The San Antonio Missions are the AA affiliate of the San Diego Padres and compete in the minor league AA Central previously the Texas league. The team is named after the Spanish missions throughout San Antonio, Texas, and they play their home games at the Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium. The stadium seats 6200 people and has a total capacity of 9000. It was opened in 1994.
Baseball in San Antonio has a long history. In fact, San Antonio was one of the charter members of the Texas league that originated in 1888. The San Antonio baseball team went by many names in the early years, such as Missionaries, Gentlemen and Bronchos (a Spanish play on the name Broncos).
Prior to World War II, the San Antonio baseball team created a partnership affiliation with the St. Louis Browns, an early major league team under the name Missions. This partnership continued until 1959 but with a break during the war. The St. Louis Browns became the Baltimore Orioles in 1954. One of the most famous players for the Baltimore Orioles that played in San Antonio Missions was Brooks Robinson during the 1956 and 1957 seasons.
The Missions affiliated with the Chicago Cubs from 1959 through 1962. During those years, Ron Santo and Billy Williams both came through San Antonio. Starting in 1963 for two years, the San Antonio Missions became the San Antonio Bullets as they joined a new affiliation with the Houston Colt 45s. Hall of Famer Joe Morgan came through San Antonio during those years.
After a three year hiatus of baseball in San Antonio, the Missions returned with a renewed affiliation with the Chicago Cubs. From 1968 through 1971, this partnership continued. In 1972, San Antonio baseball affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers and they took on the Brewers name as part of the partnership. The San Antonio team maintained the Brewers name but switched affiliations to the Cleveland Indians and the Texas Rangers over the next four years. Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley played for the team in 1974.
In 1977 San Antonio baseball became the San Antonio Dodgers as they affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite continuing their partnership with the LA Dodgers thru 2000, the team became the San Antonio Missions again in 1988. Many big names played in San Antonio during these years.
For the early years of this affiliation, the team played at DJ Keith Memorial Stadium, which they shared with St. Mary’s University. in 1994 the team moved to Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium. Nelson Wolff was the mayor of San Antonio at the time that the stadium was built. From 2001 to 2006 the San Antonio missions became affiliated with the Seattle Mariners. Future major league star Felix Hernandez came through San Antonio during this time. The San Antonio missions relationship with the San Diego Padres started in the year 2007 and continues today with a brief transition from 2019 and 2020 as the team became the AAA affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers in the AAA Pacific Coast league.
Currently there are discussions about building a new stadium in downtown San Antonio for the team. According to KSAT.com: “The details on how a potential San Antonio Missions’ downtown baseball stadium would be financed were revealed .. during a city council meeting. The proposed plan will be a joint effort between the city, Bexar County, and the team’s ownership group. According to the city, the would-be stadium — located in the northwest section of downtown — would be a multi-purpose ballpark facility with fixed seating for 4,500 people and a total capacity of 7,500.”