- Windy City ThunderBolts
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Windy City ThunderBolts Founded in 1995
Crestwood, Illinois
Team logo
Cap insigniaLeague affiliations - Frontier League (1999-present)
- East
- Heartland League (1996-1998)
- North Central League (1995)
Name - Windy City ThunderBolts (2004-present)
- Cook County Cheetahs (1997-2003)
- Will County Cheetahs (1996-1997)
- Will County Claws (1995)
Other nicknames - The Bolts
Team Colors - Blue, Black, White
Ballpark - Standard Bank Stadium (1999-present)
- Howie Minas Field (1998)
- Brennan Field (1995-1997)
Championships - League titles: 1998, 2007, 2008
- Division titles: 2007, 2008, 2010
Owner(s)/Operated By: {{{owner}}} General Manager: Mike Lucas Manager: Mike Kashirsky Media: WXAV, Chicago Southtown Star Website: wcthunderbolts.com The Windy City ThunderBolts are a professional baseball team based in the Chicago suburb of Crestwood, Illinois, in the United States. The ThunderBolts are a member of the East Division of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From the 1999 season to the present, the ThunderBolts have played their home games at Standard Bank Stadium.
Contents
History
The franchise known as the Windy City ThunderBolts started as the Will County Claws in 1995 and called their home at Lewis University’s Brennan Field in Romeoville. The Claws played in the struggling North Central League which started in 1994 with six teams, but only fielded four in 1995. The North Central League folded 18 games into its second season with the Claws finishing at 8-10. In 1996 the franchise would find a new league and a new name. The Will County Cheetahs joined the new four team Heartland League.
In the winter of 1997 the Cheetahs and the city of Crestwood, Illinois made a deal for Crestwood to build and own a brand new, state of the art ballpark for the Cheetahs. Despite the high hopes for baseball in Crestwood for the 1998 season, it was quickly obvious that because of construction delays, the new park would not be ready. The Cheetahs needed a home field, and with Romeoville not an option, neighboring Midlothian would be the solution to the Cheetahs’ home field problem as they would play their 1998 season at tiny Howie Minas Field. In Midlothian the Cheetahs would have one of their best seasons finishing in 2nd place with a 37-29 record in the first half and earn a playoff spot for the first time in franchise history. In the Championship, the Cheetahs would sweep the heavily favored Tennessee Tomahawks 2 games to 0 to gain the franchises first title.
However things for the Heartland League were anything but great. The league started the 1998 season with six teams, and finished with only four. The Cheetahs would win the last ever Heartland League Championship as the league folded after three seasons.
In 1999, the Cheetahs joined the stable Frontier League and has been a member of the league ever since. The team known as the Cook County Cheetahs prior to the 2004 season changed their name to the current Windy City ThunderBolts. An ownership change instigated the name change.
On August 26, 2007, the ThunderBolts won their first Central Division title. On September 17, 2007, they defeated the Washington Wild Things to win the Frontier League championship, three games to two. In 2008, they repeated a Division Title as the West Division Champions and Frontier League champions, defeating the Kalamazoo Kings three games to none in the championship series. (Note: After heavy rains flooded Homer Stryker Field the entire 2008 Championship series was played at the Thunderbolts Standard Bank Stadium.) They thus became only the second Frontier League team to win back-to-back titles, joining the 2001-02 Richmond Roosters.
In 2011, Dylan Axelrod became the first former ThunderBolt to play in MLB, having been called up by the Chicago White Sox.
Seasons
Year W-L PCT Place Postseason Will County Claws (North Central League) 1995 8-10 .444 3rd Will County Cheetahs (Heartland League) 1996 28-31 .475 3rd 1997 31-39 .442 3rd Cook County Cheetahs (Heartland League) 1998 37-29 .560 2nd Heartland League Championship Series: Defeated the Tennessee Tomahawks 2-0. Cook County Cheetahs (Frontier League) 1999 41-43 .488 3rd in FL West 2000 38-46 .452 3rd in FL West 2001 28-53 .346 6th in FL West 2002 40-44 .476 3rd in FL West 2003 42-48 .467 5th in FL West Windy City Thunderbolts (Frontier League) 2004 37-57 .394 5th in FL West 2005 39-57 .406 5th in FL West 2006 41-54 .427 4th in FL West 2007 68-28 .708 1st in FL Central Frontier League Division Series: Defeated the Rockford Riverhawks 3-0.
Frontier League Championship Series: Defeated the Washington Wild Things 3-2.
2008 60-36 .625 1st in FL West Frontier League Division Series: Defeated the Southern Illinois Miners 3-1.
Frontier League Championship Series: Defeated the Kalamazoo Kings 3-0.
2009 56-40 .583 2nd in FL West Frontier League Division Series: Lost vs. River City Rascals 0-3. 2010 56-38 .596 1st in FL East Frontier League Division Series: Lost vs. Traverse City Beach Bums 1-3. 2011 48-48 .500 4th in FL East Total 698-701 .499 Playoffs 15-8 .652 3 Division Title. 5 Playoff Appearance. 3 Championships. Current roster
Windy City ThunderBolts rosterCatchers
Infielders
- 3 Mike Torres
- 5 Jim Calderone
- 19 Nick Kuroczko
- -- Bryan Cooke §
- -- Matt Huggins
- -- Brad Decater
- -- Garrett Regan
Outfielders
Manager
Coaches
Disabled list
‡ Inactive list
§ Suspended list
Roster updated 4-1-2011
TransactionsOfficial websites
Frontier League East Division West Division Evansville Otters Gateway Grizzlies Florence Freedom Joliet Slammers Lake Erie Crushers Normal CornBelters London River City Rascals Southern Illinois Miners Rockford RiverHawks Traverse City Beach Bums Schaumburg Boomers Washington Wild Things Windy City ThunderBolts Expansion 2013 Kalamazoo Kings McHenry County K-Nines Annual events: Championship Sports teams based in the Chicago metropolitan area Baseball MLB: Chicago Cubs • Chicago White Sox, MWL: Kane County Cougars, AA: Gary SouthShore RailCats, FL: Joliet Slammers • Schaumburg Boomers • Windy City ThunderBolts NAL: Lake County Fielders, PL: DeKalb County Liners • DuPage DragonsBasketball NBA: Chicago Bulls, WNBA: Chicago Sky, PBL: Chicago Muscle • Northwest Indiana Stars, IBA: Chicago Redline • Gary Splash • Kankakee County Soldiers • Lake County Stars, ABA: Chicago Steam • Porter County PunishersFootball NFL: Chicago Bears, AFL: Chicago Rush, IFL: Chicago Slaughter, CIFL: Chicago Knights, WFA: Chicago Force, IWFL: Wisconsin Warriors, LFL: Chicago BlissHockey Lacrosse MCLC: Chi-town Lacrosse Club • Chicago Lacrosse Club • Lincoln Park Lacrosse Club • Northside Tribe • Windy City Lacrosse ClubRoller derby Rugby Soccer Softball College athletics
(NCAA Division I)Categories:- Frontier League teams
- Professional baseball teams in Illinois
- Baseball teams in Chicago, Illinois
- Frontier League (1999-present)
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