TheStaten Island Yankeeswere aminor league baseballteam located in theNew York Cityborough ofStaten Islandfrom 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were theClass A Short Seasonaffiliate of theNew York Yankeesand played in theNew York–Penn LeagueatRichmond County Bank Ballparkalong the waterfront inSt. George.The Yankees won sixNew York–Penn League championships(2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2011).
| Staten Island Yankees | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Class | Short-Season A (1999–2020) | ||||
| League | New York–Penn League(1999–2020) | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Team | New York Yankees(1999–2020) | ||||
| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles(6) |
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| Division titles(9) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Name | Staten Island Yankees (1999–2020) | ||||
| Colors | Navy blue, white | ||||
| Ballpark |
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History
editThe franchise originated in 1983 as theWatertown Pirates(affiliated with thePittsburgh Pirates), and became the Watertown Indians (affiliated with theCleveland Indians) in 1989.
In 1999, in a deal brokered by New York City MayorRudy Giuliani,the Yankees affiliation was transferred from theOneonta Yankeesto the Watertown franchise, which was relocated and renamed theStaten Island Yankees.The Oneonta Yankees, in turn, became aDetroit Tigersaffiliate and were renamed theOneonta Tigers.[1][2][3][4][5]
The Staten Island Yankees played their first two seasons atCollege of Staten Island Baseball Complexbefore moving into the Richmond County Bank Ballpark for the 2001 season.
The first SI Yankee to reach themajor leaguesas a New York Yankee was in 2003;pitcherJason Anderson,pitching in relief in an 8–4 Yankee win over theToronto Blue Jaysat theRogers Centre.(The first Staten Island Yankee to reach the majors for any team wasWily Mo Peña,who broke in with theCincinnati Reds,in 2002.)
On March 26, 2006, theStaten Island Advancereported that the team's majority owners, the Getzler family, were considering selling their 51% share of the team, and were asking for between three and five million dollars. The New York Yankees purchased the Getzlers’ interest in the team and in return hired Mandalay Sports Properties to run the day-to-day operations of the team. Part of the agreement was that the New York Yankees and Mandalay become equal partners with Mandalay owning 50% of the Staten Island Yankees.
In 2006, the Yankees were managed byGaylen Pitts,noted for frequently being ejected from games. In a game on August 25, 2006, Pitts was ejected and then returned to the field in sandals after a batter was hit by a pitch in the 9th inning of a 21–6 victory over theBrooklyn Cyclones.
In 2007, the Yankees were managed byMike Gillespie,who had led the 1998USC Trojansto aCollege World Serieschampionship. Gillespie led the Baby Bombers to their third consecutive playoff appearance before losing to the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2007 NYPL Playoffs, 2 games to none.
FormerFlorida GatorcoachPat McMahonmanaged the Yankees for the 2008 season.
Former major league catcherJosh Paulmanaged the Yankees for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. in 2010, due toDave Eilandtaking a leave of absence, SI Yankees manager Paul was summoned to fill in as theNew York Yankeesbullpen coach, during which time former major leaguerJody Reedfilled in as the interim manager for the Staten Island Yankees.[6]
On June 20, 2016, the team launched a campaign to rename the organization starting with the 2017 season. On September 8, 2016, the potential names were whittled down to five, with an online vote beginning on the team's website from that date; the candidate names were theBridge Trolls,Heroes,Killer Bees,Pizza Rats,andRock Pigeons.[7]Ultimately, the team decided to retain the Yankees moniker but to call itself the Staten IslandPizza Ratsfor select games as an alternate identity.[8][9]
Prior to the 2020 season, it was announced that the team would be shuttered when the MLB/MiLB agreement ended at the conclusion of the 2020 season under a proposed plan calling for the Short Season Class A designation to be eliminated.[10]The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemicbefore ultimately being cancelled on June 30.[11][12]On November 7, 2020, the New York Yankees announced that they were withdrawing from Staten Island as well as abandoning their affiliation with theTrenton Thunderas they were moving forward with their newDouble-Aaffiliate: theSomerset Patriots,but they would seek to place a team from the independentAtlantic LeagueatRichmond County Bank Ballparkin 2021.[13]On December 3, 2020, the Staten Island Yankees announced that the club would cease operations.[14]TheStaten Island FerryHawksbegan play in the Atlantic League in 2022.
