Welcome to Five County Stadium in Zebulon, N.C., residence of the Carolina Mudcats. Mingle with a bipedal catfish, gaze upon a team-logo water tower and watch the “micro” Brewers whereas having fun with a neighborhood beer.
Carolina Mudcats (Milwaukee Brewers affiliate since 2017)
Established: 1991
League: Carolina League (since 2012)
Ballpark: Five County Stadium (opened 1991)
Championships: 1995, 2003 (within the Southern League)
Notable Alumni: Jason Kendall, Tim Wakefield, Adrian Gonzalez, Didi Gregorius, Matt Holliday, Miguel Cabrera, Dontrelle Willis, Francisco Lindor
The Carolinas, lengthy a Minor League Baseball hotbed, are at the moment residence to fifteen groups (10 in North Carolina and 5 in South Carolina). The Carolina Mudcats, members of the Carolina League, are, not surprisingly, certainly one of these groups. Specifically, the staff operates out of the Raleigh suburb of Zebulon, N.C.
The Carolina Mudcats arrived on the scene in 1991, having relocated from Columbus, Ga. The Mudcats title, adopted in 1989 whereas the staff was nonetheless in Columbus, is a slang time period for a catfish. This moniker and its corresponding emblem, which turned a pre-internet viral sensation, beat out Generals, Cannons, River Rats and Scrambled Dogs (a neighborhood frankfurter-based culinary specialty) in a reputation the staff contest.
The Carolina Mudcats had been members of the Double-A Southern League from 1991 via 2011, a time frame by which they had been affiliated with Pittsburgh, Colorado, Florida and Cincinnati. Following the 2011 season, the Double-A Mudcats relocated to Pensacola, Fla. and have become the Blue Wahoos. In a corresponding transfer, the Kinston Indians of the Class A Advanced Carolina League relocated to Zebulon and assumed the Mudcats mantle.
The Mudcats started their present affiliation with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2017, following three years with Cleveland (2012-14) and two with Atlanta (2015-16). Following the 2017 season, the Brewers turned majority homeowners of the staff. In 2021, following a bigger restructuring of Minor League Baseball, the Carolina League was reclassified as a Single-A circuit.
Five County Stadium
Five County Stadium was in-built an inauspicious, albeit strategic, location, simply outdoors of the territorial rights of the Greensboro Grasshoppers and Durham Bulls. The 5 counties referenced within the ballpark title are Wake, Franklin, Nash, Johnston and Wilson (the power itself is positioned in Wake, with Franklin, Nash and Johnston all inside 1500 ft).
North Carolina state route 39 runs east of the ballpark, past the outfield. Large parking tons are located on each the primary and third-base sides, and a big patch of grass lies past residence plate. Five County Stadium was constructed for simply $2.5 million {dollars}, a small sum even by 1991 requirements. When the primary sport was performed there, on July 3 of that season, employees had been nonetheless putting in seats because the gates opened.
A scout camp out, happening simply outdoors Five County Stadium.
Five County Stadium has been extensively renovated since these slapdash beginnings. Its hulking concrete exterior, serving because the spine of a multi-level seating bowl, brings to thoughts a scaled-down model of the multi-purpose stadiums that dominated Major League Baseball within the Nineteen Seventies and 80s. The majority of the seats are on the second degree, with the primary degree protected by foul pole to foul pole netting. The closed concourse, working from first base to 3rd base, is positioned behind the seating bowl.
Group areas embrace a left-field get together deck and the upper-level DRB Sky Lounge, which was a full-service restaurant known as “Cattails.” This space presents elevated views of the enjoying area in addition to the water tower that looms past left area. The tower has “Zebulon” written vertically alongside its base, with the rounded higher space that includes painted baseball seams and a Mudcats emblem.
Concessions
When the house staff is known as after a slang time period for a catfish, then catfish ought to be on the menu. The Mudcats ship through a catfish sandwich – cornmeal crusted, deep-fried and served with tartar sauce on the aspect. The catfish combo, in the meantime, eschews the bun and comes with fries. Another in style choice is the BBQ Nachos, which provide a alternative between two forms of sauce (smoky or vinegar-based).
In 2019 the Mudcats unveiled their Micro Brews alternate id, which references each their Milwaukee Brewers affiliation and the area’s craft beer scene. Be looking out for native brews along with choices from the standard home behemoths.
Mascot
Muddy has two legs, which is simply one of many some ways by which he differs from the typical catfish. But he is a catfish nonetheless, as his tail and ample whiskers clarify. He is oftentimes joined by his diminutive pal Mini Muddy, who boasts comparable traits on a smaller (fish) scale. Muddy and Mini-Muddy aren’t precisely thrilled that the Mudcats promote catfish sandwiches on the ballpark, however they’ve been assured that they’re exempt from ever being coated in cornmeal and deep-fried.
Local Attractions
Zebulon’s inhabitants has practically doubled over the previous 20 years, however nonetheless remains to be a small city comprised of roughly 8,000 souls. Explore its historic downtown, whose Town Hall shows the work of myriad native artists. Zebulon Community Park, certainly one of many public parks within the space, is residence to a well-regarded disc golf course.
There are, in fact, 4 different close by counties to discover. Raleigh, North Carolina’s capital metropolis, is residence to all kinds of cultural and sporting sights and positioned simply 20 miles away.
Food and Drink
Olde Raleigh Distillery, positioned in downtown Zebulon, can be out there at Five County Stadium.
Lodging
There aren’t many inns or motels within the quick neighborhood of the ballpark. But if one heads east on I-87, the choices develop into more and more plentiful the nearer one will get to Raleigh. One of the closest institutions is Zebulon’s Lakeside Resort, a relatively swanky spot providing deep tissue massages on the premises.
Moving On
When it involves Minor League Baseball, there are not any extra fertile grounds than the Carolinas. Since the Mudcats play in Zebulon, how about making them the top level of a North Carolina A-to-Z highway journey: Asheville, Hickory, Charlotte, Kannapolis, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Durham, Fayetteville, Down East, Zebulon.
This, in fact, may not be probably the most logical itinerary inside the state, and does not account for its myriad summer-collegiate and impartial baseball choices. The prospects are solely restricted by your creativeness (and, maybe extra importantly, your price range).
The Road to Milwaukee
The Mudcats are the primary cease within the Brewers’ sprawling system. Farmhands then transfer on to Wisconsin, Mississippi and Tennessee earlier than reaching the last word objective in Milwaukee.
Single-A: Carolina Mudcats
High-A: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
Double-A: Biloxi Shuckers
Triple-A: Nashville Sounds
