Springfield Lucky Horseshoes
Information
LeagueProspect League (2009–present) (Western Conference – Northwest Division)
LocationSpringfield, Illinois
BallparkRobin Roberts Stadium at Lanphier Park
Founded2007
League championships1 (2008)
Division championships1 (2023)
Former name(s)Springfield Sliders (2007–2021)
Former league(s)Central Illinois Collegiate League (2008)
OwnershipGolden Rule Entertainment
ManagementJamie Toole (CEO)
ManagerBrad Gyorkos
General ManagerAndrew Miller
MediaThe State Journal-Register
Websiteshoeseball.com

The Springfield Lucky Horseshoes are a collegiate summer league baseball team of the Prospect League. They play at Robin Roberts Stadium at Lanphier Park and are based in the city of Springfield, Illinois. The team was established in November 2007 as the Springfield Sliders[1] and were an expansion franchise for the 2008 season. The Lucky Horseshoes and other collegiate summer leagues and teams exist to give top college players professional-like experience without affecting NCAA eligibility.

The Central Illinois Collegiate League (CICL) season was divided into two-halves with the first half winner playing the second half winner in a best-of-three series. The Sliders dominated the first half of the 2008 season with a 20–4 record, winning by seven games. Springfield won the CICL Regular Season Championship with a 30–17 record, leaving the 2nd place team 4.5 games behind. In the 2008 playoffs, Springfield defeated the Danville Dans in three games to win the 2008 CICL Championship.[2]

The CICL merged with the Prospect League after the 2008 season, with the Prospect League name carrying forward into the 2009 season and beyond.

The Lucky Horseshoes play in the Prospect League's Western Conference – Northwest Division along with the Burlington Bees, Clinton LumberKings, and Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp.[3]

History

The Sliders are the third collegiate wood bat franchise in Springfield. The Springfield Capitals were the first, operating from 1963 to 1977 as a member of the CICL. After the 1977 season, the Capitals ceased operations to make way for a minor league team, the Springfield Redbirds, for the 1978 season. The Springfield Redbirds would serve as the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals for four seasons, winning an American Association championship in 1980.

After the Redbirds controversially[4] moved to Louisville for the 1982 season and became the Louisville Redbirds, Springfield was without a baseball team for one season.

The Springfield Rifles began play in 1983 and were members of the CICL through 2006. The Rifles played their home games at Lincoln Land Community College for all but one season, and suffered from extremely low attendance.[5][6] Beginning in 1996 and running through 2001, Springfield was also home to the second version of the Springfield Capitals who this time were a member of the Frontier League.[7]

The Sliders won their first game in franchise history against the Quincy Gems, 7–3.[8]

The team won the Western Division championship in 2010 (won both halves of the season) and played in the Western Division championship series after the 2016 as the 2nd Half champions, but lost the series to the Quincy Gems.[9]

The inclusion of the Gems in the 2016 series was controversial due to the Prospect League allowing an extra game played by the Gems to count in the standings for the season's 1st Half. The Gems and the DuPage Drones played a 31st game,[10] while the remaining four teams only played thirty games. The Sliders, had the Gems only been able to count thirty games for the season's 1st Half, would have won both halves of the season, as they held a tiebreaker over the Gems. Such a decision would have seen the Sliders and Drones play in the Western Division championship series, as the Drones had the second-best overall season record in the division.[11] Quincy would go on to lose the Prospect League Championship Series to the West Virginia Miners.[12] The Prospect League has since abandoned the first half winner and second half winner playoff format, instead opting to have the two teams with the best overall season records in each division advance to their respective divisional playoffs.

On February 17, 2022, the Sliders rebranded as the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes, named after the sandwich that originated in Springfield.[13]

Gun giveaway controversy

During the 2016 season, the Sliders announced that an in-game promotion during their June 22 game against the DuPage Drones would feature a 50/50 drawing for a choice of several guns.[14] The promotion drew attention and anger from a number of fans in the local community, given the short amount of time between the giveaway and the mass murder of 49 people at Pulse nightclub in Orlando.[15] The team's owner and General Manager, Todd Miller, told local media outlets that he gave thought to cancelling the giveaway, planned well in advance of the terrorist act,[16] but instead chose to go forward with the promotion.[17] Miller and the owner of the gun store providing the firearms emphasized that the weapons would not be at the stadium during the giveaway and that the winner would still have to comply with all applicable laws for purchasing a gun, in order to claim their prize.[18] The game saw triple the number of fans in attendance than a typical game that season.[19] The team has since given away two more guns at its games.[20]

