Introducing the Great Lakes Loons

This week in our preview of the Midwest League we take a look at team that, before the Hot Rods and Lake County Captains, held the title of 'Newest Team in the MWL'. Despite their short history, the Great Lakes Loons have already made an impact on the major leagues while putting together a unique existence in Midland, Michigan.

TEAM: Great Lakes Loons

MLB AFFILIATE: Los Angeles Dodgers

LOCATION: Midland, MI

FIRST SEASON: 2007

STADIUM (CAPACITY): Dow Diamond (5,200)

2009 RECORD: 61-78, 81-59, T-2nd place in Eastern Division; Beat West Michigan 2-1 in Round One of playoffs; Lost to Fort Wayne 2-1 in MWL Semifinals

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIPS: None

NOTABLE MLB ALUMNI: 2 players; Clayton Kershaw (2007), Victor Garate (2008)

vs. Hot Rods: (April 27-29 at BG; May 18-20 at GL; August 14-16 at BG; September 4-6 at GL)

If you've ever looked at the lower peninsula of the state of Michigan, you'll notice it looks like a mitten-covered hand, which is a coincidental tribute to a state that seems to have winter for 49 of 52 weeks a year. Midland, home of the Great Lakes Loons, is located in the notch of the 'hand' between the thumb and forefinger, approximately 30 minutes from the shores of Lake Huron.

Baseball came to Midland via a tri-city jaunt that began with an expansion team in Springfield, Illinois in 1982. That franchise moved to Madison, Wisconsin, in 1994 before ending up in Battle Creek, Michigan, just one year later. This is where this week's tie-in to the Tampa Bay Rays comes, as the Battle Creek franchise served as a Rays affiliate in 2005-06. The tie-in is even more direct this week as Hot Rods pitching coach RC Lichtenstein served in the same capacity with the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays for each of those two seasons.

After their second year with the Rays, baseball left Battle Creek and headed northeast to Midland while sporting a new affiliation with the Los Angeles Dodgers. This is where the unique aspects of the Loons come into play.

Owned by Michigan Baseball Foundation, the Loons are a public charity and a non-profit organization. Each year, MBF gives grants to local non-profit groups that promote amateur sports, benefit young people, and enhance the economic climate of the Midland community. In addition to the franchise, MBF also owns Dow Diamond, the team's 5,200-seat stadium that was built in 2007 and wears the name of the Dow Chemical Company, based in Midland. And, according to media representatives with the club, the Loons are the only team in minor league baseball to own its own radio station, ESPN 100.9, which carries Loons games and local high school and college sports.

In its first two seasons of play, Great Lakes failed to produce a winning season, recording 57 wins in 2007 and 54 in 2008. This past summer, things turned around in a big way as the Loons rattled off 81 wins to secure the first playoff berth in team history. Despite a second-round elimination by eventual champion Fort Wayne, the Loons still boasted co-MWL MVP's in Dee Gordon and Kyle Russell. Gordon was also voted MWL Prospect of the Year by coaches, managers, broadcasters, and media members.

Despite their short run and only one winning season, the Loons have already produced two major league players. LHP Clayton Kershaw debuted in the big leagues with the Dodgers in 2008 before having a major impact in LA this past summer. Across the country, 2008 Loon Victor Garate, another left-hander, joined the Washington Nationals at the end of the 2009 season for a handful of relief appearances.

As for Dow Diamond, which hosted the 2008 MWL All-Star Game, the stadium boasts one of the most unique-and quite frankly, genius-features in minor league baseball. To combat the chilly weather in April and May (and sometimes June), there are fire pits in each of the outfield grass berms and a fireplace located directly behind home plate.

NEXT WEEK: Lansing Lugnuts (Toronto Blue Jays Affiliate)