The Mankato MoonDogs are an American amateur baseball team that plays in the Northwoods League, a collegiate summer baseball league. Their home games are played at ISG Field in Mankato, Minnesota. Several former Mankato players have gone on to play in Major League Baseball, including Curtis Granderson, Brandon Crawford, Alex Vesia, and Jacob Wilson.
History The team started play in 1999 as the Mankato Mashers, effectively serving as a replacement for the Kenosha Kroakers club which had folded after the 1998 season. In their inaugural season, the Mashers were the only team in the Northwoods League to broadcast their games on television.
The Mashers were renamed in 2002 to the MoonDogs when the franchise was acquired by Joe Schwei. The Moondogs were again sold in January 2013 to Mark Ogren. The current ownership group of Chad Superenant and Kyle Smith took over the club in 2018.
From 2008 to 2018 the MoonDogs made the playoffs eight of eleven seasons, making it to the NWL Championship on three occasions. In 2014 the MoonDogs were defeated by the Lakeshore Chinooks in a two-game series sweep.
Season-by-season +SeasonWLDivisional resultPlayoffs19992834200027372001362820023331200327372004214320053434200632352007353220084127200939292nd of 7Lost division finals vs Rochester Honkers201029418th of 8DNQ201142282nd of 8Won division finals vs Alexandria Beetles Lost finals vs Battle Creek Bombers201242271st of 8Won division finals vs Willmar Stingers Lost finals vs La Crosse Loggers201338324th of 8DNQ201442303rd of 10Won division finals vs Willmar Stingers Lost finals vs Lakeshore Chinooks201533396th of 9DNQ201646262nd of 9Lost division semifinals vs Willmar Stingers201744281st of 10Won division semifinals vs Eau Claire Express Lost division finals vs St. Cloud Rox201846263rd of 10Lost division semifinals vs Willmar Stingers201936364th of 5DNQ202017254th of 5DNQ202144242nd of 5Lost sub-division series vs St. Cloud Rox202240283rd of 5DNQ202338303rd of 6DNQ202438323rd of 6DNQ202538333rd of 6Won sub-division series vs St. Cloud Rox Lost division finals vs Duluth Huskies202637332nd of 6DNQ
Notable alumni (played in MLB) Name Mankato year(s) MLB debut team MLB accolades Jack Hannahan 1999 Detroit Tigers Paul McAnulty 2001 San Diego Padres Curtis Granderson 2001 Detroit Tigers All-Star (3x), Silver Slugger, Roberto Clemente Award Tommy Everidge 2002 Oakland Athletics Neil Wagner 2004/2005 Oakland Athletics Cole De Vries 2004 Minnesota Twins Brandon Crawford 2005 San Francisco Giants All-Star (3x), Silver Slugger, Gold Glove (4x), WS Champion (2x) Tyson Brummett 2005/2006 Philadelphia Phillies Cody Decker 2007 San Diego Padres Sean Halton 2006 Milwaukee Brewers Erik Hamren 2008 San Diego Padres John Brebbia 2009 St. Louis Cardinals Jake Petricka 2009 Chicago White Sox Tyler Naquin 2010 Cleveland Indians AL Rookie of the Month (2x) Sam Selman 2010/2011 San Francisco Giants Nick Goody 2011 New York Yankees Kyle McGrath 2012 San Diego Padres Sam Clay 2013 Washington Nationals Alex Vesia 2016 Miami Marlins World Series Champion (2x) Joey Gerber 2017 Seattle Mariners Ryan Kreidler 2017 Detroit Tigers Garrett Mitchell 2018 Milwaukee Brewers Brandon Pfaadt 2018 Arizona Diamondbacks Hayden Juenger 2019 Toronto Blue Jays Andre Granillo 2020 St. Louis Cardinals Jacob Wilson 2021 Oakland Athletics All-Star, AL Rookie of the Month Charles McAdoo 2022 Toronto Blue Jays
Staff The team's General Manager, Walker Regier, is from Southern Minnesota, he previously interned for the Willmar Stingers, another Northwoods League team.
Muttnik Listed at 6'3" and 210 lbs, the MoonDogs mascot throws and bats right pawed. Muttnik can be seen mingling with the crowd during games or at various community events throughout the year.
References
External links Mankato MoonDogs official site