Year-by-year record
edit| Year | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 39–35 | 7th | Joe Arnold | None, did not qualify |
| 2000 | 46–28 | 2nd | Joe Arnold | League Champs |
| 2001 | 48–28 | 3rd | Dave Jorn | Lost in 1st round |
| 2002 | 48–26 | 1st | Derek Shelton | League Champs |
| 2003 | 29–43 | 11th | Andy Stankiewicz | None, did not qualify |
| 2004 | 28–44 | 13th | Tommy John | None, did not qualify |
| 2005 | 52–24 | 1st | Andy Stankiewicz | League Champs |
| 2006 | 45–29 | 1st | Gaylen Pitts | League Champs |
| 2007 | 47–28 | 2nd | Mike Gillespie | Lost in 1st round |
| 2008 | 49–26 | 1st | Pat McMahon | Lost in 1st round |
| 2009 | 47–29 | 2nd | Josh Paul | League Champs |
| 2010 | 34–40 | 4th | Josh PaulandJody Reed | None, did not qualify |
| 2011 | 45–28 | 1st | Tom Slater | League Champs |
| 2012 | 30–45 | 4th | Justin Pope | None, did not qualify |
| 2013 | 34–41 | 4th | Justin Pope | None, did not qualify |
| 2014 | 37–38 | 3rd | Mario Garza | None, did not qualify[15] |
| 2015 | 41–34 | 1st | Pat Osborn | Lost in Finals (West Virginia) |
| 2016 | 44–31 | 2nd | Dave Bialas | Lost in 1st round (State College) |
| 2017 | 46–29 | 1st | Julio Mosquera | Lost in 1st round (Hudson Valley) |
| 2018 | 37–36 | 3rd | Lino Diaz | None, did not qualify |
| 2019 | 40–36 | 4th | David Adams[16] | None, did not qualify |
Notable alumni
editOver a hundred Staten Island Yankees players reached the major leagues, not including MLB players who were with the team on a rehab assignment.[17]
- Manny Acosta
- Jason Anderson
- John Axford
- TJ Beam
- Colter Bean
- Justin Berg
- Danny Burawa
- Melky Cabrera
- Andy Cannizaro
- Robinson Canó
- Matt Carson
- Bernie Castro
- Francisco Cervelli
- Justin Christian
- Brandon Claussen
- Phil Coke
- Matt DeSalvo
- Shelley Duncan
- Michael Dunn
- Anderson Garcia
- Brett Gardner
- Alex Graman
- John-Ford Griffin
- Eric Hacker
- Brad Halsey
- Sean Henn
- Mitch Jones
- Jeff Karstens
- Ian Kennedy
- Charlie Manning
- Daniel McCutchen
- Mark Melancon
- Wily Mo Pena
- David Phelps
- Andy Phillips
- Omir Santos
- Bronson Sardinha
- Matt Smith
- Chien-Ming Wang
- Chase Wright
The following MLB players made rehab appearances with the Staten Island Yankees:
- Orlando Hernandez(2001)
- José Contreras(2003)
- Kevin Brown(2004)
- Steve Karsay(2004)
- Felix Rodríguez(2005)
- Octavio Dotel(2006)
- Jeff Karstens(2007) – the only former SI Yankee to return on an MLB rehab assignment
- Darrell Rasner(2007)
- Jonathan Albaladejo(2008)
- Phil Hughes(2011)
Mascots
editThe original Staten Island Yankees Mascot was Scooter the "Holy Cow."[18]A combination of the nickname of former New York Yankees shortstop and broadcasterPhil "Scooter" Rizzutoand his commentating catch phrase "Holy Cow!" Scooter debuted for the Staten Island Yankees when the franchise relocated from Watertown, New York, in 1999. In summer 2003, the Baby Bombers debuted Scooter's sisters Red and Huckleberry (or "Huck" ).[18]Scooter and his sisters were a staple at SI Yankee games, leading fan rallies and between-inning on-field games. The cows were known to have aThe Three Stooges-like relationship in which Red and Huck often teamed up to trick and trap Scooter[18]
Retired numbers
edit- 6:Brett Gardner
- 17:Robinson Canó
- 19:Jason Anderson
- 41:Chien-Ming Wang
- 42:Jackie Robinson
References
edit- ^Lambert, Bruce (1999-01-17),"Staten Island and Brooklyn Getting Into the Minors",The New York Times
- ^Popper, Steve (1999-05-11),"Dreaming of Baseball on Staten I.",The New York Times
- ^Cooper, Jon (1999-06-15),"Rookie Mystiques: Staten Island Gets Immersed in the Yankee Way",The Village Voice News
- ^Staten Island Yankees Announce Field Personnel for 2000 Season,Staten Island Yankees, 2000-01-17,retrieved2009-05-12
- ^Harmer, P.J. (2008-07-02),"Still the O-Tigers, for now",The Daily Star,retrieved2009-05-12
- ^Pimpsner, Robert M. (June 17, 2010)."Preliminary 2010 Staten Island Yankees Roster".Gotham Baseball.Retrieved2010-06-17.
- ^The Staten Island Yankees could soon be the Staten Island Pizza Rats,CBS Sports
- ^D'Amodio, Joe (2019-05-14)."Staten Island Yankees to bring back Pizza Rats for second straight season".silive.Retrieved2019-08-25.
- ^"Staten Island Yankees to Keep Name".Ballpark Digest.December 20, 2016.RetrievedDecember 20,2016.
- ^Madden, Bill(November 16, 2019)."Rob Manfred's plan to destroy minor league baseball".New York Daily News.RetrievedNovember 17,2019.
- ^"A Message From Pat O'Conner".Minor League Baseball. March 13, 2020.RetrievedMay 5,2020.
- ^"2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved".Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020.RetrievedJuly 1,2020.
- ^"New York Yankees announce new Minor League affiliation structure".MLB.Retrieved2020-11-07.
- ^Smith, Alex (December 3, 2020)."Staten Island Yankees ceasing operations, filing lawsuits against big-league club and MLB".SportsNet New York.RetrievedApril 25,2022.
- ^MARIO GARZA IS NEW STATEN ISLAND SKIPPER,SI LIVE, 2014-01-16,retrieved2015-01-09
- ^"Staten Island Yankees Announce 2019 Coaching Staff".
- ^ "Staten Island Yankees Major League Alumni".Minor League Baseball.RetrievedJune 3,2022.
- ^abc"Mascots & Pinstripe Patrol".Staten Island Yankees.Minor League Baseball.RetrievedMarch 26,2015.
External links
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