TRENTON THUNDER

The 'Trenton Thunder' are an American minor league baseball team and are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Thunder play in the Northern Division of the Eastern League. The Thunder's home field is Mercer County Waterfront Park in Trenton, New Jersey.

Contents

Team History

Notable alumni

Retired numbers

Season records

Playoff appearances

Waterfront Park

Mascots

Boomer

Chase

Current Roster

External links

Team History

In 1994, the Thunder moved to Trenton from London, Ontario, where they had been known as the London Tigers, playing at historic Labatt Park. The club was affiliated with the Detroit Tigers at that time, but switched affiliations to the Boston Red Sox in 1995. As a Red Sox affiliate, the club recorded three first-place finishes, but was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round each time. In 2003, the Thunder became aligned with the Yankees; the Red Sox adopted the Portland Sea Dogs at that time. The switch reflected both teams' fanbases, as Central New Jersey is home to a large number of Yankees fans, while Maine is part of “Red Sox Nation”.
On June 4 1994, Phil Stidham became the first Thunder alumni to play in the major leagues for the Detroit Tigers, giving up six runs on six hits, including two home runs, as part of a 21-7 romp by the Minnesota Twins.[1]
In 2006, the Thunder became the first team in Minor League Baseball history to draw over 400,000 fans for twelve consecutive seasons at the Double-A level or below. Through 13 seasons, over 5.4 million people had attended a Thunder game.[2]
Surpassing the previous mark set of 8,729 while Derek Jeter was on a rehab stint with the team, the Thunder set a new single-game attendance record on May 23, 2007, when 9,134 fans attended to watch Roger Clemens make his second minor-league start as he worked toward a return to the Yankees.
In 2007, Brian Cashman presented new logos and uniforms that will be used in the 2008 season. The primary logo will be an animation cloud holding a lightning bolt like a bat. The alternate logo is a lightning bolt holding a bat. The alternate logo will be used for batting practice.

Notable alumni

'Tigers'

★ Tony Clark
'Red Sox'

★ Nomar Garciaparra

★ Trot Nixon

★ Shea Hillenbrand

★ David Eckstein

★ Carl Pavano

★ Adam Hyzdu
'Yankees'

★ Chien-Ming Wang

★ Robinson Cano

★ Melky Cabrera

★ Phil Hughes

★ Joba Chamberlain

★ Jeff Karstens

★ Edwar Ramirez

★ Matt DeSalvo

★ Chase Wright

★ Ian Kennedy

★ Tyler Clippard

★ T.J. Beam

★ Andy Cannizaro

★ Alberto Gonzalez

Retired numbers

★ 5: Nomar Garciaparra

★ 33: Tony Clark

★ 42: Jackie Robinson†
†Jackie Robinson never played for the Trenton Thunder, but his number, 42, was retired by every Major League Baseball team and affiliate. See grandfather clause.

Season records

{|- border=1
|Season||Affiliation||Manager||Record
|-
|1994||Tigers||Tom Runnells||55-85, 5th place South
|-
|1995||Red Sox||Ken Macha||73-69, 1st place South (tie)
|-
|1996||Red Sox||Ken Macha||86-56, 1st place South
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|1997||Red Sox||DeMarlo Hale||71-70, 4th place South
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|1998||Red Sox||DeMarlo Hale||71-70, 3rd place South
|-
|1999||Red Sox||DeMarlo Hale||92-50, 1st place North
|-
|2000||Red Sox||Billy Gardner, Jr.||67-75, 5th place North
|-
|2001||Red Sox||Billy Gardner, Jr.||67-75, 5th place North
|-
|2002||Red Sox||Ron Johnson||63-77, 5th place North (tie)
|-
|2003||Yankees||Stump Merrill||70-71, 4th place North
|-
|2004||Yankees||Stump Merrill||64-78, 6th place North
|-
|2005||Yankees||Bill Masse||74-68, 2nd place North
|-
|2006||Yankees||Bill Masse||80-62, 1st place North
|-
|2007||Yankees||Tony Franklin||83-59, 1st place North

Playoff appearances

★ 1995 season: Lost to Reading, 3-0 in semifinals

★ 1996 season: Lost to Harrisburg, 3-1 in semifinals

★ 1999 season: Lost to Norwich, 3-2 in semifinals

★ 2005 season: Lost to Portland, 3-2 in semifinals

★ 2006 season: Lost to Portland 3-1 in semifinals

★ 2007 season: Defeated Portland 3-1 in semifinals; will play Akron for league championship beginning September 11.

Waterfront Park

'Official Name': Samuel J. Plumeri Field at Mercer County Waterfront Park
'Address': One Thunder Road, Trenton, NJ 08611
'Opened': May 9, 1994
'Seating Capacity': 6,440
'Dimensions': LF - 330 ft, CF - 407 ft, RF - 330 ft
Waterfront Park is located right on the banks of the Delaware River, creating beautiful scenery for guests.

Mascots

Boomer

Boomer is the Thunder's well-known and much-loved mascot. He is a blue "Thunderbird" with a yellow beak and buck teeth. He wears a Thunder uniform as well as purple and yellow shades. Boomer traditionally takes part in many of the promotions and activities throughout Thunder home games, such as a race around the bases against a young fan. Boomer's likeness has appeared on numerous pieces of merchandise, and he is involved with several programs assisting children in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. These factors have made him perhaps the most popular and enduring aspect of the Trenton Thunder.

Chase

Chase "That Golden Thunder" is a six year old Golden Retriever who has been part of the Thunder family since late in the 2002 season. He often serves as "batdog" during the first inning at most Thunder home games, retrieving bats and balls and returning them to the Thunder dugout. Contrary to popular belief, his teeth do not leave marks in the equipment, as Retrievers are trained to carry birds without puncturing them. Later in the game, Chase usually catches frisbees to win a cash prize for a lucky fan. He does however have a golden tooth due to his bat carrying duties. Chase has garnered significant media attention, appearing on FOX, CNN, the YES Network, UPN9, WNBC4, and even Japanese television.

Current Roster

''Through August 12, 2007''
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External links

★ Official Trenton Thunder website

★ Trenton Thunder's MiLB Page

★ Yankees minor leagues website