The Oneonta Tigers
are a minor league baseball team from Oneonta, New York. They are members of the New York - Penn League. The Oneonta Tigers are a Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Detroit Tigers and play their home games at Damaschke Field.
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CONNECTICUT TIGERS TICKETS
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Baseball in Oneonta
Oneonta's first pro baseball team came to town on August 7, 1924, when the
Utica Utes of the old New York-Pennsylvania League (not the current league with this name) moved there. The newly-renamed Indians folded at the end of the season. In 1940, the
Cornwall, Ontario club in the old Canadian-American League (again, not to be confused with the current circuit with this name) moved to Oneonta. The
Oneonta Indians
(who, despite the name, were an affiliate of the
Boston Red Sox) won back-to-back championships in 1941-42 before the loop shut down for three years due to
World War II. After the war, the renamed
Oneonta Red Sox
took two more titles, in 1948 and in the league's final season of 1951.
In 1966, the Red Sox shifted their franchise in the (current)
New York - Penn League from
Wellsville, New York to Oneonta. In 1967, Sam Nader purchased the team and renamed them the
Oneonta Yankees
, or O-Yankees, an affiliation they would have for three decades. Stocked with future
New York Yankees stars, the O-Yanks won NYPL titles in 1968, 1969, 1971, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1988 and 1990. Since 1991, the franchise has participated in the annual New York-Penn League Game in Cooperstown, NY. This is an official New York-Penn League game played at
Doubleday Field in conjunction with the Hall of Fame's Induction Weekend festivities.
[1] In 1999, the Yankees moved their affiliation to the
Staten Island Yankees, so the
Detroit Tigers organization moved in.
Recent years
On July 20, 2006, the Tigers won the longest game in NYPL history: a 6-hour and 40-minute, 26-inning marathon against the
Brooklyn Cyclones. Brooklyn scored the first run in the bottom of the first inning; the Tigers tied the game in the top of the fourth. Neither side scored again until the 26th inning, when the Tigers plated five runs (three earned) off of Cyclones outfielder Mark Wright, who had entered the game to pitch (the Cyclones had already used six of their regular pitchers). The Tigers had three players who went 1-for-12, including center fielder Deik Scram, whose lone hit knocked in the go-ahead run for the Tigers in the 26th inning.
The 2007 season ushered a new era for Oneonta Tiger baseball, as their stadium received a face-lift, while premiering the team's official website, www.oneontatigers.com.
On July 15, 2007, Oneonta pitcher Guillermo Moscosa threw a perfect game, only the second in league history.
In early July 2008, it was announced that long-time owner Sam Nader had sold the franchise he purchased in 1966. No discussion has been made for the prospect of the team moving out of Oneonta. The agreement allows for the Tigers to stay in Oneonta up until the 2010 season.
On July 4, 2009, the first two curtain calls in the history of Damaschke Field happened against the Aberdeen IronBirds, both for Rawley Bishop, a rookie first baseman from Middle Tennessee State and who was drafted in the 19th round by the Detroit Tigers in 2009. The first curtain call was in the 4th inning after a solo home run to make the score 1–0. The second curtain call happened in the 5th inning after a grand slam home run to make the score 5–0.
Current roster
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Players
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Pitchers
- 40 Mark Brackman
- 36 Nicholas Cassavechia
- -- Kelvin Cedano
- 12 Tyler Conn
- 52 Darwin De Leon
- 20 Daniel DeLucia
- 22 Trevor Feeney
- 44 Jared Gayhart
- 56 Luis Gil
- 26 Steven Gilman
- 43 Matt Hoffman (baseball)
- -- Santo Mieses
- -- Luke Putkonen
- 30 Anthony Shawler
- 20 Mark Sorensen (baseball)
- 54 Tyler Stohr
- 48 David Stokes (baseball)
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| Catchers
- 23 Joseph Bowen
- 17 Tyler Weber
Infielders
- 31 Brandon Douglas (baseball)
- 15 Mike Gosse
- 54 Joaquin Guzman (baseball)
- 9 Eric Harryman
- 27 Wade Lamont
- 57 Billy Nowlin
- 14 Bryan Pounds
- 24 Carlos Ramirez (baseball)
- 18 Brent Wyatt
Outfielders
- 39 Luis Arlet
- 51 Ben Guez
- 28 Hayden Parrott
- 7 Keith Stein
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| Manager
- 10 Ryan Newman (baseball)
Coaches
- 19 Luis Quiñones (hitting)
- 21 Alan Mills (baseball) (pitching)
† Disabled list
* On Detroit Tigers 40-man roster
‡ Reserve list
§ Suspended list
updated 2008-10-09
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Notable alumni
- Tony Armas
- Brad Ausmus
- Dave Bergman
- Ozzie Canseco
- Zach Day
- Mike DeJean
- Orestes Destrade
- Curtis Granderson
- Mike Heath
- Kevin Jordan
- Al Leiter
- Mike Lowell
- Don Mattingly
- Willie McGee
- Hal Morris
- Andy Pettitte
- Jorge Posada
- Ryan Raburn
- Juan Rivera
- Ramón Santiago
- J.T. Snow
- Bernie Williams
- Ruben Rivera
- John Elway
- Buck Showalter
- Doug Kelt
References
- Oneonta, Tri-City to Square Off at Doubleday Field