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, and are the two-time defending league champions. The Thunder's home stadium is Mercer County Waterfront Park in Trenton, New Jersey.

TRENTON THUNDER TICKETS EVENT DATE AVAILABILITY Trenton Thunder vs. Williamsport Crosscutters Tickets 6/4 Jun 04, 2025 Wednesday Trenton Thunder vs. Williamsport Crosscutters Tickets 6/5 Jun 05, 2025 Thursday Trenton Thunder vs. Frederick Keys Tickets 6/6 Jun 06, 2025 Friday Trenton Thunder vs. Frederick Keys Tickets 6/7 Jun 07, 2025 Saturday Trenton Thunder vs. Frederick Keys Tickets 6/8 Jun 08, 2025 Sunday

Team history

The Trenton franchise originated in Glens Falls, New York, in 1980 as the Glens Falls White Sox. The Detroit Tigers replaced the White Sox in 1985 with the team being known as the Glens Falls Tigers, and stayed on after the franchise moved to London, Ontario, in 1989, becoming the London Tigers and playing at historic Labatt Park.

In 1994, the Thunder moved to Trenton, and kept the Detroit affiliation for a season before switching 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 home to a large number of Red Sox fans.

On June 4 1994, Phil Stidham became the first Thunder alumnus 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 12 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.

On September 15, 2007, the Thunder defeated the Akron Aeros to win their first Eastern League Championship Series in team history.

Trenton defended its league title with 5-1 win over the Akron Aeros on September 14, 2008.

Notable alumni

Tigers

• Tony Clark

Red Sox

• David Eckstein
• Nomar Garciaparra
• Shea Hillenbrand
• Adam Hyzdu
• Trot Nixon
• Carl Pavano
• Bret Saberhagen†
• Jeff Suppan
• John Valentin†
• Kevin Youkilis

Yankees

• T. J. Beam
• Kevin Brown†
• Melky Cabrera
• Andy Cannizaro
• Robinson Canó
• Joba Chamberlain
• Roger Clemens†
• Tyler Clippard
• Matt DeSalvo
• Octavio Dotel†
• Shelley Duncan
• Alberto Gonzalez
• Phil Hughes
• Derek Jeter†
• Jeff Karstens
• Ian Kennedy
• Kenny Lofton†
• Hideki Matsui†
• Carl Pavano†
• Edwar Ramirez
• Omir Santos
• Chien-Ming Wang
• Bernie Williams†

†Made only appearance(s) for franchise during rehab assignment

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

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
1997	Red Sox	DeMarlo Hale	71-70, 4th place South
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
2008	Yankees	Tony Franklin	86-54, 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; defeated Akron 3-1 in championship series.
• 2008 season: Defeated Portland 3-0 in semifinals; defeated Akron 3-1 in championship series.

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

The Thunder's mascot is a blue "Thunderbird" named Boomer. 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.

Strike

Strike is the Thunder's newest mascot, debuting during the 2008 season. He is a yellow lightning bolt and his character is also depicted on the team's alternate caps. Strike can be seen all over Waterfront Park during a Thunder game, usually in tandem with Boomer, the Thunder's original mascot. Together Strike and Boomer take part in such in-game activities as shooting t-shirts off into the crowd, racing a youngster around the bases for a prize, and even competing against one another to pick the loudest section in the stadium on a given night. Strike's name was chosen via an online poll, as over 1,000 suggestions were made with "Strike" being the most popular name mentioned by the fans.

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, YES Network, UPN9, WNBC4, and even Japanese television. In 2008, Chase sired a litter of pups. One of the pups is being trained to be his successor and was named Derby in a fan poll during the offseason.

Current roster

Players				Coaching staff
Pitchers 11 Wilkins Arias 34 Anthony Claggett 19 Michael Dunn (baseball) 45 Christian Garcia 30 Michael Gardner (baseball) † 28 Eric Hacker 20 George Kontos 59 Humberto Sanchez -- Brett Smith † 41 Jose Valdez 23 Kevin Whelan † disabled list ‡ temporary inactive list updated 2008-09-09	Catchers 38 Francisco Cervelli 37 Joseph Muich 44 P. J. Pilittere  6 Eladio Rodriguez † Infielders 32 Reegie Corona  9 Walter Ibarra † 17 Chris Malec 14 Carlos Mendoza (infielder) 29 Ramiro Peña 10 Kevin Russo 46 Marcos Vechionacci † Outfielders 46 James Cooper (baseball) 24 Colin Curtis 25 Edwar Gonzalez 31 Austin Jackson		Manager 18 Tony Franklin (baseball) Coaches 55 Tom Wilson (baseball) (hitting) 56 Scott Aldred (pitching) 35 Julius Matos (coach)

References

1. Phil Stidham 1994 Pitching Gamelogs - Baseball-Reference PI
2. Trenton Thunder - PressReleases