1996 Michigan Battle Cats Roster
Team Record: 60-78
Finished 4th in the MWL's East Division
Manager: Tommy Barrett (60-78)
Affiliation: Boston Red Sox
Location: Battle Creek, Michigan
Ballpark: C.O. Brown Stadium
Attendance: 161,520, Avg. 2,375 in 68 home dates
The Michigan Battle Cats of the Midwest League ended the 1996 season with a record of 60 wins and 78 losses, finishing fourth in the league's East Division.
The Battle Cats plated 638 runs and yielded 675 runs. Damian Sapp paced Michigan with 18 home runs Virgil Chevalier accounted for 62 RBI. Roy Padilla led all qualifying hitters on the roster with a .280 average. Juan Peña topped the squad with 12 wins and a team-best 2.98 ERA, leading pitchers with enough qualifying appearances.
Players from the 1996 Michigan Battle Cats who spent time in the Majors during their careers included Juan Peña, Cole Liniak, Jim Chamblee, Rafael Betancourt and Paxton Crawford.
Tommy Barrett served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Barksdale | R | R | September 6, 1973 | 6'3" | 200 | Augusta, GA US |
| Rafael Betancourt | R | R | April 29, 1975 | 6'2" | 215 | Cumana, Sucre VE |
| Richie Borrero | R | R | January 5, 1973 | 6'1" | 195 | Mayaguez, PR |
| Craig Bush | R | R | August 13, 1973 | 6'2" | 190 | Bowling Green, KY US |
| Kevan Cannon | L | L | August 24, 1974 | 6'1" | 222 | Columbus, OH US |
| Jim Chamblee | R | R | May 6, 1975 | 6'4" | 170 | Denton, TX US |
| Virgil Chevalier | R | R | October 31, 1973 | 6'2" | 220 | Keshena, WI US |
| Kevin Clark | R | R | April 30, 1973 | 6'1" | 200 | Henderson, NV US |
| Paxton Crawford | R | R | August 4, 1977 | 6'3" | 205 | Little Rock, AR US |
| Jim Farrell | R | R | November 1, 1973 | 6'1" | 180 | Akron, OH US |
| Dwight Ferguson | L | L | December 9, 1976 | 6'1" | 170 | Miami, FL US |
| Keith Goodwin | R | R | February 5, 1975 | 6'2" | 182 | Sulphur, LA US |
| Joe Hamilton | L | R | July 12, 1974 | 6'0" | 195 | Attleboro, MA US |
| Scott Jones | R | R | March 1, 1973 | 6'0" | 200 | New Orleans, LA US |
| Ruben Lebron | S | R | August 10, 1975 | 5'10" | 140 | San Pedro de Macoris, San Pedro de Macoris DO |
| Cole Liniak | R | R | August 23, 1976 | 6'1" | 181 | Encinitas, CA US |
| Denis McLaughlin | R | R | November 19, 1972 | 6'5" | 215 | Queens, NY US |
| Scooby Morgan | L | L | November 23, 1974 | 5'10" | 190 | Fort Lauderdale, FL US |
| Andy Noffke | R | R | June 19, 1973 | 6'6" | 235 | Xenia, OH US |
| Nick Ortiz | R | R | July 9, 1973 | 6'0" | 180 | Cidra, PR |
| Roy Padilla | L | L | August 4, 1975 | 6'5" | 220 | Panama, Panama PA |
| Juan Peña | R | R | June 27, 1977 | 6'5" | 210 | Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional DO |
| Peter Prodanov | R | R | September 4, 1973 | 6'1" | 200 | New Brunswick, NJ US |
| John Raifstanger | R | R | June 2, 1973 | 6'0" | 190 | Great Barrington, MA US |
| Lance Rathmell | R | R | August 1, 1973 | 6'1" | 185 | |
| Willie Rivera | R | R | May 12, 1974 | 6'2" | 200 | Catano, PR |
| Curt Romboli | L | L | February 7, 1973 | 6'0" | 190 | Boston, MA US |
| Damian Sapp | R | R | May 20, 1976 | 6'3" | 240 | Murray, UT US |
| Jeff Sauve | R | R | June 27, 1973 | 6'1" | 200 | Camp Hill, PA US |
| Tony Sheffield | L | L | February 17, 1974 | 6'1" | 195 | Tullahoma, TN US |
| Mike Spinelli | L | L | October 5, 1976 | 6'3" | 205 | Malden, MA US |
| Mike Symmonds | L | L | March 13, 1973 | 5'9" | 180 | Honolulu, HI US |
| Darrell Tillmon | L | L | March 30, 1973 | 6'2" | 170 | Monroe, NC US |
| Greg Tippin | L | L | March 4, 1973 | 6'0" | 190 | Anaheim, CA US |
| Larry Wimberly | L | L | August 22, 1975 | 6'0" | 190 | Winter Garden, FL US |
| Jay Yennaco | R | R | November 17, 1975 | 6'1" | 220 | Lawrence, MA US |
Average attendance is based upon the number of actual home dates where known (most leagues from 1992 and later). Where the number of home dates is not known, the average is calculated using half the team's total games.