Former players in professional baseball

Since joining the Prospect League for the 2009 season, the Sliders have seen several players[21][22][23] drafted by MLB teams. Elliot Soto was selected in the 2010 MLB draft by the Chicago Cubs and made his MLB debut in 2020 with the Los Angeles Angels.[24] Most recently, Chatham, Illinois (just south of Springfield) native Nick Maton was selected in the 2017 MLB draft by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 7th round and made his MLB debut with the Phillies in 2021.[25]

Seasons

SeasonManagerRecordWin %LeagueDivisionGBPost-season recordPost-season win %Post-season resultNotes
2008Ryan Sawyers[26]30–17.6381st1st–2–1.667Won Central Illinois Collegiate League Championship (Danville)
2009Jack Clark[27]22–32.40711th5th13.00–0.000Did not qualify
2010Curt Ford35–19.6481st1st–0–1.000Did not qualify
2011Danny Cox[28]25–30.4556th6th12.50–0.000Did not qualify
2012Pete Romero24–36.4005th5th14.00–0.000Did not qualify
2013Pete Romero[29]11–47.1905th5th29.00–0.000Did not qualify
2014Pete Romero[30] / Vic Aure[31]14–46.2335th5th25.50–0.000Did not qualify
2015Casey Dill[32]29–30.4924th4th13.50–0.000Did not qualify
2016Zac Charbonneau[33]39–20.6611st1st–0–2.000Did not qualify
2017Randy Guite[34]26–34.4335th5th10.00–0.000Did not qualify
2018Steve Leonetti[35]28–30.4837th4th7.00–0.000Did not qualify
2019Jeremiah Knackstedt[36]12–48.20012th6th31.00–0.000Did not qualifyProspect League record 26 game losing streak;[37] League record 48 overall losses
2020Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)
2021Terry McDevitt30–30.5007th3rd11.50–0.000Did not qualifyLast season as the Sliders
2022Zach George27–33.45011th3rd3.00–1.000Lost Prairie Land Division Championship (Alton)First season as the Lucky Horseshoes
2023Zach George25–29.46312th3rd7.01–1.500Won Wabash River Division Championship (Danville)
Lost Eastern Conference Championship (Chillicothe)		Moved from Western to Eastern Conference
2024Brad Gyorkos0–0.0000–0.000Moved from Eastern to Western Conference
Totals377–481.4393–6.333

    Stadium

    The Lucky Horseshoes play at Robin Roberts Stadium. The stadium opened in 1928 and was renovated/expanded over the years to its current 5,200[38] seat capacity. During the 2017 season, 29,532 fans attended Sliders games at Robin Roberts stadium, ranking the facility as the fourth-most visited stadium in the Prospect League.[39] The stadium has been the home to a number of minor league and independent teams since it opened in 1928.[40] During the 2019 season, just under 28,000 fans attended Sliders games at the stadium, ranking the facility as the third-most visited stadium in the Prospect League,[41] despite the team's on-field performance, which saw it set a new league record for most losses in a season at 48.[42]

    Roster

    Springfield Lucky Horseshoes roster
    Active roster Coaches/Other

    Pitchers

    • -- Matthew Brummer
    • -- Matt Cruise
    • -- Bryce Hires
    • -- William Ho
    • -- Lane Lorton
    • -- Joshua Mauney
    • -- Brayson Shew



    		  

    Catchers

    • -- Cooper Cohn
    • -- Charlie Marisca

    Infielders

    • -- Tyler Butina
    • -- Skylar Graham
    • -- Jimmy Koza

    Outfielders

    • -- Ryan Brosius
    • -- Gavin Erhardt
    • -- Mike Murphy
    • -- Harry Oden
    		  

    Manager

    • -- Brad Gyorkos

    Coaches

    • 34 Clint Jeffers (assistant)

