At this level, they have been affiliates of the Detroit Tigers (1985–1986), Cincinnati Reds (1987–1992), Chicago White Sox (1993–1997), Pittsburgh Pirates (1998–2004), Milwaukee Brewers (2005–2014), Oakland Athletics (2015–2018), and Texas Rangers (2019–2020).
Nashville reached the postseason in six of their seven years in the Southern League, all by means of winning the Second-Half Western Division title.
Nashville has made one appearance in the International League playoffs by clinching the Western Division title but has not won an IL championship.
Of the eight Major League Baseball teams with which Nashville has been affiliated, the Sounds experienced their best record as the Double-A farm club of the Yankees from 1980 to 1984.
They had a composite season record of 417–306 (.577) and reached the postseason in all five years, winning two Western Division titles and one Southern League championship.
[2] In 1981, the team again posted a league-best 81–62 (.566) record and swept Memphis in the division series but lost the SL title to the Orlando Twins.
[2] The 1982 Sounds won the division title over the Knoxville Blue Jays and defeated the Jacksonville Suns to capture their second SL championship.
[3] They qualified for the American Association playoffs for the first time in 1990 by winning the Eastern Division title, but they were defeated by the Omaha Royals in the championship round.
[7] Having earned a second-place playoff berth in 1994, they advanced past the New Orleans Zephyrs in the semifinals but lost a second consecutive title versus the Indianapolis Indians.
[7] During the five-year affiliation with Chicago, which included four winning campaigns, the Sounds had a season record of 383–335 (.533) and went 7–7 (.500) in postseason play, for a composite of 390–342 (.533).
[10] As an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates,[11] the Sounds reached the postseason for the first time in eight years when they qualified for the PCL playoffs by winning the American Conference Eastern Division title in 2003.
[7] They made a bid to repeat as PCL champions in 2006 with another division title, but they lost to the Round Rock Express in the conference series.
[5] In conjunction with the 2021 restructuring of the minor leagues, the Sounds reaffiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers and were placed in the new Triple-A East (AAAE).
[20] The Sounds won the 2022 Western Division title with a league-best 91–58 (.611) record,[5] but they lost a single playoff game to determine the IL championship against the Durham Bulls.
[5][7] The Southern League, in which the Sounds competed from 1978 to 1984, used a split-season schedule wherein the division winners from each half qualified for the postseason championship playoffs.