Gateway Grizzlies

Frontier League baseball team in Sauget, Illinois

Gateway Grizzlies

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Logo | Cap insignia
Information
League| Frontier League
Location| Sauget, Illinois
Ballpark| Arsenal BG Ballpark
Founded| 2001
League championships| 1 (2003)
Division championships| 4 (2003, 2007, 2012, 2023)
Playoff berths|

2003
2004
2007
2008
2012
2023
2024

Colors| Orange, navy blue, white

Ownership| Richard "Rich" Sauget
General manager| Kurt Ringkamp
Manager| Steve Brook
Media| Belleville News-Democrat, HomeTeam Network
Website| gatewaygrizzlies.com

The Gateway Grizzlies are a professional baseball team based in Sauget, Illinois. The Grizzlies compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the West Division in the Midwest Conference. The franchise was founded in 2001 and they play their home games at the 6,000-seat Arsenal BG Ballpark, just 8 miles southeast of Downtown St. Louis. Some of the defining features of the stadium include lawn seats, bleacher seats, box seating, party suites, a hot tub suite, and more.[1]

The Grizzlies won the Frontier Cup in 2003, defeating the Evansville Otters 3 games to 0.

The team have a rivalry with the Schaumburg Boomers, with whom they have shared a division since 2012.

## Season-by-season record

[edit]

Gateway Grizzlies (Frontier League)

Year | W–L | Win % | Place | Postseason  | Manager
2001 | 37–44 | .457 | 5th in FL West | Did not qualify  | Champ Summers
2002 | 34–50 | .405 | 5th in FL West | Did not qualify  | Rich Sauget
2003 | 50–38 | .554 | 1st in FL West | Won 1st Rd. Playoff vs. Washington Wild Things 2–0.
Won Frontier League Championship vs. Evansville Otters 3–0.  | Danny Cox
2004 | 56–38 | .588 | 2nd in FL West | Lost 1st Rd. Playoff vs. Rockford Riverhawks 3–2.  | Danny Cox
2005 | 49–47 | .442 | 3rd in FL West | Did not qualify  | Danny Cox
2006 | 42–52 | .512 | 3rd in FL West | Did not qualify  | Danny Cox
2007 | 64–29 | .688 | 1st in FL West | Lost 1st Rd. Playoff vs. Washington Wild Things 3–0.  | Phil Warren
2008 | 51–45 | .531 | 3rd in FL West | Lost 1st Rd. Playoff vs. Kalamazoo Kings 3–1.  | Phil Warren
2009 | 40–54 | .426 | 5th in FL West | Did not qualify  | Phil Warren
2010 | 54–40 | .574 | 3rd in FL West | Did not qualify  | Phil Warren
2011 | 39–56 | .411 | 4th in FL West | Did not qualify  | Phil Warren
2012 | 57–39 | .594 | 1st in FL West | Lost 1st Rd. Playoff vs. Florence Freedom 3–2.  | Phil Warren
2013 | 53–43 | .552 | 2nd in FL West | Did not qualify  | Phil Warren
2014 | 50–46 | .521 | 3rd in FL West | Did not qualify  | Phil Warren
2015 | 45–50 | .474 | 4th in FL West | Did not qualify  | Phil Warren
2016 | 44–51 | .463 | 6th in FL West | Did not qualify  | Phil Warren
2017 | 32–64 | .333 | 6th in FL West | Did not qualify  | Phil Warren
2018 | 38–58 | .396 | 6th in FL West | Did not qualify  | Phil Warren
2019 | 39-57 | .406 | 5th in FL West | Did not qualify  | Phil Warren
2020 | \-- | \-- | \-- | Season cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic.  | \--
2021 | 38-57 | .400 | 4th in FL West | Did not qualify  | Cameron Roth
2022 | 47-49 | .490 | 6th in FL West | Did not qualify  | Steve Brook
2023 | 59-37 | .615 | 1st in FL West | Lost 1st Rd. Playoff vs. Evansville Otters 2-1  | Steve Brook
2024 | 59-36 | .621 | 2nd in FL West | Lost East Division Wild Card Game to Lake Erie Crushers 10-8  | Steve Brook
Totals | 910–864 | .497 | — | —  | —
Playoffs | 10–12 | .454 | — | 3 Division titles, 5 Playoff appearances, 1 championship  | —

