Springfield Cardinals (Illinois)

The Springfield Cardinals were a minor league baseball team located in Springfield, Illinois. The Springfield Cardinals played in the Midwest League from 1982 to 1993 and were an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team played at Lanphier Park on the northside of Springfield.

Affectionately known as the "Baby Birds", their chief rival was the Peoria Chiefs, then an affiliate of the Cubs. The declining condition of Lanphier Park, last renovated in 1978, led to the relocation of the franchise to Madison, Wisconsin for the 1994 season, where they were known as the Madison Hatters. The Hatters, in turn, moved to Battle Creek, Michigan to become the Michigan Battle Cats. While playing in Battle Creek, the franchise became the Battle Creek Yankees and the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays before moving to Midland, Michigan where they now play as the Great Lakes Loons.

The Cardinals were generally successful, finishing with a winning record in nine of their 12 seasons. In post-season play they were less successful, as they lost four times in the first round of the league's two-round, four-team playoffs and lost in the championship round in their other four appearances. The league's records, however, recognize both the winner of the postseason playoffs and the team with the highest overall season record as champions, and the Cardinals led the league in regular season play twice, in 1986 and 1987. Their overall record during their 12 seasons in Springfield was 917–743, for a .552 winning percentage.

The team also helped develop more than 50 players who advanced to Major League Baseball. Among the young Springfield players who went on to successful major league careers were Bernard Gilkey, Ray Lankford, Jeff Fassero, Dmitri Young, and Todd Zeile.

Minor league baseball has a long history in Springfield, Illinois. Springfield fielded a team in the 1883 Northwestern League, which has traditionally been considered the first minor league. The Springfield Senators also played in the Central Interstate League in 1889, the Western Association in 1895, the Central League in 1900, and the Mississippi Valley League in 1933. Their longest minor league affiliation was with the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League or "Three-I League"(1903–1914, 1925–1932, 1935, 1938–1942, and 1946–1949).

In 1948, Springfield hosted a team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, the Springfield Sallies. They finished the season in last place with a 41–84 record.

The original Springfield Capitals baseball team played in Springfield from 1963 to 1977 in the Central Illinois Collegiate League. Springfield also hosted another Central Illinois Collegiate League team with the nickname Rifles from 1983 to 2006.

Springfield experienced its highest level of minor league baseball during 1978–1981, when it hosted the Springfield Redbirds of the Class Triple-A American Association. The Redbirds, a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate, won the playoff for the league championship in 1980. The Redbirds' move to Louisville in 1982 was the impetus for the Springfield Cardinals entering the Midwest League as an expansion franchise during the 1982 season and playing until 1993.