 .300 1980 34 14 18 .438 Gary Wilson 1981 34 14 20 .412 Greg Higson 1982 33 5 28 .152 1983 34 12 22 .352 Vic Rosser 1984 31 6 25 .194 Phil Mavrinac / Gary Wilson 1985 36 12 24 .333 Phil Mavrinac 1986 32 7 25 .219 Gary Wilson 1987 34 10 24 .294 Vic Rosser 1988 34 11 23 .323 Tony O'Grady 1989 34 10 24 .294 Vic Rosser Jr. 1990 34 10 24 .294 Vic Rosser Jr. / Dean Dicenzo 1991 34 12 22 .353 John Foden 1992 32 7 25 .219 1993 35 16 19 .457 Barry Hutton / Dennis Reynolds 1994 35 17 18 .486 Dennis Reynolds 1995 35 8 27 .229 1996 35 12 23 .343 1997 36 14 22 .389 Dean Dicenzo 1998 30 3 27 .100 1999 35 15 20 .429 Jeff Lounsbury 2000 35 16 19 .457 2001 32 11 21 .344 Dennis Reynolds 2002 36 22 14 .611 Dean Castelli 2003 36 19 17 .528 2004 36 12 24 .333 S. Nichols / S. Ridley Hamilton Thunderbirds 2005 34 16 18 .471 Dean Castelli / Montgomery 2006 36 14 22 .389 Montgomery 2007 36 16 20 .444 Jeff Lounsbury 2008 36 10 26 .278 Adeo Calcagni 2009 36 7 29 .194 Dennis Reynolds 2010 36 12 24 .333 John Turbitt 2011 35 7 28 .200 Matt Fortuna Hamilton Cardinals 2012 36 6 30 .200 Matt Fortuna 2013 42 16 26 .381 2014 36 11 25 .306 2015 36 13 23 .361 Dean Castelli 2016 36 8 28 .222 2017 36 9 27 .250 2018 36 15 21 .417 2019 36 20 16 .556 2020 No season due to COVID-19 2021 30 11 19 .367 Dean Castelli 2022 42 12 30 .286 Dean Castelli / Jeff Lounsbury 2023 42 19 23 .452 Dean Castelli 2024 42 18 24 .439 Chris Piano 2025 42 21 21 .500 Chris Piano/Luis Bernardo

References

External links Official website