Prior professional baseball in Charlotte The first
professional baseball team in Charlotte was the
Charlotte Hornets, which played only a single season. In 1900, the city was home to the Charlotte Presbyterians. A year later, a new Hornets team formed. The Hornets competed in various leagues for 66 seasons through 1972. In 1937, the
Washington Senators, later the
Minnesota Twins, purchased the team. The Hornets remained a minor league affiliate of the Senators/Twins for 35 years. In 1940,
Calvin Griffith, the son of Senators owner
Clark Griffith and future owner of the Senators/Twins, built an approximately 5,000-seat park in Charlotte's Dilworth neighborhood,
Clark Griffith Park. It would be the home of Charlotte baseball for the next half-century. The Hornets spent most of the first half of the 20th century in the low minors (in some years, as low as Class D–equivalent to a Rookie-level team today). However, they were the Senators' second-highest affiliate for much of that time. The Hornets joined the
Class A South Atlantic League (SAL) in 1954. They had previously been members of the SAL in the 1920s. The league became a
Double-A circuit in 1963 and was reorganized as the
Southern League in 1964. In 1972, Charlotte was home to two teams: the Hornets and Minnesota's Class A affiliate in the
Western Carolinas League, the
Charlotte Twins. Charlotte won the First Half Eastern Division title in their inaugural 1976 season, but lost the Eastern Division title to the
Orlando Twins in a one-game playoff. The team featured
pitcher Dave Ford, who won the
Southern League Most Outstanding Pitcher Award, and future
Baseball Hall of Famer
Eddie Murray at
first base. Charlotte won another first half title in 1979 but was again eliminated in the Eastern Division series by the
Columbus Astros, 2–0. , inducted in the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007, played for the Charlotte O's in 1979 and 1980.
Manager Jimmy Williams led the 1980 O's to end the season with an even 72–72 record and the first half title. They then swept the
Savannah Braves in a three-game series for the Eastern Division title and defeated the
Memphis Chicks, 3–1, to win their first
Southern League championship.
Ken Dixon was selected as the league's Most Outstanding Pitcher. Similarly, the 1987 first-half champion O's won the division title versus the
Jacksonville Expos, 3–2, but lost the league crown to the
Birmingham Barons, 3–1. Third baseman
Tom Dodd was selected for the 1987
Southern League Most Valuable Player Award. The team's 13-year affiliation with Baltimore ended after the 1988 season. In 1989, Shinn moved the Knights to
Knights Castle, a temporary 8,000-seat stadium located just over the state line in
Fort Mill, South Carolina, near the construction site of their permanent home,
Knights Stadium.
International League (1993–2020) In conjunction with the
1993 Major League Baseball expansion, team owner George Shinn was granted an
expansion franchise in the
Triple-A International League (IL), which would begin playing in Charlotte in 1993. Shinn, who had applied for Charlotte to receive one of two available Triple-A expansion teams, was recommended by the expansion committee after their visit to evaluate the city. Of the nine applicant cities, Charlotte had the newest stadium, the only major league sports franchise (Shinn's Charlotte Hornets), and the largest metro area population. He solicited offers to purchase the club to help defray a US$5 million International League enfranchisement cost. Shinn initially sold the Double-A franchise to
Tom Benson, owner of the
National Football League's
New Orleans Saints, who sought to relocate the club to
New Orleans. Still, the move was blocked when
Minor League Baseball granted territorial rights to the higher-classification Triple-A
Denver Zephyrs, who wanted to move to New Orleans after being uprooted by the
Colorado Rockies National League expansion team. So, the team relocated there in 1993 as the
Nashville Xpress. of the 1993 Knights was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018. The Triple-A Charlotte Knights carried on the history and identity of the preceding Double-A team and became the Triple-A affiliate of the
Cleveland Indians. Third baseman
Jim Thome, later inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, won the 1993
International League Most Valuable Player Award with the Knights. The 1994 squad pushed for a second IL title, but lost the semifinals versus Richmond, 3–1. Much of the core of the 1993–94 Knights, including Manuel, would help lead the Indians to the World Series in
1995 and
1997. In 1995, the Knights switched their affiliation to the
Florida Marlins. Over four years with Florida, Charlotte's only postseason appearance occurred in 1997. As in their previous playoff run, they were eliminated in the semifinals by the
Columbus Clippers, 3–1. In 1996,
left fielder Billy McMillon was selected as the
IL Rookie of the Year. who negotiated a Triple-A affiliation with the
Chicago White Sox, which began in 1999. Manager
Tom Spencer led the Knights to win the IL Wild Card that season with an 82–62 record. In the semifinals, they defeated the
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, 3–2, before winning their second IL championship against the
Durham Bulls, 3–1. This win earned the team a spot in the
Triple-A World Series, a postseason interleague championship series between the league champions of the IL and the Triple-A
Pacific Coast League. Charlotte lost the Triple-A World Series versus the
Vancouver Canadians, 3–2. Spencer was recognized as the
IL Manager of the Year. Despite the early postseason exit, a pair of Knights were selected for IL awards.
Heath Phillips was the Most Valuable Pitcher, and third baseman
Josh Fields was the Rookie of the Year. since 2014. The Knights' attendance sagged after the turn of the millennium, partly because Knights Stadium was almost half an hour south of Charlotte. Many fans were unwilling to brave
Interstate 77's infamous congestion to go to the stadium. In 2011, the Charlotte City Council and Mecklenburg County Commission approved a land-swap agreement which opened the door for constructing a new 10,200-seat stadium in downtown Charlotte. The $54 million park, BB&T Ballpark, now
Truist Field, opened in time for the 2014 season. Charlotte hosted the 2016
Triple-A All-Star Game in which a team of International League All-Stars defeated the Pacific Coast League All-Stars, 4–2. The Knights narrowly missed the 2016 playoffs, finishing a half game behind the first-place
Gwinnett Stripers. The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic before being cancelled on June 30.
Triple-A East / International League (2021–present) Following the 2020 season, Major League Baseball assumed control of Minor League Baseball to increase player salaries, modernize facility standards, and reduce travel. The Chicago White Sox retained Charlotte as their Triple-A affiliate, but the International League disbanded, and the Knights followed the other IL teams into the
Triple-A East. Charlotte ended the season in seventh place in the Southeastern Division with a 45–75 record. No playoffs were held to determine a league champion, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner. However, 10 games postponed from the start of the season were reinserted into the schedule as a postseason tournament called the Triple-A Final Stretch, in which all 30 Triple-A clubs competed for the highest winning percentage. In 2022, the Triple-A East became known as the International League, the name historically used by the regional circuit before the 2021 reorganization. Before the 2023 season, the Knights debuted redesigned logos and uniforms. They retained their gold, silver, and black colors with the addition of blue, which is used by the city's other teams, the
Carolina Panthers,
Charlotte FC, and
Charlotte Hornets. The knight's helmet, as was the "C" featured in their cap logo, was redesigned. ==Season-by-season records==