I-40 Cup Series
 |
|
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Teams | |
| First meeting | June 11, 2012 AutoZone Park |
| Latest meeting | May 9, 2016 First Tennessee Park |
| Next meeting | June 13, 2016 First Tennessee Park |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 68 |
| Most player appearances | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
|
| Regular season series | 34–34, tie |
| Largest victory | 13–3, Redbirds (July 7, 2013) |
| Longest win streak | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
|
| Current win streak | Redbirds: 1 |
The I-40 Cup Series is a minor league baseball rivalry between Tennessee's two Triple-A baseball franchises, the Memphis Redbirds and the Nashville Sounds. The Series was established in 2012 as a season-long, 16-game series between the clubs. Whichever of the two wins the most games played between them is declared the winner and gets to keep the trophy cup until the next season. The losing team donates game tickets to a charity selected by the winner. If the season series is tied following the final game of the season between the two teams, the previous season's winner will remain champion.[1]
Though the Series was formally created in 2012, competition between minor league teams from Memphis and Nashville began in 1885 in the original Southern League. The cities' teams later competed in the Southern Association and Southern League. The Redbirds and Sounds have competed against one another in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) since 1998. Current PCL playoff procedures exclude the possibility of the Redbirds and Sounds meeting in the postseason, but the Sounds and Vols have faced postseason competition against the Chicks and Chickasaws in previous leagues.
Contents
History
Separated by an approximately 200-mile (320 km) stretch of Interstate 40, Memphis and Nashville have fielded several teams which have competed in the same leagues since the late 19th century. The first meeting between Nashville and Memphis teams occurred in 1885 when the Memphis Reds, the city's second professional team, played in the original Southern League against the Nashville Americans, the city's first professional team.[2] In 1886, the Americans competed against the Memphis Grays.[3] The Memphis Browns played against the Nashville Blues in 1887.[4] The Nashville Tigers competed with the Memphis Fever Germs in 1893 and the Memphis Giants in 1894.[5][6] In 1895, the Giants/Lambs played with the Nashville Seraphs.[7] From 1901 to 1960, the Nashville Vols, originally known as the Nashville Baseball Club from 1901 to 1907,[8] faced competition in the Memphis Egyptians (1901–08),[9] Memphis Turtles (1909–11),[10] and Memphis Chickasaws (1912–60).[11]
On September 8, 1906, George Suggs of the visiting Memphis Egyptians pitched an 11-inning no-hitter against the Nashville Baseball Club at Athletic Park. Suggs struck out six batters in the first game of a doubleheader, a 1–0 win.[12] Memphis' George Granger tossed a perfect game against the Vols at Russwood Park on August 25, 1932, in the second game of a doubleheader. He struck out two Vols batters over the course of the seven-inning contest which the Chickasaws won, 1–0.[12]
The 1939 Volunteers defeated the Chickasaws in the playoff semi-finals, 3–0, before going on to win the Southern Association Championship. In 1944, they defeated the Chickasaws to win the championship, 4–3. The 1948 Vols won the Southern Association pennant by three games over the second-place Chickasaws. Roles were reversed in 1953 when Memphis won the pennant by two games over the Vols. Nashville defeated Memphis in the 1957 championship semi-finals, but was defeated in the finals.[13][14]
During this period, several Negro league teams from the two cities competed in the Negro Southern League. The Memphis Red Sox competed against the Nashville White Sox from 1920 to 1922.[15] In 1926 and from 1930 to 1932 and 1935 to 1936, the Red Sox faced off against the Nashville Elite Giants.[15] The Nashville Cubs competed with the Memphis Blues in 1947 and the Red Sox in 1950.[15]
After 60 continuous years of minor league baseball games being played between Memphis and Nashville, a lapse occurred in the rivalry from 1961 to 1977. Competition resumed when the Nashville Sounds became a part of the Double-A Southern League in 1978.[16] The Sounds played in the West Division against the Memphis Chicks. In 1979, the Chicks won the first half of the season and the Sounds won the second half. In the best-of-three division finals, the Sounds defeated the Chicks in two out of three games before going on to win the Southern League Championship.[17] Memphis and Nashville each won the first and second halves, respectively, of the 1980 season. This time, however, Memphis won the Western Division title, defeating Nashville in three out of four games.[17] The teams met again under the same circumstances in 1981. The Sounds swept the Chicks in three straight games to win the Western Division finals.[17]