    Disabled list
    ‡ Inactive list
    § Suspended list

     updated January 17, 2024

    References

    1. ↑ Springfield Sliders News Archived June 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
    2. ↑ "2008 Tournament". www.ciclbaseball.com.
    3. ↑ "2024 Prospect League Standings – Prospect League Baseball". www.prospectleague.com. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
    4. ↑ "Take me out to the ballgame". Retrieved June 13, 2018.
    5. ↑ Dettro, Chris (June 7, 2008). "Working the count: Sliders add to list of things to do around town". The State Journal-Register. Retrieved August 18, 2008.
    6. ↑ Springfield is back in the CICL Accessed June 6, 2008.
    7. ↑ "Frontier League (Independent) Encyclopedia and History | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
    8. ↑ "News Radio 1240 WTAX Springfield, IL".
    9. ↑ "Gems loose, relaxed in quest for fourth Prospect League title". Herald-Whig. August 10, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
    10. ↑ "Prospect Collegiate Baseball LLC | Pointstreak Stats". prospectleague.wttbaseball.pointstreak.com. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
    11. ↑ "Prospect League - standings". Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
    12. ↑ "West Virginia Miners Win Prospect League Championship - WISR 680 AM - Butler, PA". WISR 680 AM - Butler, PA. August 14, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
    13. ↑ "Capital City Baseball announces "Lucky Horseshoes" as new identity". Springfield Lucky Horseshoes. February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
    14. ↑ "Sliders Proceeding With Gun Giveaway". US 92.7. June 21, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
    15. ↑ "Gun Giveaway Upsets Some Springfield Sliders Fans". Retrieved June 13, 2018.
    16. ↑ Porter, Matt (June 23, 2016). "Springfield baseball club offers gun in raffle". ILLINOISHOMEPAGE. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
    17. ↑ Reynolds, John. "Sliders to raffle off gun at Wednesday's baseball game". The State Journal. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
    18. ↑ Illinois, Brendan Cullerton / Fox. "Springfield Sliders' Gun Giveaway Causes Controversy". WRSP. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
    19. ↑ Kwon, Esther. "Springfield Sliders Hold Controversial Gun Giveaway". WICS. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
    20. ↑ Illinois, Joe Cadotte, Fox. "Sliders give fans third gun in a year". WRSP. Retrieved June 13, 2018.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    21. ↑ "Josh Parr - 2011 - University of Illinois". Retrieved June 13, 2018.
    22. ↑ "Elliot Soto Drafted By Chicago Cubs in 15th Round of MLB Draft". Creighton University. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
    23. ↑ "Reilly Peltier Minor Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
    24. ↑ "Elliot Soto Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
    25. ↑ "Nick Maton Minor Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
    26. ↑ "Ryan Sawyers Bio :: Purdue University :: Official Athletic Site". Retrieved May 31, 2018.
    27. ↑ Staff Report. "Sliders' manager job goes to former Cardinals slugger Clark". The State Journal. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
    28. ↑ PILGER, HAL. "Sliders hire ex-Cards hurler Danny Cox as pitching coach". The State Journal. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
    29. ↑ Crawford, Sean. "Play Ball! Sliders Begin 2013 Season". Retrieved May 31, 2018.
    30. ↑ Ruppert, Jim (July 9, 2014). "Springfield Sliders, amid losing season, remove Pete Romero as manager". The State Journal. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
    31. ↑ Mahan, Ryan (May 26, 2015). "New manager Casey Dill puts his stamp on Springfield Sliders". The State Journal-Register. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
    32. ↑ Mahan, Ryan. "New manager Casey Dill puts his stamp on Springfield Sliders". The State Journal. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
    33. ↑ "Sliders Hire Charbonneau as Field Manager | Prospect Collegiate Baseball LLC". www.prospectleague.com. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
    34. ↑ Coy, David. "Sliders Manager Randy Guite learning a lot in his 1st season". WICS. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
    35. ↑ Staff report. "Sliders tab Leonetti as field manager". The State Journal. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
    36. ↑ "Jeremiah Knackstedt to Manage Springfield Sliders in 2019". Collegiate Summer Baseball Register. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
    37. ↑ "IT'S FINALLY OVER, SLIDERS SNAP 26 GAME LOSING STREAK | Prospect Collegiate Baseball LLC". www.prospectleague.com. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
    38. ↑ "Springfield Park District - Robin Roberts Stadium". www.springfieldparks.org. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
    39. ↑ "Prospect League Attendance Up in 2017 | Prospect Collegiate Baseball LLC". pointstreaksites.com. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
    40. ↑ "Robin Roberts Stadium | SangamonLink". sangamoncountyhistory.org. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
    41. ↑ Reichard, Kevin (August 12, 2019). "2019 Summer Collegiate Attendance by Average". Ballpark Digest. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
    42. ↑ "PROSPECT LEAGUE PROSPECT(US) | Prospect Collegiate Baseball LLC". www.prospectleague.com. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
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