Trenton Thunder

MiLB infobox
name = Trenton Thunder
founded = 1980
city = Trenton, New Jersey
misc =

uniform
class level = Double-A (1980-Present)
past class level=
current league = Eastern League (1980-Present)
conference =
division = Northern Division
past league =
majorleague = New York Yankees (2003-present)
pastmajorleague = Boston Red Sox (1995-2002)
* Detroit Tigers (1985-1994)
* Chicago White Sox (1980-1984)
uniform =
nickname = Trenton Thunder (1994-present)
* London Tigers (1989-1993)
* Glens Falls Tigers (1985-1988)
* Glens Falls White Sox (1980-1984)
pastnames =
ballpark = Mercer County Waterfront Park (1994-Present)
pastparks = Labatt Memorial Park (1989-1993)
* East Field 1980-1988
leaguechamps = 2007, 2008
divisionchamps = 1995, 1996, 1999, 2006, 2007, 2008
misc6 =
owner = Garden State Baseball, LP (Joe Finley, Joe Caruso, and Joe Plumeri)
manager = Tony Franklin
gm = Will Smith

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.

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 by|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 by|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 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. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/gl.cgi?n1=stidhph01&t=p Phil Stidham 1994 Pitching Gamelogs - Baseball-Reference PI ] ]

In by|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. [ [http://www.trentonthunder.com/release/zRelease.asp?pYYYYMMDD=200609032#200609032 Trenton Thunder - PressReleases ] ]

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
*Jeff Suppan
*Troy O'Leary
*Bret Saberhagen†
*John Valentin†

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

†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.

eason 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
-
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
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

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

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.

trike

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

References

External links

* [http://www.trentonthunder.com/ Official Trenton Thunder website]
* [http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/clubs/ip_index.jsp?sid=milb&cid=t567 Trenton Thunder's MiLB Page]
* [http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/nyy/minor_leagues/nyy_team_roster.jsp?minor_id=EASTTRE&club_context=nyy Yankees minor leagues website]