Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Minor league baseball team

Northwest Arkansas Naturals

* Founded in 2008
* Springdale, Arkansas

|  |

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Team logo | Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class| Double-A (2008–present)
League| Texas League (2008–present)
Division| North Division
Major league affiliations
Team| Kansas City Royals (2008–present)
Minor league titles
League titles (2)|

* 2010
* 2021

Division titles (4)|

* 2009
* 2010
* 2015
* 2016

First-half titles (3)|

* 2010
* 2015
* 2017

Second-half titles (5)|

* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2016

Team data
Name| Northwest Arkansas Naturals (2008–present)
Colors| Red, yellow, dark blue, light blue, and white

Ballpark| Arvest Ballpark (2008–present)

Owner(s)/
Operator(s)

| Rich Products Corporation
General manager| Justin Cole
Manager| Tommy Shields
Website| milb.com/northwest-arkansas

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at Arvest Ballpark, which opened in 2008 and is located at the intersection of Gene George Boulevard and Watkins Avenue. The team relocated from Wichita, Kansas, in 2008, where it was known as the Wichita Wranglers.

## Origin

[edit]

The Wichita Wranglers had struggled with low attendance numbers and an aging Lawrence–Dumont Stadium throughout Bob Rich Jr.'s 18-year ownership of the team. In 2006, he sought a move to Springdale, contingent on a citizen vote to approve financing for a new stadium.

The pro-baseball movement in Springdale had counted on the support of Ronnie Floyd, influential pastor of local megachurch First Baptist Church of Springdale. In June 2006, Floyd pulled support after it was discovered the team would serve alcohol at games,[1] making professional baseball a contentious and evenly split issue in Northwest Arkansas. The July vote on a measure to extend a one-cent sales tax to raise $50 million for the stadium passed by only 15 votes.[2]

## Team name

[edit]

The team's nickname plays off the state's nickname as the "Natural State," as well as the Robert Redford film, The Natural. The Rich Family owes much of its baseball success to the film. In 1983, Bob Rich Jr. bought the Double-A Buffalo Bisons, who had suffered low attendance the previous season, for $100,000. That year, Hollywood producers approached Rich about filming scenes for The Natural at Buffalo's War Memorial Stadium. Following the release of the film, local interest in the team rose and attendance at the Bisons' games nearly tripled. Rich was then able to finance the Bisons' move to the Triple-A American Association. In something of a coincidence, the Triple-A Bisons were formerly the Wichita Aeros, meaning Rich has purchased two teams that had played previously in Wichita, Kansas.

The "Naturals" name was chosen after receiving 33 percent of the votes in an online fan poll, beating the second-place choice, "Thunder Chickens," by six percent.[3] The "Thunder Chickens" moniker was a nod to Springdale-based Tyson Foods, which is the nation's largest supplier of poultry products, and to the region's poultry industry. Every season, the team embraces the Thunder Chickens brand for a single game with matching uniforms and merchandise.[4]

## Play as the Naturals

[edit]

Northwest Arkansas playing against the Frisco RoughRiders in May 2017

The Naturals had early success, advancing to the playoffs in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, the Naturals won the North Division title, but lost in the Texas League championship series to the Midland RockHounds. In 2010, the Naturals swept the first and second-half titles, won the North Division title for a second straight year, and avenged their loss to Midland in 2009, winning the Texas League title in a 3–1 series victory over the RockHounds.

On June 8, 2008, pitcher Jeff Fulchino became the first former Natural to play in Major League Baseball, throwing a scoreless inning in relief during a 6–3 Royals loss to the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Naturals were organized into the Double-A Central.[5] Though finishing the 2021 season in second place in the Northern Division at 64–55,[6] the two teams with the highest winning percentages in the regular season competed in a best-of-five series to determine the league champion.[7] With the circuit's second-best record, the Naturals faced and defeated the Wichita Wind Surge, three games to zero, to win the Double-A Central championship.[8] MJ Melendez won the league Most Valuable Player Award, and Bobby Witt Jr. was selected as its Top MLB Prospect.[9] In 2022, the Double-A Central became known as the Texas League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.[10]

## Stadium

[edit]

Arvest Ballpark was designed by Populous out of its Kansas City, Missouri, office. It cost $33 million to build, while the rest of the $50 million approved by Springdale voters went toward road and infrastructure improvements.[11] The stadium seats 6,500, but additional berm areas allow a maximum capacity of about 7,800.

