Wichita Wingnuts

The Wichita Wingnuts are a professional baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas, in the United States. The Wingnuts are a member of the Central Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball.

An expansion franchise in the 2008 season, the Wingnuts play their home games at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. The Wingnuts replaced the Wichita Wranglers, the former AA affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The first Wichita Wingnuts manager was Kash Beauchamp, who gained notoriety for his tirade during a game on July 9. Beauchamp's contract was not renewed at the end of the 2008 season. Kevin Hooper replaced Beauchamp as the manager for the 2009 season. The Wingnuts finished the first half of 2008 in second place, but a slide in the second half left them with an overall record of 45-50 in their inaugural season.

In 2009, the Wingnuts won the North Division title for the first half of the season, and in 2010 hosted the American Association All-Star Game at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. The Wingnuts were named the 2010 American Association Organization of the Year. The current manager is former major leaguer Kevin Hooper, an alum of Wichita State University and native Kansan. In 2012, the Wingnuts completed of 3-game sweep of the Laredo Lemurs to advance to the American Association Championship Series against the Winnipeg Goldeyes.