The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Based in Frisco, Texas, the team is named after the 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment during the Spanish–American War, headed by future American President Theodore Roosevelt, nicknamed "The Rough Riders" by the American press. They play their home games at Riders Field, which opened in 2003 and seats 10,316 people.
The RoughRiders have served as an affiliate of the Rangers since their establishment in 2003 as members of the Texas League. They moved to the Double-A Central in 2021, but this was renamed the Texas League in 2022. Frisco has reached the postseason on seven occasions. They have won five division titles and two league championships. Their first Texas League title was won in 2004, and the RoughRiders secured their second title in 2022.
History
In 2001, the Texas League's Shreveport SwampDragons (previously the Shreveport Captains) of Shreveport, Louisiana, were purchased by Mandalay Entertainment in connection with Tom Hicks, former owner of the Texas Rangers and the Southwest Sports Group. Mandalay Baseball moved them to the North Texas city of Frisco and changed their name to the RoughRiders. The team would play at Dr Pepper Ballpark, a newly constructed stadium, and be the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.
The RoughRiders played their first home game on April 3, 2003. The game was a sellout with over 10,000 fans in attendance. They qualified for the Texas League playoffs in their inaugural season by winning the first-half title with a record of 40–30. They advanced past the Wichita Wranglers before being defeated by the San Antonio Missions, four games to one, in the finals. Frisco saw 675,620 fans come through the turnstiles at Dr Pepper Ballpark, which ranked fourth overall in all of minor league attendance.
thumb|left|Frisco playing against the [[Midland RockHounds in June 2017]]
The 'Riders finished off a remarkable second-half run and clinched the 2004 second-half Eastern Division title at home with a 45–25 record. They finished the season with a 58–82 record.
Pitchers Thomas Diamond and John Danks, infielder Adam Morissey, and outfielder Anthony Webster were selected for the 2006 Texas League All-Star Game. The 'Riders finished the season in third place with a 72–68 record.
Frisco returned to postseason play in 2007 by virtue of winning the first-half title, 47–23, but were defeated in the first round by San Antonio, three games to none. The team qualified for the 2014 postseason by winning both halves (40–29 and 40–30), but lost the South Division title to Midland, three games to one. They won the 2021 Southern Division title with a first-place 64–55 record. Despite winning the division, their record was third-best in the league, and only the two teams with the highest winning percentages in the regular season competed for the league championship. Cole Winn won the league's Pitcher of the Year Award. In 2022, the Double-A Central became known as the Texas League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.
Season-by-season results
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
!rowspan="2" scope="col" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-top:#862633 5px solid; border-bottom:#326295 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|Season
!colspan="5" scope="col" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-top:#862633 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|Regular season
!colspan="3" scope="col" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-top:#862633 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|Postseason
!rowspan="2" scope="col" class="unsortable" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-top:#862633 5px solid; border-bottom:#326295 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|
|-
!scope="col" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-bottom:#326295 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|Record
!scope="col" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-bottom:#326295 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|Win %
!scope="col" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-bottom:#326295 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|League
!scope="col" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-bottom:#326295 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|Division
!scope="col" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-bottom:#326295 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|
!scope="col" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-bottom:#326295 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|Record
!scope="col" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-bottom:#326295 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|Win %
!class="unsortable" rowspan="2" scope="col" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-bottom:#326295 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|Result
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2003
| 73–67 || .521 || 3rd || 2nd || 2 || 4–4 || .500 || Won First Half East Division title<br/>Won East Division title vs. Wichita Wranglers, 3–0<br/>Lost TL championship vs. San Antonio Missions, 4–1
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2004
| 81–59–2 || .579 || 2nd || 1st || — || 7–1 || .875 || Won Second Half East Division title<br/>Won East Division title vs. Tulsa Drillers, 3–0<br/>Won TL championship vs. Round Rock Express, 4–1
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2005
| 58–82 || .414 || 8th || 4th || 20 || — || — || — ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2006
| 72–68 || .514 || 5th || 3rd || || — || — || — ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2007
| 85–55 || .607 || 1st || 1st || — || 0–3 || .000 || Won First Half South Division title<br/>Lost South Division title vs. San Antonio Missions, 3–0
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2008
| 84–56 || .600 || 1st || 1st || — || 5–3 || .625 || Won First and Second Half South Division titles<br/>Won South Division title vs. San Antonio Missions, 3–0<br/>Lost TL championship vs. Arkansas Travelers, 3–2
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2009
| 72–68 || .514 || 4th || 2nd || 6 || — || — || — ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2010
| 72–67 || .518 || 3rd || 1st || — || 1–3 || .250 || Won First Half South Division title<br/>Lost South Division title vs. Midland RockHounds, 3–1
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2011
| 79–61 || .564 || 2nd || 2nd || 15 || 1–3 || .250 || Lost South Division title vs. San Antonio Missions, 3–1
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2012
| 80–60 || .571 || 2nd || 2nd || 1 || 4–3 || .571 || Won First Half South Division title<br/>Won South Division title vs. Corpus Christi Hooks, 3–0<br/>Lost TL championship vs. Springfield Cardinals, 3–1
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2013
| 70–70 || .500 || 4th || 3rd || 13 || — || — || — ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2014
| 80–59 || .576 || 1st || 1st || — || 1–3 || .250 || Won First and Second Half South Division titles<br/>Lost South Division title vs. Midland RockHounds, 3–1
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2015
| 60–79 || .432 || 7th || 3rd || || — || — || — ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2016
| 63–76 || .453 || 7th || 3rd || || — || — || — ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2017
| 60–80 || .429 || 8th || 4th || 18 || — || — || — ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2018
| 60–80 || .429 || 8th || 4th || 23 || — || — || — ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2019
| 68–71 || .475 || 5th || 3rd || 7 || — || — || — ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2020
| colspan="8"|Season cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic) ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2021
| 64–55 || .538 || 3rd || 1st || 7 || — || — || Won Southern Division title || ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2023
| 64–73 || .467 || 9th || 5th || || — || — || — ||
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| 2024
| 84–54 || .609 || 1st (tie) || 1st (tie) || — || 1–2 || .333 || Won First Half South Division title<br/>Lost South Division title vs. Midland RockHounds, 2–1 ||
|-
! style="text-align: center;" |2025
|73-63
|.537
|3rd
|1st
|14
|—
|—
|—
|
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"|Totals
!1,503–1,403
!
!—
!—
!—
!28–25
!
!2 league title, 6 division titles, 11 half division titles
!—
|}
Mascots
The RoughRiders have four mascots: Deuce, Daisy, Ted E Bear, and Bull Moose. Ted E Bear is an anthropomorphic teddy bear resembling Teddy Roosevelt in military uniform.
Roster
Awards
thumb|right|upright=1|[[Dave Anderson (infielder)|Dave Anderson won the Texas League Manager of the Year Award in 2007.|alt=A man wearing a red batting helmet and baseball jersey with white pants walking on a baseball field]]
Three players have won league awards in recognition for their performance with the RoughRiders. Six members of the coaching staff and two executives have also been honored.
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|+Texas League awards
!width="180px" scope="col" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-top:#862633 5px solid; border-bottom:#326295 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|Award
!width="110px" scope="col" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-top:#862633 5px solid; border-bottom:#326295 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|Recipient
!scope="col" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-top:#862633 5px solid; border-bottom:#326295 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|Season
!class="unsortable" scope="col" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-top:#862633 5px solid; border-bottom:#326295 5px solid; color:#0C2340"|
|-
|Pitcher of the Year
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"|
|2010||
|-
|Pitcher of the Year
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"|
|2012||