Salem Red Sox Founded in 1955 Salem, Virginia |
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Class-level | |||||
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Current | Advanced-A (1968–present) | ||||
Previous | Class-D (1955–1967) | ||||
Minor league affiliations | |||||
League | Carolina League (1968–present) | ||||
Division | Northern Division | ||||
Previous leagues
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Appalachian League (1955, 1957–1967) | ||||
Major league affiliations | |||||
Current | Boston Red Sox (2009–present) | ||||
Previous |
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Minor league titles | |||||
League titles (7) |
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Division titles (10) |
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Team data | |||||
Nickname | Salem Red Sox (2009–present) | ||||
Previous names
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Ballpark | Haley Toyota Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark (1995–present) | ||||
Previous parks
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Kiwanis Field (1955–1994) | ||||
Owner(s)/
Operator(s) |
Fenway Sports Group | ||||
Manager | Joe Oliver | ||||
General Manager | C Ryan Shelton |
The Salem Red Sox are a Minor League Baseball team in Salem, Virginia, an independent city adjacent to Roanoke, Virginia. It is a team in the Class A-Advanced Carolina League and a farm team of the Boston Red Sox. The team, known from 1995 through 2008 as the Salem Avalanche, was previously affiliated with the Houston Astros from 2003 to 2008 and the Colorado Rockies from 1995 to 2002. Prior to 1995, the franchise played under several different names and affiliations. The Red Sox play home games at Haley Toyota Field at Salem Memorial Ballpark, a 6,300 seat facility opened in 1995 that hosted the Carolina/California League All Star Game in 2006.
The franchise was owned from 1986 until 2006 by Kelvin Bowles, a local resident and major league baseball scout. Bowles (who, coincidentally, scouted for the Boston Red Sox from 2002–05) bought the team when it was in danger of moving from Salem. In 2006, the team was sold to a pair of businessmen from Atlanta who also owned the Fort Wayne Wizards. In December 2007, this group sold the team to Fenway Sports Group, a subsidiary of the Boston Red Sox ownership group, preparing the team for an affiliation change after its Player Development Contract with the Astros ended in 2008.
Total attendance – 6,640,978
Mugsy A St. Bernard mascot who made his rookie debut in professional baseball in 1997 with the Avalanche. According to the team's website, Mugsy descended from the passing Hale-Bopp comet that raced across the Roanoke Valley sky on April 4, 1997.
Misty Misty is a female saint bernard mascot who joined the team in 2005.
Lefty and Righty Coming to Salem all the way from Boston. Lefty and Righty are the new mascots. They're two red sox, both wearing Boston Red Sox hats, they also have an L on one's back and an R on the other.