Cedar Rapids Kernels

The Cedar Rapids Kernels are a High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, competing in the Midwest League. The team calls Cedar Rapids, Iowa, home and takes the field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Ownership lies with Cedar Rapids Ball Club, Inc., also referred to as Cedar Rapids Baseball Club, Inc. The franchise got its start in 1949 under the name Cedar Rapids Rockets, initially joining the Class C Central Association before moving to the Three-I League.

Professional baseball in Cedar Rapids dates back to 1890. Over the years, local teams have been part of several leagues, including the Western League (1934–1937), Mississippi Valley League (1922–1932), Central Association (1913–1917), Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League (1901–1909, 1920–1921, 1938–1942), Western Association (1896–1899), Eastern Iowa League (1895), and the Illinois–Iowa League (1890–1891). Before the current franchise, Cedar Rapids clubs went by various nicknames: the Raiders (1934–1942), Red Raiders (1963–1964), Bunnies (1904–1932), Rabbits (1896–1903), and Canaries (1890–1891).

The current Cedar Rapids franchise was established in 1949 as a Class C Central Association member, called the Rockets after a name-the-team contest. Following the 1949 season, the Rockets shifted to the Three-I League, taking the spot of the dropped Springfield, Illinois team. They remained in the Three-I League until it dissolved after 1961, then moved to the Midwest League alongside the Fox City Foxes and Burlington Bees.

Upon entering the Midwest League in 1962, the team briefly revived the Red Raiders name (1962–1964). After that, the club adopted the nickname of whichever Major League affiliate it was tied to: the Cardinals (1965–1972), Astros (1973–1974), Giants (1975–1979), and Reds (1980–1992). The current "Kernels" moniker was adopted before the 1993 season. The franchise has won Midwest League championships in 1988, 1992, 1994, and 2023.

As part of Major League Baseball’s 2021 minor league restructuring, the Kernels were placed in the High-A Central. In 2022, that circuit was renamed the Midwest League, restoring the historical name of the regional league.

The team’s original ballpark, also called Veterans Memorial Stadium, opened in 1949. In August 2000, voters approved a referendum to build a new stadium adjacent to the old one, which was demolished after the 2001 season. The new Veterans Memorial Stadium was ready for the 2002 season opener, and the Kernels set a franchise attendance record of 196,066 that year.

Notable alumni include Hall of Famers Lou Boudreau (1938), Trevor Hoffman (1991), Joe Mauer (2014), John McGraw (1891), and Ted Simmons (1967). Other prominent players who passed through Cedar Rapids include Barney Pelty (1903), Bill Wambsganss (1913), Bill Zuber (1932), Allie Reynolds (1940–41), Rocky Colavito (1952), John Roseboro (1955), Denis Menke (1958–59), Tony Cloninger (1959), Tommie Aaron (1960), Ron Hunt (1960–61), Nate Colbert (1965), Pedro Borbon (1966), Jerry Reuss (1967), Ken Reitz (1969), Bob Forsch (1970), Jerry Mumphrey (1972), Larry Herndon (1972), Joe Sambito (1974), Bob Brenly (1977), Chili Davis (1978), Rob Deer (1979), Eric Davis (1982), Paul O’Neill (1982), Chris Sabo (1983), Kal Daniels (1983), Kurt Stillwell (1984), Rob Dibble (1985), Reggie Sanders (1990), Bengie Molina (1994–95), Jason Dickson (1995), Jarrod Washburn (1995), Ramón Ortiz (1997), Ken Hill (1998), John Lackey (2000), Bobby Jenks (2001), Mike Napoli (2001–02), Ervin Santana (2002), Casey Kotchman (2002), Jeff Mathis (2002), Joel Peralta (2002), Joe Saunders (2002), Alberto Callaspo (2003), Erick Aybar (2003), Howie Kendrick (2004), Sean Rodriguez (2004), Alexi Casilla (2004–05), Miguel González (2005), Nick Adenhart (2006), Darren O’Day (2006), Mark Trumbo (2006–07), Jordan Walden (2008), Mike Trout (2009–10), Garrett Richards (2010), Jean Segura (2010), Patrick Corbin (2010), Mike Clevinger (2012), Byron Buxton (2013), and Ricky Nolasco (2015).