The Long Island Ducks
are an American professional baseball team based in Central Islip, . They are a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Since the 2000 season, the Ducks have played their home games at Citibank Park, formerly known as EAB Park.
The "Ducks" name refers to Long Island's duck-farming heritage, which is further represented by the Big Duck ferrocement. The Big Duck is in Suffolk County, in which Central Islip is also located. [1]
The Ducks currently own the independent league baseball single-season attendance record of 443,142 fans. They reached this total in the summer of 2001, surpassing the previous record of 436,361 fans which the team had also set in 2000. The Ducks reached the 3 million mark in attendance in September 2006.
Bud Harrelson, a 1971 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner, is a part-owner of the Ducks. He was the first manager of the team following a stint as the New York Mets manager.
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LONG ISLAND DUCKS TICKETS
EVENT | DATE | AVAILABILITY |
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Long Island Ducks vs. Lancaster Stormers Tickets 4/25 | Apr 25, 2025 Fri, 6:35 PM | | Long Island Ducks vs. Lancaster Stormers Tickets 4/26 | Apr 26, 2025 Sat, 6:35 PM | | Long Island Ducks vs. Lancaster Stormers Tickets 4/27 | Apr 27, 2025 Sun, 1:35 PM | | Long Island Ducks vs. Staten Island Ferryhawks Tickets 4/29 | Apr 29, 2025 Tue, 6:35 PM | | Long Island Ducks vs. Staten Island Ferryhawks Tickets 4/30 | Apr 30, 2025 Wed, 6:35 PM | |
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History
Residents of
Long Island anticipated the arrival of professional baseball for many years, until the Ducks' inaugural 2000 season. The
New York Mets and the
New York Yankees own the territorial rights to keep an affiliated team,
Major or
Minor League, from moving within 75 miles of their respective ballparks. The last attempt by any team to move to Long Island was made by the
Albany-Colonie Yankees. The Albany-Colonie team hoped to reestablish themselves in
Suffolk County, home to the Ducks, but the Mets prevented the move. The Yankees later moved to
Norwich, Connecticut, becoming the
Connecticut Defenders.
[2] Baseball fans on Long Island enthusiastically support the Ducks and have led the Atlantic League's attendance since its beginning. Despite their success at the gate, the Ducks did not field a championship team until the 2004 season, when they defeated the
Camden Riversharks in a three-game sweep to capture the Atlantic League Championship Series.
In 2005, a controversial former MLB player
John Rocker signed with the Ducks in an attempt to revive his career. He asked New Yorkers to "bury the hatchet," claiming his willingness to play on Long Island proved he had matured since his controversial comments. Rocker was poorly received by the fans and ended up pitching with an 0-2 record and an
ERA of 6.50.
On August 14, 2007, the Ducks appeared in national headlines in the United States after former Major League player
José Offerman assaulted opposing players of the
Bridgeport Bluefish. In his second at-bat with Bluefish pitcher, Matt Beech, Offerman was hit by a pitch. He retaliated by hitting Beech's hands with a bat, as well as striking catcher John Nathans in the head. Nathans was taken out of the stadium on a stretcher, and Offerman was arrested and taken into custody.
[3]
On Monday November 10, the Ducks announced that
Gary Carter would be the new manager for the 2009 season.
Go Green
The Long Island Ducks have implemented an environmental conservation program called
Go Green
. The program includes the placement of solar panels on the roof of Citibank Park to power the luxury suite level, the placing of "Ricky Recycle" receptacles throughout the ballpark for each home game so fans can recycle their bottles and cans, the enrollment in an electricity reduction program called Operation Save New York, and the participation in
Nike, Inc.'s "Reuse a Shoe" program, in which sneakers are collected at Citibank Park to be recycled and used for materials to create new playing surfaces and sports equipment.