The interstate rivalry was interrupted again when Nashville moved to the Triple-A American Association in 1985, but was renewed in 1998 when the Sounds joined the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and the Memphis Redbirds were created as an expansion team.[18] The Sounds and Redbirds were division rivals in the American Conference East Division from 1998 to 2004,[18] the American Conference North Division from 2005 to 2013,[19] and the American Conference Southern Division since 2014.[20]
On July 15, 2006, Sounds pitchers Carlos Villanueva (6 IP), Mike Meyers (2 IP), and Alec Zumwalt (1 IP) combined to no-hit the Redbirds, 2–0, at Herschel Greer Stadium in Nashville.[21] In 2009, Memphis clinched the American Conference North Division title, finishing the season just two games ahead of Nashville which spent the majority of the season in first place.[22] Similarly, Nashville finished the 2014 season two-and-a-half games behind Memphis after having led the division for most of the season.[20]
Teams timeline
| Nashville vs. Memphis Timeline | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year(s) | League | Memphis | Nashville |
| 1885 | Southern League | Reds | Americans |
| 1886 | Grays | ||
| 1887 | Browns | Blues | |
| 1893 | Fever Germs | Tigers | |
| 1894 | Giants/Lambs | ||
| 1895 | Seraphs | ||
| 1901–08 | Southern Association | Egyptians | Vols |
| 1909–11 | Turtles | ||
| 1912–60 | Chickasaws | ||
| 1978–84 | Southern League | Chicks | Sounds |
| 1998–present | Pacific Coast League | Redbirds | |
Results
All-time results
As of the completion of the 2015 series, Memphis leads the all-time series against Nashville with a record of 897–872 (.507).[23] This record encompasses all 91 years of competition in the original Southern League, Southern Association, Southern League, and Pacific Coast League. Nashville, however, leads the all-time 18-year PCL series with a record of 154–132 (.538).[1][24]
| All-Time Pacific Coast League Series | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Series Winner | Memphis Wins | Nashville Wins |
| 1998 | Sounds | 6 | 10 |
| 1999 | Tie | 8 | 8 |
| 2000 | Tie | 7 | 7 |
| 2001 | Sounds | 6 | 10 |
| 2002 | Sounds | 5 | 11 |
| 2003 | Sounds | 7 | 9 |
| 2004 | Redbirds | 9 | 7 |
| 2005 | Tie | 8 | 8 |
| 2006 | Sounds | 6 | 10 |
| 2007 | Sounds | 5 | 11 |
| 2008 | Redbirds | 10 | 6 |
| 2009 | Sounds | 6 | 10 |
| 2010 | Sounds | 7 | 9 |
| 2011 | Redbirds | 10 | 6 |
| 2012 | Sounds | 7 | 9 |
| 2013 | Redbirds | 9 | 7 |
| 2014 | Tie | 8 | 8 |
| 2015 | Tie | 8 | 8 |
| 2016 | In progress | 2 | 2 |
| Overall | Sounds (9–4–5) | 134 | 156 |
I-40 Cup Series results
The Sounds won the inaugural 2012 I-40 Cup Series. Memphis has won all three subsequent series from 2013 to 2015.[1] The teams are tied with a 32–32 game record, but Memphis leads the I-40 Cup Series with a 3–1 record.[1]
| I-40 Cup Series | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Series Winner | Memphis Wins | Nashville Wins | Notes |
| 2012 | Sounds | 7 | 9 | First Nashville win |
| 2013 | Redbirds | 9 | 7 | First Memphis win |
| 2014 | Redbirds | 8 | 8 | Series tied; Memphis retains cup |
| 2015 | Redbirds | 8 | 8 | Series tied; Memphis retains cup |
| 2016 | In progress | 2 | 2 | — |
| Overall | Redbirds (3–1) | 34 | 34 | |
Players
The player with the most appearances in the series is Memphis shortstop Greg Garcia. His 42 games played are the most among all players from both teams. Nashville's leader in games played is outfielder Caleb Gindl (40). A few players have played for both teams at different points. Eugenio Vélez has played 16 games with the Redbirds and 14 with the Sounds for a combined total of 30 games played, the most among combined team players. The top five leaders for appearances for both teams are as follows:[25]
| Players by Most Appearances | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Redbirds | Sounds | ||
| Player | Games | Player | Games |
| Greg Garcia | 42 | Caleb Gindl | 40 |
| Tommy Pham | 34 | Sean Halton | 34 |
| Ryan Jackson | 29 | Hunter Morris | 23 |
| Pete Kozma | 27 | Joey Wendle | 19 |
| Stephen Piscotty | 27 | Logan Schafer | 16 |
References
- General
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- Specific
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