Nashville Sounds facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Nashville Sounds mascot Booster 2
Booster, mascot of the Nashville Sounds

The Nashville Sounds are a minor league baseball team from Nashville, Tennessee. They play at the Triple-A (AAA) level, the most difficult level before Major League Baseball, against other baseball teams in the Pacific Coast League (a group of 16 baseball teams at the same level). When a player shows that he plays well at this level, he is moved up to the team's partner, the Oakland Athletics, which is a Major League Baseball team.

The Sounds played from 1978 to 2014 at Herschel Greer Stadium (the name of the stadium where they played baseball). In 2015, the Sounds began to play at a new stadium called First Tennessee Park. They have won the championship in their league three (3) times: 1979, 1982, and 2005.

The team is named "Sounds" because Nashville, the city where the team plays, is famous for making Country music.

Ballpark

First Tennessee Park, April 20, 2015 - 2
Nashville's First Tennessee Park

Their first ballpark was Herschel Greer Stadium. There were many changes to it since it was completed in 1978. It has seats for 10,300 spectators. Its best known feature is its giant 115.6 foot (35.2 m) scoreboard which is behind the left field wall. It has the shape of a guitar.

After the construction of new and quite luxurious minor league ballparks, Greer had fallen below standards set for Triple-A stadiums by professional baseball. Therefore there have been several renovations and upgrades to meet the Triple-A standards. Before the 2008 season, more than $1 million in upgrades and repairs were made to the stadium. A new clubhouse was built, the field lighting was improved as well as were the restrooms, walkways, and seating, were made in order to keep the stadium functional for another three to five years.

In 2014, the Sounds and the Nashville Metro Government agreed on a plan to build a new baseball stadium for the team. The Sounds began playing baseball at the new stadium, called First Tennessee Park, in 2015. It has space for 10,000 spectators. There are 8,500 seats, and there is a spot of grass where 1,500 others can sit.

  • GreerStadium1stBaseLine

    The field and seats at Herschel Greer Stadium

  • GreerStadiumScoreboard3

    The stadium has an special guitar-shaped scoreboard (where the score of the game is displayed).

  • First Tennessee Park, September 3, 2015 - 1

    First Tennessee Park also has a scoreboard shaped like a guitar.

Images for kids

  • A man wearing a white baseball uniform with dark green sleeves bearing a white "M" and a dark green cap with a white "M" on the front stands on a baseball field

    Skeeter Barnes played third base in 1979. His number 00 was retired in the early 1990s.

  • A man wearing a gray baseball uniform with navy blue stripes with "New York" written on the chest

    Don Mattingly played first base and outfield for Nashville in 1981. His number 18 was retired in 1999.

  • A man wearing a gray baseball uniform with "Oakland" and the number "6" written across the chest in green letters and a green cap with a yellow "A" on it stands on a baseball field

    Bob Melvin played catcher for the Sounds in 1985.

  • A man wearing a white baseball uniform and a red cap with a white "C" on it winds up to throw a baseball from the pitcher's mound

    Chris Hammond, a starting pitcher for Nashville in 1989 and 1990, was selected as the American Association's Most Valuable Pitcher in 1990.

  • A man wearing a white baseball uniform with a navy blue "D" on the chest, a navy blue cap bearing a white "D", and a baseball glove stands on a baseball field

    Magglio Ordóñez, an outfielder in 1997, won the league's MVP and Rookie of the Year Awards that season.

  • A man wearing a white baseball uniform with a navy blue "L" on the chest, a navy blue cap with a white "L" on the center, and a black glove on his left hand stands on the pitcher's mound in the midst of pitching a ball.

    John Wasdin pitched a perfect game for the Sounds on April 7, 2003.

  • A man wearing a navy blue Brewers jersey, gray pants, navy blue cap, and outfielder's glove on his left hand walking in the outfield.

    Ryan Braun, who played third base in 2007, won the National League Rookie of the Year Award that same season.

  • A man in a gray baseball uniform with a red "34" on the back, a green Oakland Athletics' elephant logo on the right sleeve, and a black baseball cap leans forward.

    Barry Zito pitched for the Sounds in 2015, his final professional season.

  • First Tennessee Park, May 5, 2015 - 1

    Nashville's First Tennessee Park

  • NashvilleSoundsJerseys

    Nashville Sounds uniforms during the 2017 season

  • A man wearing a black baseball cap and a red jersey with "Sounds" written across the chest in white script and gray baseball pants shown preparing to pitch a ball from the mound

    Jimmy Nelson won the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Year Award in 2014.

  • A man in a black baseball jersey with red trim and "Music City" written in red letters across the chest, a black cap with an "MC" on the front, and gray pants stands in front of a dugout.

    Steve Scarsone, Sounds manager from 2015 to 2016

  • OriginalNashvilleSoundsLogo

    The Sounds' original "Slugger" logo used from 1978 to 1998


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