TEAM HISTORY

Barnett Field, seen here in the 1930s, was the home of baseball in Fargo from 1936-1963.

The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks arrived in the Red River Valley in 1996 after a 35-year absence of professional baseball. The area was home to the Fargo-Moorhead Twins, a minor league affiliate of the Cleveland Indians (1934-40, 1953–1957), Pittsburgh Pirates (1947-48), and New York Yankees (1958-60), that played in the Northern League from 1934 to 1960. The team played at Barnett Field in Fargo from 1936 until its demise and saw stars like Dizzy Dean, Lloyd Wagner, Roger Maris, Mudcat Grant, and many others play on its surface, on the site of the current Fargo North High School, over the years.

When Miles Wolff started the new Northern League in 1993, Fargo-Moorhead was immediately a target for a new franchise. Although arrangements couldn’t be made in time to bring the team in for the league’s first season in 1993, Gene Allen and Bruce Thom partnered to make the dream of baseball’s return to the area a reality when the league initiated its first wave of expansion in 1996. A new $5.5 million stadium was designed and team and city officials broke ground on August 31, 1995.

The name RedHawks was chosen from a list of eight finalists and unveiled alongside the team’s new uniforms on October 17, 1995. Beavers, Prairie Dogs, Pioneers, Prairie Hawks, River Rats, Roughriders, and Valley Cats were the other options. The name was submitted by Steve Bono of Moorhead, an air traffic controller who was inspired by the hawks he saw soaring in the sky from the airport tower.

The RedHawks joined the Northern League with the expansion Madison Black Wolf in 1996 and had immediate success under manager Doug Simunic, winning 53 games in the team’s first season to tie the league record and making it to the championship series before falling to the St. Paul Saints.

After losing in the first round of the playoffs to Winnipeg in 1997, the RedHawks returned in 1998 and put together one of the greatest teams in independent baseball history. Leading almost wire to wire, F-M posted a 64-21 record and set the mark for highest winning percentage (.735) in league history. Fargo-Moorhead cruised through the playoffs, beating Winnipeg and St. Paul to take home the franchise’s first Northern League title. Baseball America would later name the 1998 RedHawks the Independent Team of the Decade for the 1990s.

The RedHawks and Newman Outdoor Field hosted their first All-Star Game in 1999, when Fargo played host to a battle between the Northern League’s Central and East (formerly the Northeast League) Divisions. Chris Coste, Greg Salvevold, Mike Busch, and Aaron Jersild represented the RedHawks as the Central won the game, 7-5.

The RedHawks ran their streak of postseason appearances to six with playoff berths from 1999-2001, but were shut out of the playoffs for the first time in their history in 2002.

Fargo-Moorhead regrouped in the offseason and returned to the top of the Northern League in 2003. After a 62-28 regular season, the RedHawks edged the Schaumburg Flyers in the first round of the playoffs before winning their second league title in Winnipeg against the Goldeyes in the NL Finals. The 2004 RedHawks again advanced to the postseason before falling to St. Paul in the Division Finals. 

In 2005, the RedHawks dominated the regular season, winning a league-record 68 games and posting an incredible 40-7 mark in the second half. The ‘Hawks rattled off a league-record 14-game winning streak from Aug. 17-Sept. 1. Despite the gaudy numbers, the RedHawks fell to Gary SouthShore in the Championship Series.

The 2006 RedHawks got revenge for the 2005 season, defeating Gary SouthShore in the Northern League Finals to take home the team’s third championship. The 2006 ‘Hawks posted a 63-33 record and landed three players on the Northern League All-Star Team, including league MVP Joe Mathis.

2007 saw Fargo-Moorhead win the NL North Division second half title and finish with the second-best overall record in the league (57-38) before being swept in the first round of the playoffs by the Calgary Vipers. Joe Mathis was again selected to the NL All-Star Team, and Mike Just was named Rookie of the Year.  In addition, Mathis was named the league's top defensive player, while closer Nate Cotton earned Relief Pitcher of the Year honors. 

The RedHawks hosted the Northern League All-Star Game at Newman Outdoor Field for the second time in 2007, with Richard Austin, Adam Shorsher, Kory Wayment, Darryl Lawhorn, Dane Renkert, Jason Schutt, Adam Rowe, and Joe Mathis selected to represent the North Division and Doug Simunic managing. The South Division defeated the North Division 7-5.

In 2008, the RedHawks posted the best record, going 62-34.  Despite the club's regular season success, F-M was swept out of the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season, this time by the Kansas City T-Bones.   Three members of the RedHawks were named to the NL All-Star Team: catcher Alan Rick, second baseman Carlo Cota, and outfielder Steve Mortimer.  Joe Mathis earned his second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Award and Billy Weitzman was named the Rookie Pitcher of the Year. Doug Simunic was selected as Manager of the Year for the sixth time, while GM Josh Buchholz was named Executive of the Year.

