The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team located in San Antonio, Texas. They play in the Texas League and are the Double-A partner of the San Diego Padres. The team's home games are held at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium. This stadium opened in 1994 and can seat more than 6,200 people. The total capacity of the stadium is over 9,000. The team's name comes from the Spanish missions that were near the city when it was first established.
History
San Antonio was home to one of the original teams in the Texas League in 1888. Since that first season, the city has hosted many teams from the Texas League, most of which used the name "Missions." Baseball was not played in San Antonio for a few years (1889–1891, 1893–1894, 1900–1902) and again during World War II, when many players were away from 1943 to 1945. The team was first called the "Missionaries," "Gentlemen," and "Bronchos," a Spanish version of "Broncos." During these years, about 250 players went on to play in the major leagues.
The name "Missions" was first used when the team partnered with the St. Louis Browns, a major league team. This partnership lasted until the Texas League paused after the 1942 season because of World War II. When the war ended, the team partnered with the Browns again. In 1954, the Browns became the Baltimore Orioles, and the partnership continued until 1959, when the team partnered with the Chicago Cubs. While working with the Browns and Orioles, more than 100 players reached the major leagues, including Hall-of-Famers Willard Brown (1956) and Brooks Robinson (1956–1957).
The Missions won the Dixie Series in 1950, a championship between the best teams from the Southern Association and the Texas League. They defeated the Nashville Vols, 4–3, in a best-of-seven series. In 1961, the Missions also won the Pan American Series, a championship between the best teams from the Mexican League and the Texas League. They beat the Veracruz Aguilas, 4–2, in a best-of-seven series. (Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, Third Edition, 2007, Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors.) The name "Missions" was used for teams partnered with the Cubs until 1962. During this time, more than 50 players reached the major leagues, including future Hall of Famers Ron Santo (1959) and Billy Williams (1959).
In 1963, the team changed its name to the "Bullets" when it joined the Houston Colt .45s organization. The name was chosen because the team's players were seen as the "bullets" that would help the .45s team succeed. The Bullets had 30 players who later played in the major leagues, including Hall-of-Famer Joe Morgan and two-time All-Star Jerry Grote.
In 1965, the San Antonio team moved to Amarillo. Three years later, in 1968, baseball returned to San Antonio with the Missions name as part of the Texas League's expansion. The team was again partnered with the Cubs, and over four years, 42 players reached the major leagues. After the 1971 season, the team moved to Midland, where they became the Midland Cubs.
In 1972, a new group of owners brought baseball back to San Antonio, partnering with the Milwaukee Brewers, who had recently moved to Wisconsin from Seattle. The team kept the "Brewers" name even when they later partnered with the Cleveland Indians (1973–1975) and the Texas Rangers (1976). The Brewers name was fitting because San Antonio is home to the Pearl Brewing Company.
More than 30 players from the San Antonio Brewers went on to play in the major leagues. One of them was Hall-of-Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley, who played in the Texas League in 1974.
In 1977, the team became the San Antonio Dodgers when they partnered with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team kept the "Dodgers" name for 11 seasons (1977–1987), though locals sometimes still called them the Missions. In 1988, the team officially changed its name back to the Missions.
The Missions were the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers until 2000, the longest major league partnership in San Antonio's history. During this time, Dodgers legends like Tommy Lasorda visited the city. Over 23 years, 211 players from San Antonio went on to play in the major leagues, including Ron Washington (1977), Bob Welch (1977), Orel Hershiser (1980–1981, 1991), and Pedro Martínez (1991).
The team played most of its games at V. J. Keefe Memorial Stadium, which it shared with St. Mary's University. In 1994, the team moved to Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium, a stadium designed like those built in the late 1980s and 1990s. The stadium was named after Nelson Wolff, the mayor of San Antonio when it was built.
The partnership with the Dodgers ended after the 2000 season. From 2001 to 2006, the Seattle Mariners had a player development agreement with the team, which won the Texas League Championship in 2002 and 2003.
The Mariners' success was partly due to Pat Gillick, who helped build the minor league system as the farm director of the Houston Colt .45s in 1963. Under Gillick's guidance, San Antonio became a strong team, producing future major leaguers like Willie Bloomquist, Rafael Soriano, and Félix Hernández.
In 2006, the Missions struggled, finishing with a 60–77 record and having 52 different players on the team.
In 2007, the team partnered with the San Diego Padres. Randy Ready managed the team that season. The Missions won the 2007 Texas League Championship, led by Chase Headley and Josh Geer, who won Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year honors.
From 2007 onward, many players from the Missions went on to play in the major leagues, including Chase Headley, Tim Stauffer, and Mat Latos.
In 2009, the Missions played an exhibition game against the Padres' major league team, winning 7–3. The game was highlighted by a grand slam by San Antonio-native Seth Johnston. Under the leadership of former MLB All-Star Terry Kennedy, the team earned a playoff spot by winning the first-half division title. However, the season ended without a championship.
Rivals
From 2005 to 2018, the Missions' main opponent was the Corpus Christi Hooks. The teams competed to see which one was the better team in South Texas. Before that, the Missions had a rivalry with the Round Rock Express. However, this rivalry stopped when the Express joined the PCL in 2005. From 2019 to 2020, the Missions and Express competed again in the PCL's American Conference Southern Division.
Signature promotions
Since 1989, during the seventh inning of each game, a special mascot named Henry the Puffy Taco is chased around the bases by a child from the stands, usually between 6 and 10 years old. The child tackles the large taco to the ground just before reaching home plate (they start at first base), then stands over the mascot in a victorious pose. Henry only won the race once, in 1992. During that race, Henry missed his steps and accidentally crossed home plate before his 10-year-old opponent. Nearly 20 years later, the Missions hosted a rematch, and on June 24, 2010, the child finally won back the victory.
The team has two special giveaway events—Shirt Off Your Back and Used Car Giveaway. During the first event, often held on or near the last game of the season, the jerseys worn by players during the game are given away to fans in the stands through a raffle (raffle tickets are free, and each fan can only enter once). The same raffle format is used for the Used Car Giveaway, where more than 10 used cars are given away during the event. In 2010, the prizes included a 2001 Ford Mustang and a 2001 Volvo S60.
Former Missions with MLB experience
More than 700 former San Antonio baseball players have played in the major leagues, even if only for a short time. Some well-known players are included in this group.
Additionally, Brian Anderson, who was once the radio announcer for the San Antonio Missions, has joined the major leagues as a broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Ballpark
The Missions play their home games at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium, which opened in 1994. The stadium can seat over 6,200 people and can hold more than 9,000 people, including extra seating on the grassy areas in the outfield. The team has been looking for a new stadium since 2009 and still continues to seek one, even though the team moved to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in 2019.
Tickets for Missions games cost about the same as other minor league stadiums. Prices range from $11 to $30 depending on where you sit, or $10 for seats on the grassy areas in the outfield.