The Crawdads arrived in Hickory in 1993 when Don Beaver, Luther Beaver, and Charles Young purchased the Gastonia Rangers and relocated the team to their hometown. Upon arrival in town, the owners held a contest to select the name of the baseball team. Nominations included the Hound Dogs and River Cats but ultimately the "Hickory Crawdads" found their home. Contests were also held to name the team mascot Conrad and his long time love interest, Candy. Conrad and Candy were married in an on-field ceremony during the 2018 season, which was the first mascot wedding in Minor League Baseball history.
The Crawdads have played at L.P. Frans Stadium since their inaugural season in 1993. The stadium was built on donated land and is named after the local Pepsi bottler, Lee Polk Frans, who partially funded the stadium’s construction. 
The stadium has undergone several major renovation projects. The first round of renovations took place following the 2013 season and focused on fan experience while the second round was following the 2017 season and primarily focused on the playing area. Prior to the 2020 season, the playground and clubhouses were completely remodeled.
The 2021 season marks the ‘Dads 13th year of affiliation with the Texas Rangers after being originally affiliated with the Chicago White Sox (1993-1998) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1999-2008). In October 2017, the Rangers announced they had purchased the organization. Some notable Crawdads alumni that have since gone on to the Major Leagues include Magglio Ordonez, Jose Bautista, Carlos Lee, Andrew McCutchen, Joey Gallo and Jurickson Profar.
This year will also mark the team’s first as a High-A affiliate. For their first 28 years the Crawdads were members of the Low-A South Atlantic League. The ‘Dads are now members of the 12 team High-A East League and play teams from the Carolinas, Kentucky, and the Northeast.
The ‘Dads play 60 home games a season and pack a promotional schedule full of giveaways, movie tributes, dog days, food and drink specials, and post-game Christian concerts. The Crawdads also shoot fireworks following every Friday night home game! Click here for their up to date games and events schedule.
Fun Fact:
Did you know For select games during the season the Crawdads take on the alternate identity of las Llamas de Hickory as part of Minor League Baseball’s Copa de la Diversion initiative. The logo features a llama chewing on a furniture leg in a tribute to the Hickory Metro area which is known as the furniture capital of the world!