Calgary Inferno

Calgary Inferno Founded in 1995 Calgary, Alberta
Team logo
Secondary logo
Affiliations
League	Bull League
Subleague	American Eagle League
Division	West (2018-) East (1995-2017)
Team Info
Name	Calgary Inferno (2010-present)
Other nicknames	Great Balls of Fire, the Flaming Balls
Previous names	Calgary Chinooks (1995-2009)
Colors	Crimson, charcoal, gold, white
Owner	Tom Rice, Jr.
General manager	Andy Turnbull
Ballpark
Ballpark	Inferno Park
Titles
Bull Cup titles	(2) 2015, 2017
League pennants	(6) 1997, 1999, 2010, 2015—2017
Division pennants	(8) AEL East - 1996—1997, 1999—2000, 2002, 2013—2014, 2017

The Calgary Inferno are a Canadian Bull League baseball team based in Calgary, Alberta. The team is currently located in the American Eagle League (AEL) East division.

The name Inferno is inspired by the frequent wild fires that occur in the province of Alberta, and the team logo is a flaming baseball. They are considered one of the more successful clubs in the AEL, and have 10 playoff appearances, including 6 Bull Cup championship appearances.

History

In 1995, the league reorganized and added four teams. The Calgary Chinooks were one of the four teams added. They changed their name to Inferno for the 2010 season.

Calgary Inferno former logo (2010-2016)

Starting as an expansion team has not hindered their performance, however. They have had seven first-place finishes in their division since 1995. Since the Wild Card playoff qualifier was introduced in 2012, they have made the playoffs each year, and won the Bull Cup in 2015.

They have contributed two players to the Hall of Fame, Sean "Speed" Lewis (RF, 2014) and Kurt Coler (P, 2012). Lewis still holds the Bull League single-season record for triples (17) set in 1995 with Seattle (he also led the league in stolen bases that year with 41). He went to Calgary the following year and led the league twice in triples during his four years there.

2015–2017: Dynasty Years

The Inferno have cemented themselves in recent history, establishing themselves in a dynasty that began with their 2015 season when they won the first of three successive AEL championships. Coincidentally, all three victories saw their rivals, the Jacksonville Ravens, falling to them.

Calgary went on to win the Bull Cup two out of the three times. All three series were close, going the full five games.

Opening Day Starters

Italics indicate player inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Year	Record	C	1B	2B	3B	SS	LF	CF	RF
1995	37-43	Braydon Laidlaw	Bill Schaffer	Ben Day	Rick Wider	Stanford Wills	Jason Bristol	Bubba Taylor	Jaiden Hill
1996	45-35	Homey Lopez	Sean Underhay	Matt Conine	Deadend Myfriend	Stanford Wills	Kyle Beman	Ryan Pettit	Sean Lewis
2016	43-40	Dao-zi Ling	Logans Run	Francisco Delgado	Cody Martin	Manny Davila	Danny Huertero	Billy Leyva	Takeo Otomo

Retired Numbers

The Calgary Inferno have retired just one uniform number, Hall of Fame right fielder Sean 'Speed' Lewis.

Calgary Inferno Retired Uniform Numbers

Speed Lewis Right fielder Retired 2014

Awards and other achievements

Team Records

For career hitting percentage records, 1,783 plate appearances are required. For career pitching percentage records, 500 innings pitched are required.

Statistic	Single season record			Career record
	Player	Record	Year	Player	Record
Batting average	D.P. Justice	.365	2000	Dao-zi Ling	.313
On base percentage	D.P. Justice	.460	2000	Alexis Canas	.380
Slugging percentage	Bill Schaffer	.725	1995	Dao-zi Ling	.551
At bats	Israel Medina	411	2017	Cam Bowers	3,466
Runs	Bill Schaffer	75	1995	Cam Bowers	514
Hits	Miguel Ortega Danny Huertero	123	2014 2017	Cam Bowers	1,029
Doubles	Danny Huertero	32	2015	Cam Bowers	222
Triples	Miguel Ortega	12	2014	Miguel Ortega	38
Home runs	Jesse Nelson Cody Martin	33	2006 2014	Dao-zi Ling	177
Runs batted in	Jesse Nelson	82	2006	Cam Bowers	651
Stolen bases	Sean Lewis	31	1996 1998	Sean Lewis	111
Earned runs average	Adam Price	2.15	2015	Kurt Coler	3.14
Wins	Tom Dewolfe Fernando Latorre	12	1999 2017	Jerry Scovell	63
Losses	Kyle Cahill	12	2008	Jerry Scovell	45
Saves	Kevin Krohn	23	2013	Ivan Dorado	113
Games pitched	Don Jordan	47	2005	Jing-shuan Bing	289
Games started	Matthew Rendall Enrique Nunez	22	2017 2017	Jerry Scovell	139
Complete games	Yoshiyau Aoki	6	2012	Luis Fernandez	16
Shutouts	Luis Fernandez	3	2012	Owen Clemons Luis Fernandez	5
Innings pitched	Enrique Nunez	155.2	2013	Jerry Scovell	901.1
Strikeouts	Luis Fernandez	188	2013	Luis Fernandez	769

Hall of Fame Players

Two Calgary Inferno players have been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Calgary Inferno Hall of Famers
Player	Position	Inducted
Kurt Coler	Pitcher	2012
Sean 'Speed' Lewis	Right Field	2014

Championships

The Calgary Inferno are the current Bull Cup champions, and have appeared in six Bull Cup finals, winning the Cup twice (in 2015 and 2017).

Bull Cup Champions
Preceded by: Montreal Metros	2015	Succeeded by: Ohio Oxen
Preceded by: Ohio Oxen	2017	Current champions
American Eagle League Champions
Preceded by: Richmond Ravens	1997 (as Calgary Chinooks)	Succeeded by: Nevada Speeders
Preceded by: Nevada Speeders	1999 (as Calgary Chinooks)	Succeeded by: California Tidals
Preceded by: Nevada Speeders	2010	Succeeded by: Richmond Ravens
Preceded by: Nevada Speeders	2015—2017	Current holder
American Eagle League East Division Titles
Preceded by: Denver Highlanders	1996—1997 (as Calgary Chinooks)	Succeeded by: Nevada Speeders
Preceded by: Nevada Speeders	1999—2000 (as Calgary Chinooks)	Succeeded by: Nevada Speeders
Preceded by: Nevada Speeders	2002 (as Calgary Chinooks)	Succeeded by: Nevada Speeders
Preceded by: Nevada Speeders	2013—2014	Succeeded by: Jacksonville Ravens
Preceded by: Denver Highlanders	2017	Current holder

Minor League Affiliations

Level	Team	League	Location
AAA	Kelowna Inferno	Cow League	Kelowna, British Columbia
AA	Hussar Barbers	Heifer League	Hussar, Alberta
A	Lethbridge Raiders	Calf League	Lethbridge, Alberta
Short Season A	East Broughton Critters	Milk League	East Broughton, Quebec
Rookie	Sarasota Inferno	Florida Rookie League	Sarasota, Florida