Based out of Knoxville, Tennessee, the Tennessee Smokies are the Double-A minor league affiliate of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs.
The team’s ballpark, Smokies Park, is located between Knoxville and Sevierville, Tennessee in the small town of Kodak, just off Interstate 40. The park officially opened in 2000, and seats up to 8,000 fans.
The team’s nickname, “Smokies”, refers to the mountain range for which the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is aptly named. The Great Smoky Mountains are known and often seen clouded in a hazy mist that gives the appearance of smoke rising from the forest. The Cherokee Indians long ago gave the mountain range the name “Shaconage” for the blue-gray haze.
As for area’s minor league team, the Smokies were the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals prior to 2005 and before that the Toronto Blue Jays. However, when the Cardinals purchased the El Paso Diablos, which had been the Arizona Diamondbacks’ AA affiliate, the Diamondbacks retained the Smokies as their new AA affiliate. On September 21, 2006, the Chicago Cubs reached a two-year player development contract with the Smokies through the 2008 season. The contract was renewed before the 2009 season and will run through the 2012 season.
Prior to 2000, the team was based in Knoxville, Tennessee and called the Knoxville Smokies for many years before moving and changing its name.
For scores, schedules and other information about the Smokies, visit their website here.