[4]
Logos and uniforms
The official colors of the Long Island Ducks are black, green, and orange. The primary logo features the "Ducks" wordmark in orange with black outline. The wordmark begins with a stylized, cartoon duck head in the form of a capital, cursive "D." The secondary logo is the webbed foot of a duck in orange with black outline.
The Ducks wear caps produced by
The Game Headwear and uniforms by
Rawlings. The home caps are black throughout with the cap logo centered on the front. The cap logo is the stylized, cartoon duck head. The away caps are green with the duck head cap logo. The batting helmets are green with the webbed-foot logo.
The home jersey is white with black pinstripes with the "Ducks" wordmark centered across the front. The numbering on the jersey is primarily in green with white outline and black drop shadow. The away jerseys are grey with the "Long Island" cursive wordmark centered across in green with white and orange outline. The numbering is in green with white outline and orange drop shadow. The alternate is a sleeveless, green jersey with the "Ducks" wordmark centered across the chest. The numbers are in orange with white drop shadow.
Season-by-season records
Long Island Ducks - 2004 to 2008 [5]'''
|
Season
| W - L Record
| Winning Percentage
| Finish
| Playoffs
|
2004
| 65-61
| .516
| 3rd in North Division
| 5-1 (won championship)
|
2005
| 66-74
| .471
| 1st in North Division
| 1-2 (lost division final)
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2006
| 73-53
| .579
| 2nd in North Division
| 0-2 (lost division final)
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2007
| 72-54
| .571
| 1st in North Division
| 0-2 (lost division final)
|
2008
| 71-69
| .507
| 1st in Liberty Division
| 0-2 (lost division final)
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Totals (2000-2008)
| 623-553
| .530
|
Playoffs
| 6-9
| .
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- 1 Atlantic League Championship (2004)
Ferry Cup
The Long Island Ducks contend with the
Bridgeport Bluefish over the Ferry Cup, which is sponsored by the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company. The two teams border on the
Long Island Sound, and many fans of both teams regularly cross it to support them. The current Bluefish/Ducks rivalry record is 85-83, in favor of Bridgeport.
[6]
Radio
All of the Long Island Ducks games are broadcast on WNYG-1440 and 107.1 FM WLIR. Chris King, David Weiss, and Mike Solano serve as the team's official broadcasters.
Mascot
The Long Island Ducks' official
mascot is an
anthropomorphic duck named QuackerJack. He wears the Ducks' full home uniform with green and white sneakers. He debuted on March 18, 2000 at Citibank Park.
[7] His name alludes to a popular baseball game food produced by the
Cracker Jack brand, and the quacking sound of a duck.
Current roster
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Pitchers
- 46 Troy Cate
- 23 Jake Dittler
- 29 Ron Flores
- 31 Brad Halsey
- 40 Mike Hrynio
- 28 B.J. Lamura
- 19 Randy Leek
- 14 Julio Mañón
- 27 Jason Norderum
- 17 Robert Paulk
- 33 Bill Simas
- 35 Joe Valentine
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Catchers
- 41 John Pachot
- 34 Robert Sandora
Infielders
- 15 Matt Cavagnaro
- 25 Ron Davenport
- 12 Dennis Donovan
- 21 Juan Francia
- 16 Ray Navarrete
- 13 Alex Prieto
- 5 Victor Rodriguez
Outfielders
- 20 Lew Ford
- 2 Estee Harris
- 24 Johnny Hernandez
- 44 Preston Wilson
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Manager
Coaches
- 39 Dave LaPoint Pitching Coach
- 3 Bud Harrelson Third Base Coach
- 10 Kevin Baez Infield Coach
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Retired numbers
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Jackie Robinson
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2B Retired throughout professional baseball on April 15, 1997
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References
- Determining the Facts Reading 1: Representational Architecture, Roadside Attractions, National Park Service.
- History of Long Island baseball
- Offerman Charges Mound, Hits Two with Bat
- [1]
- Atlantic League information
- Bluefish and Ducks introduce Ferry Cup
- QJ