## Roster

[edit]

Northwest Arkansas Naturals roster

* v
* t
* e

Players | Coaches/Other

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Pitchers

* 55 Ethan Bosacker
* 29 Ryan Brady
* 53 Natanael Garabitos
* 61 Brandon Johnson
* 23 Ben Kudrna
* \-- Asa Lacy
* 44 Chazz Martinez
* 46 Caden Monke
* 33 Hunter Owen
* 24 Anderson Paulino
* 31 Ryan Ramsey
* 49 Oscar Rayo
* 35 Ben Sears
* 51 Beck Way
* 21 Henry Williams
* 47 Steven Zobac

|  |

Catchers

* 25 Kale Emshoff
* 32 Kyle Hayes
* 12 Carter Jensen

Infielders

* 14 Jac Caglianone
* 4 Jordan Groshans
* 1 Jack Pineda
* 13 Sam Ruta
* 7 Brett Squires
* 3 Peyton Wilson

Outfielders

* 9 Gavin Cross
* 8 Diego Hernandez
* 19 Spencer Nivens
* 17 Connor Scott
* \-- Javier Vaz

|  |

Manager

* \-- Brooks Conrad

Coaches

* 34 Larry Carter (pitching)
* \-- Chris Corbett (assistant hitting)
* \-- Sam Eades (assistant pitching)
* 2 Kevin Kuntz (assistant)
* 15 Andy LaRoche (hitting)

7-day injured list
* On Kansas City Royals 40-man roster
~ Development list
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporarily inactive list
Roster updated April 16, 2025
Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB • Texas League
→ Kansas City Royals minor league players

## References

[edit]

1. ^ NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas' News Source Archived October 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
2. ^ NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas' News Source[permanent dead link]
3. ^ NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas' News Source
4. ^ 'Thunder Chickens' 'Natural' fit for club | MiLB.com News | The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
5. ^ Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
6. ^ "2021 Double-A Central". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
7. ^ Heneghan, Kelsie (July 1, 2021). "Playoffs Return to the Minor Leagues". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
8. ^ Horrorbin, Jordan (September 25, 2021). "Hicklen's Slam Powers Northwest Arkansas to Title". Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on September 25, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
9. ^ "Postseason All-Stars". Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on October 8, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
10. ^ "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
11. ^ NWAnews.com :: Northwest Arkansas' News Source[permanent dead link]

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northwest Arkansas Naturals.

* Official website
* Statistics from Baseball-Reference

* v
* t
* e

Springdale, Arkansas

Neighborhoods|

* Bethel Heights
* Shiloh Historic District
* Springdale Poultry Industry Historic District

Education|

* Springdale Public Schools
* Har-Ber HS
* Springdale HS
* Old Springdale HS/District HQ
* Bentonville School District
* Rogers Public Schools
* Shiloh Christian School Springdale Campus
* Northwest Arkansas Community College Washington County Campus
* Ecclesia College

Landmarks|

* Arvest Ballpark
* Fitzgerald Station and Farmstead
* Shiloh Museum of Ozark History

Transportation|

* Ozark Regional Transit
* Springdale Municipal Airport
* Northwest Arkansas National Airport (in Highfill, for commercial flights)

Media|

* Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette (consolidation of the Springdale Morning News)

Society and
culture|

* Arts Center of the Ozarks
* Marshallese people
* Northwest Arkansas Naturals

This list is incomplete.

