The Hamilton Joes are a collegiate summer baseball team that competes in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League (GLSCL), one of eight leagues formed under the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball (NACSB).[1] The team plays at Hamilton's Foundation Field.
The Hamilton Joes were founded in 2008 as a non-profit organization by their then President/GM, Hamilton native Mike Brennan,[2] along with their manager/head coach, Darrel Grissom. The team's namesake is Joe Nuxhall, a Hamilton native and Cincinnati Reds pitcher who is a member of the team's hall of fame. The team played its first season in the Great Lakes League in 2009.
In March 2011, Brennan resigned from his positions and named assistant general manager Joshua Manley as his successor. The following year, Manley carried his coaching duties over from the collegiate spring season to the collegiate summer season.[clarification needed] Manley took over as vice president and general manager of the team while Darrel Grissom was promoted to president and remained Director of Baseball Operations.[3] Manley left the team before the 2014 season. Following Manley’s departure, John Dotson served as assistant GM from 2015-2016. In August 2016, Ryan Finnerty was promoted to assistant GM and still serves in that role today.
In only their second season in operation and their first playoff appearance, the Joes won the 2010 league championship. The Joes entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed, and defeated the Southern Ohio Copperheads in two games (of a best-of-three series). In the Championship Series, the Joes faced the No. 1 seeded Licking County Settlers and also defeated them in two games, capturing the franchise's first championship. In 2015, they again advanced to the championship round but lost to the Lima Locos, though they would defeat Lima the following year, 2016, for their second championship. The Joes would also win back-to-back championships in 2021 and 2022, defeating Lima both times.[4]
Forty-seven Joes have played professionally, including five who have made it to the major leagues:[7]