The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team in Hickory, North Carolina, USA. They are a Class A team in the South Atlantic League, and have been a farm team of the Texas Rangers since 2009. Previously, they were a Class A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Crawdads play home games at L.P. Frans Stadium. Opened in 1993, Frans Stadium seats 5,092 fans. The Crawdads mascot is Conrad the Crawdad. Conrad was named in a contest won by Ryan Windam, a native of Hickory, North Carolina. The Crawdads won the South Atlantic League Championship in 2002, and again in 2004. Andrew Buchbinder, formerly a radio announcer for the Bakersfield Condors of the ECHL and the Bakersfield Blaze of the California League, became the Crawdads radio announcer for the 2009 season. read more