These are the 7 Minor League Baseball Teams That Are the Hometown Club for Every Part of Michigan

There are just 3 minor league baseball teams that play in Michigan. However, there are many other teams outside of the state that are closer than home-state teams.

For the teams that play their games in Michigan, they're in a bit of a nexus each about an hour away from the another team. There are the Whitecaps in Grand Rapids, the Lugnuts in Lansing and the Loons who play in Midland but represent the Saginaw Bay region.

The out-of-state teams that could be considered 'hometeams' for parts of Michigan are the Toledo Mudhens, the Fort Wayne Tincaps, South Bend Cubs and the Wisconsin Timber Rattler who play in Appleton.

Here's how the geography breaks down by Michigan counties according to a map produced by Minor League Baseball.

Running around the state:

South Bend Cubs Michigan Fandom

The region commonly known as 'Michiana' including the counties of Berrien, Cass, Van Buren and Kalamazoo are the closest to the Cubs affiliate in South Bend, a team formerly known as the Silverhawks in honor of that city's heritage with the Studebaker car company.

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West Michigan Whitecaps Home Terf

The Whitecaps play in the Grand Rapids area, just north of town. Allegan and Barry county form the southern border of the Whitecaps territory which stretches along the Lakeshore to nearly Traverse City.

The Lone Michigan County For the Fort Wayne Tincaps

The team that nods to Johnny Appleseed, the Fort Wayne Tincaps is the minor league team that's closest to Branch County and a slightly shorter drive south on I-69 to Fort Wayne than north to Lansing.

Lansing Lugnuts Territory

The Lansing Lugnuts domain stretches along the I-94 corridor from Battle Creek to Jackson and north through the counties of mid-Michigan hemmed in by the Whitecaps to the west and Loons to the north and east.

Metro Detroit's Minor League Team - the Toledo Mudhens

The Detroit Tigers and Toledo Mudhens have a long and treasured relationship. All the counties of Metro Detroit can claim the historic Mudhens as their minor league team.

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The Realm of the Great Lakes Loons

All of Eastern Michigan north of Detroit can look to Dow Diamond in Midland as their closest minor league ballpark. From the Thumb to Alpena and across the Mackinac Bridge to Sault Ste Marie, it's the domain of the Loons. The team takes its geographic moniker from the region's attempts to rebrand Saginaw Bay as the 'Great Lakes Bay' region. However, given the team's wide footprint - no other team's territory covers shoreline along 3 Great Lakes - the name is apt.

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Sink Fangs into Michigan's Upper Peninsula

All of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, save for the easternmost counties of Mackinac and Chippewa, can point to Appleton, Wisconsin and the Timber Rattlers as their closest team. It was a close one for the far Western UP. Gogebic County is just a hair away from being closer to the St Paul Saints in Minnesota.