The Nashville Sounds Minor League Baseball team has played in Nashville, Tennessee, since being established in 1978 as an expansion team of the Double-A Southern League (SL).[1] They moved up to Triple-A in 1985 as members of the American Association (AA) before joining the Pacific Coast League (PCL) in 1998.[1] The team was placed in the Triple-A East in 2021 prior to this becoming the International League in 2022.[2][3] In the history of the franchise, numerous teams, players, and personnel have won awards, been selected for All-Star teams, or led their league in various statistical areas.
Three Sounds have won league Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards: Steve Balboni, Brian Dayett, and Magglio Ordóñez. Eleven have won Pitcher of the Year awards: Bruce Berenyi, Geoff Combe, Robert Gasser, Andy McGaffigan, Jamie Werly, Stefan Wever, Chris Hammond, Scott Ruffcorn, R. A. Dickey, Johnny Hellweg, and Jimmy Nelson. Two have won Rookie of the Year awards: Jeff Abbott and Magglio Ordóñez. Five managers have won Manager of the Year awards: Stump Merrill, Rick Renick, Frank Kremblas, Steve Scarsone, and Rick Sweet. Ordóñez won the 1997 AA MVP Award as well as the Rookie of the Year Award, making him the only Nashville player to win two year-end league awards for the same season. The only other team personnel to win multiple league awards, though in separate seasons, are Renick, who won the AA Manager of the Year Award in 1993 and 1996, President Larry Schmittou, who won the SL Executive of the Year Award in 1978 and the AA Executive of the Year Award in 1987 and 1989, and radio broadcaster Bob Jamison, who was named the SL Broadcaster of the Year in 1980 and 1982. The franchise was recognized with the Minor League Baseball Organization of the Year Award in 2022. The team won the Larry MacPhail Award in 1978, 1980, and 1981. Two managers have won the Mike Coolbaugh Award: Mike Guerrero and Rick Sweet. Twenty-nine Sounds have been selected by their Major League Baseball organization for player or pitcher of the year awards.
Four Sounds have been selected to participate in the All-Star Futures Game. Seventy-six players and seven managers and coaches have been selected for midseason All-Star teams. Of these, Drew Denson, Vinny Rottino, Scott Ruffcorn, Joey Vierra, and Jamie Werly are the only players to have been selected twice while playing for Nashville. Four players have been chosen as the MVP for their contributions in All-Star games: Duane Walker, Ray Durham, Magglio Ordóñez, and Renato Núñez. Of the 51 players who have been named to postseason All-Star teams, only Duane Walker and Jeff Abbott have been selected twice.
A number of players have led their league in multiple statistical categories during a single season. Steve Balboni led the 1980 Southern League season in five categories: runs (101), runs batted in (122), total bases (288), home runs (30), and fielding percentage among first basemen (.990). Chris Hammond led the American Association in five areas in 1990: wins (15), winning percentage (.938 (15–1)), earned run average (2.17), strikeouts (149), and shutouts (3). Skeeter Barnes (1990), Norberto Martin (1993), Drew Denson (1994), Magglio Ordóñez (1997), and Joey Wendle (2015) led single seasons in four areas each. The 1980 Sounds led the Southern League in 22 categories, the most among all Sounds teams.
- ^ a b Weiss, Bill; Wright, Marshall (2001). "Top 100 Teams". Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
- ^ Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
- ^ "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.