| Lexington Legends Founded in 2001 Lexington, Kentucky | |||||
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
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| Class | TBD (from 2021) | ||||
| Previous classes | Class A (2001–2020) | ||||
| League | TBD (from 2021) | ||||
Previous leagues | South Atlantic League (2001–2020) | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Previous teams |
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| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles (3) |
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| Division titles (3) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Name | Lexington Legends (2001–present) | ||||
| Ballpark | Whitaker Bank Ballpark (2001–present) | ||||
Owner(s)/ Operator(s) | Susan Martinelli Shea, Andy Shea / STANDS LLC | ||||
| President | Andy Shea | ||||
| General Manager | Gary Durbin | ||||
| Manager | Brooks Conrad | ||||
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The Lexington Legends are a Minor League Baseball team in Lexington, Kentucky. They were a member of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the Class A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals; however, the team became unaffiliated in 2020, after Major League Baseball's restructuring of minor league associations.[1] They play their home games at Whitaker Bank Ballpark, located in a commercial area on the northeast side of the city just inside New Circle Road. The team's mascot is "Big L", a mustachioed baseball player and his best friend is Pee Wee.
History
The Class-A Kissimmee Cobras moved from the Florida State League to Lexington following the 2000 season. The 2001 season began under manager J. J. Cannon. The team finished their first regular season with record of 92 wins and 48 losses and in first place of the sixteen-team South Atlantic League. In the postseason, the Legends defeated the Hagerstown Suns in the first round and advanced to play the Asheville Tourists in the League Championship Series. However, the series was cancelled after the Legends won the first two games of the series due to the September 11 attacks and the Legends were declared champions after having gone up 2-0 before game three was canceled.
Cannon returned to manage in 2002 and led the team to another winning record, but the Legends failed to qualify for the playoffs. Lexington made a return trip to the playoffs in 2003, but were defeated by the Lake County Captains in the first round. In 2004, the Legends finished with a record of 68-72, their first losing record in team history. The following season, the Legends posted an 81-58 regular season record and finished in first-place under manager Tim Bogar.
On May 31, 2006, Roger Clemens announced that he would come out of retirement to pitch for the Houston Astros for the remainder of the 2006 season. Planning to keep himself to a strict 60-pitch limit, Clemens returned to baseball with the Legends, where his oldest son Koby played. Father and son denied reports that Koby would catch his dad for the return. "He doesn't listen to me", Roger Clemens said. "We'd be shaking each other off and arguing too much."[2] In his first game, Clemens threw 62 pitches, allowed no walks, and only 1 run while striking out 6 batters in three innings of work with the Legends, who won the game 5–1.
The team received national attention again in 2006 following a controversial game against the Asheville Tourists on June 25. In the fifth inning of the game, Tourists manager Joe Mikulik went on an extended tirade after being ejected from the game following an argument with an umpire. The event received coverage on various television programs, including NBC's The Tonight Show, ESPN's Pardon the Interruption and SportsCenter, and MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann. Roger Clemens' appearance as a Legend as well as Joe Mikulik's meltdown are chronicled in the 2011 documentary film Legendary: When Baseball Came to the Bluegrass.
On September 19, 2012, WLEX-TV in Lexington reported that the Legends would change their affiliation from Major League Baseball's Houston Astros to the Kansas City Royals.[3]
The Lexington Legends are one of the minor league teams that lost MLB affiliation under a new plan by the MLB.[4]
Season by season results
Since their inception, the Lexington Legends franchise has played 13 seasons - all in the South Atlantic League. As of the completion of the 2016 season, the club has played in 2,225 regular season games and compiled a record of 1,079–1,146, or a .485 winning percentage. The team has a postseason record of 9-5.
