Arkansas Travelers
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Arkansas Travelers Founded in 1963 Little Rock, Arkansas |
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| Class-level | |||||
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| Current | Double-A (1966–present) | ||||
| Previous | Triple-A (1963–1965) | ||||
| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| League | Texas League (1966–present) | ||||
| Division | North Division | ||||
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Previous leagues
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Pacific Coast League (1964–1965) International League (1963) |
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| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Current | Seattle Mariners (2017–present) | ||||
| Previous |
Philadelphia Phillies (1963–1965) St. Louis Cardinals (1966–2000) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2001–2016) |
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| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles (7) |
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| Division titles (1) | 2008 | ||||
| Team data | |||||
| Nickname | Travs | ||||
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Previous names
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Little Rock Travelers (1902–1961) | ||||
| Colors | Red, black, gray, white, maroon |
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| Ballpark | Dickey-Stephens Park (2007–present) | ||||
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Previous parks
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Ray Winder Field (1963–2006) | ||||
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Owner(s)/
Operator(s) |
Arkansas Travelers Baseball, Inc. | ||||
| Manager | Daren Brown | ||||
| General Manager | Paul Allen | ||||
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The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
The team succeeded the Little Rock Travelers, which appellation became defunct in 1961. The Travelers were the first professional sports team to claim an entire state in 1957 when they became the Arkansas Travelers. Both versions of the name derive from the old folk song, The Arkansas Traveler.
From 1932 to 2006, the Travelers played at Ray Winder Field. Bill Valentine, a former American League umpire and chosen as general manager for the Travelers from 1976 to 2007, began to promote the historic nature of Ray Winder Field. The ballpark gained recognition as one of the oldest still active parks in minor league baseball, and fans traveled to Little Rock to experience the nostalgia and sample the baseball history represented by Ray Winder Field. However, after nearly three-quarters of a century, the field was showing signs of age and after a successful special election in 2005, the team moved to a new stadium at the start of the 2007 season and the field was demolished in 2012.
Dickey-Stephens Park, the new stadium in North Little Rock, Arkansas, hosted the first Travelers game against the Frisco RoughRiders on April 12, 2007. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home field of the Arkansas Travelers minor league baseball team. It holds at least 7,000 people. It was built through a partnership between the Travs, Little Rock financier Warren Stephens and the city of North Little Rock. After donating an 11-acre (45,000 m2) plot of land east of the Broadway Bridge, Mr. Stephens named the ballpark in honor of two pairs of baseball-loving brothers; Stephens Inc. Founders Jack and Witt Stephens, and Hall of Fame Catcher Bill Dickey and his brother Skeeter, also a former Major League ballplayer. Both Dickey brothers worked for Stephens Inc. following their baseball careers. Bill, who caught for the 1925 Little Rock Travelers, also managed the club for one season following a 17-year Hall-of-Fame career with the New York Yankees that included seven World Series titles.
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