SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE YANKEES


The 'Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees' are the Class-AAA Minor League Baseball affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Yankees play at PNC Field (formerly Lackawanna County Stadium), located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, USA, which is part of the metropolitan area of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The team is owned by Lackawanna County and operated by Mandalay Sports Entertainment. It is part of the International League's North Division.
From 1989 until 2006, the team was known as the 'Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons', and was affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies as their top minor league farm team. After the 2006 season, the Ottawa Lynx signed a Player Development Contract with the Phillies in anticipation of their move to Allentown's new Coca-Cola Park for the 2008 season. The Lynx will continue to play in Ottawa in 2007.
In April 2006, the team unveiled a renovated clubhouse, which was considered to be parallel in quality to major league clubhouses.[1]
On September 21, 2006, the Red Barons announced a two-year affiliation agreement with the New York Yankees, ending the Yankees' 28 year relationship with the Columbus Clippers.([2]). The Red Barons sold 47,000 tickets on the day of the announcement.([3])
While Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties retain ownership, the club is managed by Mandalay Sports Entertainment, which also runs several other Minor League teams, including the Yankees' short season Class-A team, the Staten Island Yankees. In the management deal Mandalay has the option of purchasing the team for between $13 million and $16.4 million, depending on the timing of the purchase. There is also some concern that the team could be moved out of Northeastern Pennsylvania unless a new stadium is built.([4])
On December 12, 2006, the team officially changed its nickname to Yankees, and unveiled new team logos and uniforms.([5]) The SWB Yankees' logo is almost identical to Staten Island's, with the exception of the different city names.
The team's radio play-by-play announcer, Kent Westling, has been with the franchise since it moved to Pennsylvania in 1989. While he has cut back his schedule in recent years, Westling - a former local television sportscaster who once worked on telecasts of St. Louis Blues hockey team - has been behind the microphone for more than 2,000 games. Bill Savage, a sports writer for ''The Times Leader'' in Wilkes-Barre, covered the team for its first six seasons, and during that stretch, from 1989 to 1994, missed only about 10 of the team's games.

Contents
Uniform design
Franchise history
Titles as the Red Barons
Current roster
Notable alumni
Red Barons
Yankees
Trivia
External links

Uniform design


Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees home cap

The team's two home uniforms are white with navy blue pinstripes, mirroring those of the parent club. The primary home jersey features the cap logo on the left chest[6], while the alternate home jersey features the Yankees wordmark across the chest.[7] The home cap is navy blue.[8] There is also an alternate cap, which is navy blue and features the scripted "Y" from the home cap, but without the bat and Uncle Sam hat.[9]
The team's road uniforms are grey with navy blue and white trim, with the Yankees wordmark across the chest.[10] The team sometimes wears a navy blue batting practice jersey in place of the standard grey jersey. [11] The road cap is gray, with a navy blue bill.[12]

Franchise history


The franchise began life in 1937 as the Jersey City Giants, the top farm club of the New York Giants[13]. They remained in Jersey City through 1950, moving to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada prior to the 1951 season[14]. After four seasons in Ottawa, the struggling franchise claimed the Columbus, Ohio territory (which had become available because of the relocation of the Columbus Red Birds to Omaha, Nebraska), joining the International League as the Columbus Jets in 1955[15].
Stadium problems following the 1970 season caused the Jets to relocate to Charleston, West Virginia as the Charleston Charlies[16]. In 1977, the Charlies won the franchise's only IL title, defeating the Pawtucket Red Sox, who had defeated the Charlies for the title in 1973. The team moved from West Virginia to Old Orchard Beach, Maine prior to the 1984 season, and became the Maine Guides[17]. In their first season as the Guides, the team again lost the IL title to the PawSox. In 1989, the franchise moved to their current home in Pennsylvania[18].

Titles as the Red Barons


The Red Barons never won the Governors' Cup, the championship of the IL, but have played in the championship series 3 times.

1992 - Lost to Columbus

2000 - Lost to Indianapolis

2001 - Lost to Louisville in a shortened series (one game) due to the September 11th Terrorist Attacks. IL Commissioner Randy Mobley did not declare a co-championship as was done in most other minor leagues.
As the Charleston Charlies, they won the Governor's Cup once, and played in the championship series 2 times.

1973 - Lost to Pawtucket

1977 - Defeated Pawtucket
As the Maine Guides, they played in the championship series once.

1984 - Lost to Pawtucket

Current roster


''As of August 28, 2007''

Notable alumni


Red Barons



Marlon Anderson

Andy Ashby

Pat Burrell

Darren Daulton

Johnny Estrada

Cole Hamels

Josh Hancock

Dave Hollins

Ryan Howard


Mike Lieberthal

Mickey Morandini

Brett Myers

Scott Rolen

Jimmy Rollins

Curt Schilling

Chase Utley

Shane Victorino

Randy Wolf

Yankees


Phil Hughes

Shelley Duncan

Joba Chamberlain

Ian Kennedy

Chase Wright

Edwar Ramirez

Trivia



★ On the NBC sitcom The Office, which takes place in Scranton (although filmed in California), the character Ryan Howard, played by actor B.J. Novak, is rumored to be named after Phillies first baseman and 2006 NL MVP Ryan Howard, who was playing for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre when production for the series started in 2004.

★ Also, a bobblehead of former Red Barons catcher Mike Lieberthal sits on the desk of Dwight Schrute, played by actor Rainn Wilson.

External links



Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees web site.

"Red Barons Guaranteed Major League Affiliate".

Photographs of Lackawanna County Stadium, current home of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons - ''Rochester Area Ballparks''

This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.

psst.. try this: add to faves
Featured Companies
Vacation By VVacation By V