| League Champions † | Post-season Berth ♦ |
| Season | Manager | Record[a] | Win % | League[b] | Division[c] | GB[d] | Post-season record[e] | Post-season win % | Result | MLB affiliate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 † | Joe Cannon | 92–48 | .657 | 1st | 1st | – | 4–0 | 1.000 | Won division series vs Hagerstown Suns, 2–0 Led Asheville Tourists 2–0 in League Championship Series Declared Co-League Champions[f] | Houston |
| 2002 | Joe Cannon | 81–59 | .579 | 2nd | 2nd | 2½ | – | – | – | Houston |
| 2003 ♦ | Russ Nixon | 75–63 | .543 | 7th | 2nd | 25 | 0–2 | .000 | Lost division series vs Lake County Captains, 0–2 | Houston |
| 2004 | Iván DeJesús | 68–72 | .486 | 10th | 7th | 17 | – | – | – | Houston |
| 2005 | Tim Bogar | 81–58 | .583 | 1st | 1st | — | – | – | – | Houston |
| 2006 ♦ | Jack Lind | 75–63 | .543 | 5th | 3rd | 8½ | 0–2 | .000 | Lost division series vs Lakewood BlueClaws, 0–2 | Houston |
| 2007 | Gregg Langbehn | 59–81 | .421 | 13th | 7th | 25 | – | – | – | Houston |
| 2008 | Gregg Langbehn | 45–93 | .326 | 16th | 8th | 34 | – | – | – | Houston |
| 2009 | Tom Lawless | 68–72 | .486 | 9th | 5th | 8½ | – | – | – | Houston |
| 2010 | Rodney Linares | 71–68 | .511 | 6th | 4th | 8½ | – | – | – | Houston |
| 2011 | Rodney Linares | 59–79 | .428 | 12th | 6th | 19½ | – | – | – | Houston |
| 2012 | Iván DeJesús | 69–69 | .500 | 7th | 4th | 18 | – | – | – | Houston |
| 2013 | Brian Buchanan | 68–70 | .493 | 8th | 6th/4th | 9.5/10 | – | – | – | Kansas City |
| 2014 | Brian Buchanan | 57-83 | .407 | 11th | 6th/6th | 17/20.5 | – | – | – | Kansas City |
| 2015 | Omar Ramirez | 58-80 | .420 | 12th | 6th | 26.5 | – | – | – | Kansas City |
| 2016 | Omar Ramirez | 52-87 | .374 | 13th | 7th | Kansas City | ||||
| 2017 | Scott Thorman | 62-75-1 | .453 | 12th | 6th | 16 | Kansas City | |||
| 2018 † | Scott Thorman | 76-60 | .559 | 2nd | 1st | - | 5-1 | .833 | Won division series vs Rome Braves 2-0 Won League Championship Series vs Lakewood BlueClaws 3-1 League Champions | Kansas City |
| 2019 † | Brooks Conrad | 68-70 | .493 | 7th | 3rd | 9 | 5-1 | .833 | Won division series vs Augusta Greenjackets 2-0 Won League Championship Series vs Hickory Crawdads 3-1 League Champions | Kansas City |
Notes
- a This column indicates overall wins and losses during the regular season and excludes any postseason play.
- b This column indicates overall position in the league standings.
- c This column indicates overall position in the divisional standings[split seasons for 2013 and 2014].
- d Determined by finding the difference in wins plus the difference in losses divided by two, this column indicates "games behind" the team that finished in overall first place in the division [split seasons for 2013 and 2014].
- e This column indicates wins and losses during the postseason.
- f Due to the September 11 attacks, the 2001 best-of-five League Championship Series against Asheville was cancelled. Asheville and Lexington were declared SAL Co-Champions.
Roster
| Players | Coaches/Other | |||
| Pitchers
| Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
| Manager
Coaches
# Rehab assignment | ||
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Legends Hall of Fame
The Legends have honored ten past members of the organization by inducting them in the Legends Hall of Fame.[5] These individuals are:
- Josh Anderson, outfielder (2004), inducted in 2005
- John Buck, catcher (2001), inducted in 2005
- Joe Cannon, manager (2001–2002), inducted in 2006
- Félix Escalona, second baseman (2001), inducted in 2005
- Mike Gallo, pitcher (2002), inducted in 2007
- Kirk Saarloos, pitcher (2001), inducted in 2006
- David Coggin, pitcher (2005), inducted in 2008
- Alan Stein, Team President/COO, inducted in 2005
- Charley Taylor, pitching coach, inducted in 2005
- Jon Topolski, outfielder (2001), inducted in 2005
- Tommy Whiteman, shortstop (2001–2002), inducted in 2007
References
- General
- "Lexington, Kentucky Minor League History." Baseball-Reference. Retrieved on September 11, 2010.
- "Lexington History (SAL)." The Baseball Cube. Retrieved on September 11, 2010.
- Specific
- ^ Sullivan, Josh "Lexington Legends lose Major League Baseball affiliation. They plan to keep playing.", Lexington Herald Leader, December 9, 2020, retrieved 22 January 2020
- ^ Bailey, Rick "Pitch and catch at the park, Clemens style FATHER, SON 'GET AT IT' IN 90-MINUTE SESSION." Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved on June 2, 2006.
- ^ "Lexington Legends Switching Major League Affiliation" Archived September 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine WLEX-TV 18. Retrieved on September 19, 2012
- ^ "Lexington Legends part of proposed downsizing". kentucky.com. Kentucky.com. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
- ^ "Lexington Legends Hall of Fame." Minor League Baseball. Retrieved on September 11, 2010.