Trenton Thunder

Trenton Thunder Founded in 1980 Trenton, New Jersey
Team Logo Cap Insignia
Class-level
Double-A (1980-Present)
Minor league affiliations
Eastern League (1980-Present) Eastern Division
Major league affiliations
New York Yankees (2003-Present) Boston Red Sox (1995-2002) Detroit Tigers (1986-1994) Chicago White Sox (1980-1985)
Name
Trenton Thunder (1994-Present) London Tigers (1989-1993) Glens Falls Tigers (1986-1988) Glens Falls White Sox (1980-1985)
Ballpark
Mercer County Waterfront Park (1994-Present) Labatt Memorial Park (1989-1993, in London, Ontario) East Field (1980-1988, in Glens Falls, New York)
Minor league titles
League titles	2007, 2008
Division titles	1995, 1996, 1999, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010
Owner(s)/Operated by: Garden State Baseball, LP Joseph Plumeri, Joseph Finley, Joseph Caruso
Manager: Tony Franklin
General Manager: 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 Eastern Division of the Eastern League, and have won two league championships. The Thunder's home stadium is Mercer County Waterfront Park in Trenton, New Jersey.

Team history

The Trenton Thunder were founded in 1980 in Glens Falls, New York, as the Glens Falls White Sox. The team was affiliated with the Chicago White Sox from 1980-1985. The Detroit Tigers replaced the White Sox in 1986 with the team being renamed as the Glens Falls Tigers, and stayed on as a Tigers affiliate after the franchise moved to London, Ontario, in 1989, becoming the London Tigers and began playing at historic Labatt Park.

In 1994, the London Tigers relocated to Trenton and became the Trenton Thunder. The team kept the Tigers affiliation for that season only 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 the Yankees affiliate and the Portland Sea Dogs became the new Red Sox affiliate. 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.

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.

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.

The Thunder lost to the Altoona Curve in the 2010 Eastern League Championship Series.

On July 2 and 3 2011 Derek Jeter returned once again for a rehab start. On the 3rd, a Sunday, a paid attendance of 9,212 set a new record.

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

• Alfredo Aceves
• T. J. Beam
• Kevin Brown†
• Melky Cabrera
• Andy Cannizaro
• Robinson Canó
• Joba Chamberlain
• Roger Clemens†
• Tyler Clippard
• Phil Coke
• Matt DeSalvo
• Octavio Dotel†
• Shelley Duncan
• Brett Gardner
• Alberto Gonzalez
• Phil Hughes
• Austin Jackson
• Derek Jeter†
• Jeff Karstens
• Ian Kennedy
• Kenny Lofton†
• Hideki Matsui†
• Jesus Montero
• Carl Pavano†
• Edwar Ramirez
• David Robertson
• Austin Romine
• Omir Santos
• Chien-Ming Wang
• Bernie Williams†
• Francisco Cervelli
• Andy Pettitte†

†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
2009	Yankees	Tony Franklin	69-72, 3rd place North
2010	Yankees	Tony Franklin	83-59, 1st place East
2011	Yankees	Tony Franklin	68-73, 4th place East

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.
• 2010 season: Defeated New Hampshire 3-0 in semifinals; lost to Altoona 3-1 in championship series.

Waterfront Park

Waterfront Park

Main article: Mercer County Waterfront Park

Official Name: Samuel J. Plumeri, Sr. 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

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.

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 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 was trained to be his successor and was named Home Run Derby (or Derby for short) in a fan poll during the offseason. Another of the pups from that litter was named Ollie, and currently serves in a batdog capacity for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

Ownership

Joe Plumeri, Trenton-born and Chairman & CEO of Willis Group Holdings, owns the Trenton Thunder. The team plays at Samuel J. Plumeri, Sr. Field, the 6,341-seat stadium which Plumeri named after his father in 1999.

Current roster

Trenton Thunder roster
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 30 Cory Arbiso -- Jeremy Bleich -- Noel Castillo 58 Grant Duff 19 Shaeffer Hall 31 Craig Heyer -- Josh Romanski 47 Graham Stoneburner 27 Pat Venditte 48 Chase Whitley		Catchers 35 Ryan J. Baker 40 José Gil Infielders 10 Robert Lyerly 38 Addison Maruszak 11 Yadil Mujica 21 Jose Pirela 36 Bradley Suttle Outfielders 24 Austin Krum 20 Damon Sublett		Manager 18 Tony Franklin Coaches -- Luis Dorante (coach) 36 Tommy Phelps (pitching) -- Tom Slater (hitting) 7-day disabled list * On New York Yankees 40-man roster ∞ Reserve list § Suspended list ‡ Restricted list # Rehab assignment Roster updated January 20, 2012 Transactions → More MiLB rosters → New York Yankees minor league players

External links

• Official Trenton Thunder website
• Trenton Thunder's MiLB Page
• Yankees minor leagues website