2009 brought a fourth Northern League Championship season to the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks organization.  Behind N.L. MVP Nic Jackson, RedHawks went 53-42 and finished 3rd in the regular season.  The RedHawks advanced to the Championship round by taking Game 5 of a Best-of-Five series against the Winnipeg Goldeyes. After losing Game 1 of the NL Finals to Gary SouthShore, the RedHawks won three straight to take the series three games to one. LHP Jeremy Hauer was named the Championship Series MVP.  Catcher Alan Rick and outfielder Nic Jackson were each named to the 2009 All-Independent League Teams.

The 2010 Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks were able to put their stamp on the Northern League with their NL record fifth (and second consecutive) championship season.  A 61-39 record was tops in the Northern League and the RedHawks swept through the playoffs, with T.J. Stanton finishing off the Kansas City T-Bones with a 14-strikeout, one-hit complete game shutout to win the title in front of the hometown fans. Casey Hoorelbeke was named the Relief Pitcher of the Year, Doug Simunic won Manager of the Year, and GM Josh Buchholz took home his second Executive of the Year award.  

In late 2010, the RedHawks announced that the team would move to the American Association of Professional Baseball for the 2011 season. The RedHawks posted their first losing record in team history (44-56) and missed the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history.

The RedHawks won back-to-back North Division titles in 2012 and 2013, but were defeated in the opening round of the playoffs by the eventual champions (Winnipeg in 2012, Gary SouthShore in 2013) both seasons.  Zach Penprase and Ryan Delgado were named All-Stars in 2012, Nic Jackson was named the league’s Player of the Year and Star of Stars, Tom Boleska earned Relief Pitcher of the Year honors, and Josh Buchholz received his third Executive of the Year honor. Taylor Stanton was named the American Association Pitcher of the Year in 2013.

Fargo-Moorhead hit a cold snap in 2014, missing the playoffs for five straight seasons. Prior to the streak, the franchise had only missed the postseason twice in 16 seasons of play. Doug Simunic was let go by the team in August 2017 in the midst of his 22nd season with the club. He amassed a 1202-839 record and five league championships in 2,041 games over 22 seasons with the RedHawks. 

The RedHawks got back to the playoffs in 2019, finishing second in the North Division with a 63-37 record. Fargo-Moorhead won the first two games of the best-of-five North Division Championship Series at Newman Outdoor Field, and LHP Tyler Pike had a perfect game through six innings of Game 3, but the Saints won all three games in St. Paul to steal the series on their way to a first AAPB title.

Fargo-Moorhead took part in the six-team, 60-game COVID-19 shortened season in 2020 and finished fifth with a 28-32 record under interim manager Chris Coste. Despite the unsuccessful record, Drew Ward beat teammate Correlle Prime by one thousandth of a point to win the AAPB batting title. 

The RedHawks came back for the 2021 season with a loaded roster that powered its way to a second-place finish in the North Division. After defeating Milwaukee in the opening round, F-M survived a battle against the Chicago Dogs in the NDCS to win the series. John Silviano’s go-ahead grand slam in Game 5 of the series was perhaps the highlight of the AAPB season, with the ‘Hawks sealing the deal to earn their first playoff series win since joining the league in 2011 and a spot in the AAPB Finals. The playoff run ended with a 3-0 series loss to the Kansas City Monarchs in the championship series.

The 2022 season saw the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks return to glory for the first time since 2010. The RedHawks defeated the Milwaukee Milkmen three games to two in the Miles Wolff Cup Finals to win its first championship in the American Association of Professional Baseball and sixth title overall. Leo Piña delivered the walk-off hit in the 10th inning of Game 5 after Alex DuBord pitched three shutout innings in relief to set up Fargo-Moorhead for the win. After six innings in Game 5 at Newman Outdoor Field, the RedHawks trailed the Milkmen 6-3. Piña, DuBord and designated hitter Drew Ward were all named AAPB Postseason All-Stars. Starting pitcher Tyler Grauer was named the AAPB Rookie Pitcher of the Year after going 10-5 on the year with a 3.51 ERA.

In 2023, the RedHawks went 51-49 and earned the last playoff spot in the West Division. A 2-0 sweep by the Sioux City Explorers in the West Division Series ended any hopes of a championship repeat.

In September 2023, Fargo-Moorhead had the opportunity to compete in the inaugural Baseball Champions League Americas organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Hosted in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, the event featured the champions of Mexico, Cuba, Colombia and the American Association. The RedHawks qualified based on the 2022 Miles Wolff Cup title. The RedHawks won the final three games they played at the tournament — including an 8-0 win in the final against Caimanes de Barranquilla (Colombia) — to claim the inaugural BCL Americas trophy.

The 2024 season saw the RedHawks finish third in the West Division with a 53-47 record and earn a fourth straight trip to the American Association playoffs. After avenging the previous season’s playoff series loss to the Sioux City Explorers with a 2-1 win in the West Division Series, Fargo-Moorhead re-ignited its oldest rivalry with a matchup against the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the West Division Championship Series. After a back-and-forth series, the Goldeyes won Game 3 in Winnipeg to seal the series win and end the RedHawks’ season.

YEAR BY YEAR RESULTS