* v
* t
* e

Kansas City Royals

* Established in 1969
* Based in Kansas City, Missouri

Franchise|

* History
* Expansion and draft
* Seasons
* Current roster
* Owners and executives
* Managers
* Opening Day starting pitchers
* All-time roster
* First-round draft picks
* Records
* No-hitters
* Awards and league leaders
* Royals Academy
* Broadcasting
* FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City
* KSMO-TV

Ballparks|

Municipal Stadium
Kauffman Stadium
New Royals Stadium (proposed)
Spring training
Terry Park
Baseball City Stadium
Surprise Stadium

Culture|

* Sluggerrr
* Denny Matthews
* Ryan Lefebvre
* George Toma
* American Royal
* "Royals" (song)

Lore|

* Pine Tar Incident
* The Call
* 2014 AL Wild Card Game
* MLB in Omaha
* A drive into deep left field by Castellanos
* Bo Knows

Team Hall of Fame|

* Steve Busby
* Amos Otis
* Dick Howser
* Cookie Rojas
* Paul Splittorff
* Dennis Leonard
* Hal McRae
* Joe Burke
* Larry Gura
* Freddie Patek
* Ewing Kauffman
* George Brett
* Frank White
* Muriel Kauffman
* John Mayberry
* Dan Quisenberry
* Whitey Herzog
* Willie Wilson
* Jeff Montgomery
* Denny Matthews
* Bret Saberhagen
* Mark Gubicza
* Art Stewart
* Kevin Appier
* Mike Sweeney
* Ned Yost

Retired numbers|

* 5
* 10
* 20
* 42

Minor league
affiliates|

Triple-A
Omaha Storm Chasers
Double-A
Northwest Arkansas Naturals
High-A
Quad Cities River Bandits
Single-A
Columbia Fireflies
Rookie
ACL Royals
DSL Royals Fortuna
DSL Royals Ventura

Key personnel|

* Owner: John Sherman
* President of Baseball Operations & General Manager: J. J. Picollo
* Manager: Matt Quatraro

World Series
championships (2)|

* 1985
* 2015

American League
pennants (4)|

* 1980
* 1985
* 2014
* 2015

Division titles|

West
1976
1977
1978
1980
1981 (second half)
1984
1985
Central
2015
Wild Card
2014
2024

Seasons (57)

1960s|

* 1960 · 1961 · 1962 · 1963 · 1964 · 1965 · 1966 · 1967 · 1968 ·  1969

1970s|

* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979

1980s|

* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989

1990s|

* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999

2000s|

* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009

2010s|

* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

2020s|

* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

* v
* t
* e

Texas League

North Division|

* Arkansas Travelers
* Northwest Arkansas Naturals
* Springfield Cardinals
* Tulsa Drillers
* Wichita Wind Surge

South Division|

* Amarillo Sod Poodles
* Corpus Christi Hooks
* Frisco RoughRiders
* Midland RockHounds
* San Antonio Missions

* Champions
* Hall of Fame
* Manager of the Year Award
* MVP Award
* Pitcher of the Year Award
* Rosters
* Stadiums
* Teams

* v
* t
* e

Sports teams based in Arkansas

Baseball|

* TL: Arkansas Travelers
* Northwest Arkansas Naturals

Basketball|

* ABA: Texarkana Panthers

Football|

* TAL: Hot Springs Wiseguys

Roller derby|

* WFTDA: Northwest Arkansas Roller Derby

Soccer|

* USLS: Ozark United FC (2026)
* USLC: Ozark United FC (2026)
* USL2: Little Rock Rangers
* NPSL: Arkansas Wolves FC

College
athletics|

| NCAA Division I|

* Arkansas
* Arkansas State
* Arkansas–Pine Bluff
* Central Arkansas
* Little Rock

|

NCAA Division II|

* Arkansas Tech
* Arkansas–Fort Smith
* Arkansas–Monticello
* Harding
* Henderson State
* Ouachita Baptist
* Southern Arkansas

NCAA Division III|

* Hendrix
* Lyon
* Ozarks

NAIA|

* Arkansas Baptist
* Central Baptist
* Crowley's Ridge
* John Brown
* Philander Smith
* Williams Baptist

NJCAA|

* Mid-South
* North Arkansas

NCCAA|

* Central Baptist
* Crowley's Ridge
* Ecclesia

High school
athletics|

| Arkansas Activities Association|

* Class 7A
* Class 6A
* Class 5A
* Class 4A
* Class 3A
* Class 2A
* Class 1A

|

* Arkansas portal
* Sports portal

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