Texas Rangers Officially Make Minor League Affiliate Change for 2025…
The Texas Rangers have announced that their High-A affiliate will be relocating for the 2025 season to Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Two months ago, MiLB.com reported the anticipated move. The new team will be named the Hub City Spartan Burgers, complete with a new mascot.
Initially, it was thought that the Spartan Burgers would take over the Class A slot from the Rangers’ current affiliate, the Down East Wood Ducks. However, the official announcement revealed that the Hickory Crawdads, currently the Rangers’ High-A affiliate, will be moving to the Class A level instead.
Next season, the Crawdads will play in the Carolina League, while the Spartan Burgers will join the South Atlantic League.
The @Rangers will swap affiliates between the Carolina & Sally Leagues starting in 2025
The relocating @GoWoodDucks as the @Spartanburgers_ will now be the High A team in the South Atlantic League
The @HickoryCrawdads will fill the void in the Single A Carolina League https://t.co/GdmrjVLhFA pic.twitter.com/hjFU0nnB3l
— Minor League Promos (@MiLBPromos) July 23, 2024
The Hub City team will benefit from a new facility, Fifth Third Park, which is currently under construction in downtown Spartanburg and expected to be ready by next April for the season opener.
Spartanburg, which last hosted minor league baseball in 1995 as the home of the Philadelphia Phillies’ Class A affiliate, will see the return of the sport with the Spartan Burgers. The team’s colors will be navy blue, bright green, red, brown, and yellow, and the primary logo will feature a hamburger wearing a train conductor’s hat, reflecting the city’s railroad history.
The nickname “Hub City” stems from Spartanburg’s early 20th-century city limits, which formed a circle, with railroad lines connecting it to the rest of the state resembling a hub.