## Current roster

[edit]

Gateway Grizzlies roster

* v
* t
* e

Active roster | Coaches/Other

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Pitchers

* \-- Donovan Burke
* 21 Keegan Collett
* 28 Teague Conrad
* \-- Sam Coonrod
* 11 Tyler Cornett
* 32 Alvery De Los Santos
* \-- Claudio Galva
* 8 Matt Hickey
* \-- Francis Peguero
* \-- Sam Rochard
* \-- Zac Treece
* 15 Gage Vailes
* 14 Lukas Veinbergs
* 23 Alec Whaley

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Catchers

* 9 Jose Alvarez
* \-- Tanner Garrison
* \-- Allante Hall

Infielders

* \-- Ross Friedrick
* 2 Gabe Holt
* 12 DJ Stewart
* 18 Dale Thomas
* \-- Paxton Wallace
* 10 Tate Wargo

Outfielders

* 5 Cole Brannen
* 20 Victor Castillo
* \-- Calyn Halvorson
* 3 Edwin Mateo
* \-- Mark Shallenberger

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Manager

* 13 Steve Brook

Coaches

* 38 Alex Ferguson (bench)
* 4 Kyle Gaedele (hitting)
* 17 Nick Kennedy (pitching)

Disabled list
‡ Inactive list
§ Suspended list

updated May 4, 2025
Transactions

## "Baseball's Best Burger"

[edit]

The team offers their own version of the Luther burger named "Baseball's Best Burger". Featured on ESPN,[2] Fortune,[3] and Man v. Food, the 1,000 calorie burger uses a deep-fried doughnut in place of a traditional bun.

## Broadcasting

[edit]

Grizzlies games are currently broadcast on Mixlr, and can be watched live on FloSports with a subscription. The team's current director of Broadcasting and Media Relations is Jason Guerette.

## Notable alumni

[edit]

* Scott Patterson (2002–2005), a retired pitcher, had his contract purchased by the New York Yankees in 2006. Patterson was called up to the majors for one game in 2008 before being sent back down, and was claimed three months later by the San Diego Padres. Following that year, he played for 8 more seasons between various minor league and international teams.[4] As a member of the 2011 United States National Baseball Team at the Pan American Games, Patterson won a silver medal.[citation needed] He later retired in 2016.
* Justin Erasmus (2013), pitcher, played in the Boston Red Sox organization and in the Australian Baseball League before joining the Grizzlies for the 2013 season. He went back to the AUBL afterwards, and is currently on the Canberra Cavalry.[5] Erasmus was a member of the 2009 South Africa roster and the 2017 Australia roster in the World Baseball Classic.[6][7]
* Trevor Richards (2015–2016), pitcher, was signed by the Miami Marlins in 2016, and called up to the majors in 2018. He has since pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers, and is currently on the Toronto Blue Jays.[8]
* Josh Lucas (2023), former major league pitcher who played with the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, and Baltimore Orioles from 2017 to 2019. Signed with the Grizzlies for the 2023 season where he made 21 appearances for the Grizzlies, recording a 2.84 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 4 saves across 31+2⁄3 innings pitched.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Gateway Grizzlies".
2. ^ "Illinois team counts on calories to draw attention". ESPN. March 10, 2006. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
3. ^ "The 11 craziest foods sold at ballparks this year". Fortune. April 24, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
4. ^ "Scott Patterson Stats | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
5. ^ "Justin Erasmus Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
6. ^ "2009 World Baseball Classic - Provisional Roster" (PDF). MLB.com. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
7. ^ Randhawa, Manny (January 14, 2017). "WBC 2017 preview: Breaking down Australia". MLB.com. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
8. ^ "Trevor Richards Stats | Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 11, 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* FloSports streaming

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