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The Charlotte Stone Crabs are a minor league baseball team based in Port Charlotte, Florida. They are members of the Florida State League and are the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) team. The Stone Crabs were originally the Vero Beach Dodgers (later Vero Beach Devil Rays), who played in Vero Beach, Florida from 1980 to 2008. The team relocated to Port Charlotte after being purchased by Ripken Baseball. They play their home games at Charlotte Sports Park and are named for the Florida stone crab, which is indigenous to the Charlotte County region. The team has been affiliated with two different Major League Baseball teams during their existence: the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1980 to 2006 and the Tampa Bay Rays from 2007 to present day. ==History== Originally founded in 1980, the Vero Beach Dodgers were the Advanced A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1980-2006. Their games were played at Holman Stadium, which also hosted Dodgers spring training from 1953-2008. In 2007 the franchise's affiliation changed to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the team was renamed the Vero Beach Devil Rays. Under their new name they won the 2007 Florida State League championship. On August 25, 2008, it was announced that the Vero Beach franchise was sold to Ripken Baseball, which resulted in a relocation of the franchise to Port Charlotte, Florida and another name change, becoming the Charlotte Stone Crabs. In preparation for the new team's arrival, Charlotte County Stadium, which last housed the Charlotte County Redfish of the now defunct South Coast League, underwent a $27 million renovation, which was completed in January 2009. Re-named Charlotte Sports Park, it became the spring training home of the Tampa Bay Rays as well as the regular season home of the Stone Crabs. On April 9, 2009, with the Ft. Myers Miracle as opponents, Alex Cobb threw the first pitch in Stone Crabs history. A rehabbing B.J. Upton was the first Stone Crabs batter, but Matt Fields belted a homerun to lead off the 2nd inning, laying claim to the first Stone Crabs hit, homerun, and RBI. After starting the season 0-3, the franchise notched its first win on April 13th in Ft. Myers. The Stone Crabs won the Florida State League South Division title in 2009, but lost the league championship to the Tampa Yankees three games to two. In 2010 and 2013, they again won the FSL South and returned to the league championship series, but lost to the Tampa Yankees ('10) and Daytona Cubs ('13). In 2012, the Stone Crabs hosted the Florida State League All-Star Game. The South came from behind for a 6-3 win over the North with Stone Crabs pitchers bookending the game. C.J. Riefenhauser started the evening with a perfect inning and Chris Rearick threw a scoreless 9th for the save. St. Lucie Mets third baseman Wilmer Flores took home MVP honors and Lakeland Flying Tigers outfielder Avisail Garcia won the Homerun Derby. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Charlotte Stone Crabs」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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