Madison Muskies

The Madison Muskies were a Class A minor league baseball team that played in the Midwest League from 1982 to 1993 in Madison, Wisconsin. They were an affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. The team, which was started by Madison entrepreneur Ed Janus, started out playing at Breese Stevens Field and later moved to Warner Park.

José Canseco, Tim Belcher, Terry Steinbach, Ozzie Canseco, Tanyon Sturtze, Luis Polonia, Walt Weiss, Todd Van Poppel, Rick Honeycutt, Miguel Jiminez, Tom Romano, Steve Kiefer, Ron Coomer, Tommy John and Scott Brosius are among former Muskies who have played at the major league level. The Muskies' original manager, Brad Fischer, later became the third base coach for the Milwaukee Brewers.

The debut Muskies team had a league-best 87-52 record, 6.5 games ahead of the Appleton Foxes in the North Division, however, they lost the Midwest League championship to the Foxes 2 games to 1. Romano, a Muskies outfielder, was the Midwest League Most Valuable Player in 1982. In 1991, they made their second and last championship appearance, this time losing to the Clinton Giants 3 games to 0.

The Muskies played their last home game in Madison against the Foxes in 1993. In a driving rainstorm, with Appleton leading 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Foxes' pitcher slipped on the mound and his manager requested that the game be called. After a second slip, the umpire called the game, ending the Muskies' Madison tenure in anticlimactic fashion: Madison's final home game ended with one out in the bottom of the ninth, with the potential tying run coming to bat.

In 1993, the team relocated to Comstock Park, Michigan. It was renamed the West Michigan Whitecaps and has since become an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They finished their 12-year run in Madison with an 860-786 record, .522 winning percentage, including three division titles and four second-place finishes.