Washington Wild Things

Washington Wild Things
Founded in 1997 Washington, Pennsylvania
Team logo	Cap insignia
League affiliations
Frontier League East Division
Name
Washington Wild Things (2002-present) Canton Crocodiles (1997–2001)
Team Colors
Black, Red, White, Blue
Ballpark
Consol Energy Park
Championships
League titles: 1 (1997) Division titles: 5 (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
Owner(s)/Operated By: Francine Williams
General Manager: Steve Zavacky (Managing Director)
Manager: Bart Zeller
Media: 95.3 WJPA-FM Washington Observer-Reporter
Website: washingtonwildthings.com

The Washington Wild Things are a professional baseball team based in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The Wild Things are a member of the East Division of the Frontier League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From the 2002 season to the present, the Wild Things have played their home games at Consol Energy Park.

History

From 1997 to 2001, the franchise played in Canton, Ohio, and was known as the Canton Crocodiles. The Crocodiles won the Frontier League championship in their inaugural year of 1997, defeating the Evansville Otters in the Championship Series. Canton broadcaster Tom Delamater authored a book about the championship season titled "Crocodiles Rock!"

In 2002, the Crocodiles were purchased and relocated to Washington, Pennsylvania. Now playing as the Washington Wild Things, the Wild Things opened new Falconi Field with a bang as they established a League Record for wins in a single season and took the powerful East Division crown. The Wild Things would go on to reach the playoffs in each of their first six seasons, setting the Frontier League single-season win mark twice.

Seasons

Canton Crocodiles (Frontier League)
Year	W-L	PCT	Place	Postseason
1997	45–35	.562	2nd in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Defeated the Johnstown Steal 2–0. Frontier League Championship Series: Defeated the Evansville Otters 2–0.
1998	41–38	.519	2nd in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Lost vs. Chillicothe Paints 2–1.
1999	33–51	.393	5th in FL East
2000	38–46	.452	5th in FL East
2001	47–37	.560	3rd in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Lost vs. Chillicothe Paints 2–1.
Total	204–207	.496
Playoffs	6–4	.600		3 Playoff Appearances, 1 Championship.
Washington Wild Things (Frontier League)
2002	56–28	.667	1st in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Defeated the Kalamazoo Kings 2–0. Frontier League Championship Series: Lost vs. Richmond Roosters 3–1.
2003	54–34	.614	2nd in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Lost vs. Gateway Grizzlies 2–0.
2004	62–34	.646	1st in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Lost vs. Evansville Otters 3–0.
2005	63–32	.663	1st in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Lost vs. Chillicothe Paints 3–2.
2006	59–37	.615	1st in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Lost vs. Chillicothe Paints 3–1.
2007	55–40	.579	1st in FL East	Frontier League Division Series: Defeated the Gateway Grizzlies 3–0. Frontier League Championship Series: Lost vs. Windy City ThunderBolts 3–2.
2008	48-48	.500	3rd in FL East
2009	43-53	.448	4th in FL East
2010	38-57	.400	5th in FL East
2011	42-52	.447	5th in FL East
2012	44-52	.458	6th in FL East
Total	478–363	.568
Playoffs	9–17	.346		5 Division Titles, 6 Playoff Appearances.

Current roster

Washington Wild Things roster
Active (24-man) roster				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 10 Shawn Blackwell 18 Anthony Collazo 31 Justin Hall 39 Michael Hepple 21 Gary Lee 15 Matt Phillips 22 Shawn Sanford 35 Orlando Santos  2 Will Scott 29 Shawn Smith 12 Anthony Yevoli		Catchers 34 Rick Devereaux 24 Maxx Garrett 14 Jim Vahalik Infielders  0 Michael August 17 CJ Beatty 20 Jovan Rosa 28 Mark Samuelson  1 Shain Stoner Outfielders 22 Gus Benusa 26 Matt Fleishman  8 Andrew Heck  3 Stewart Ijames 38 Rogelio Noris  4 Darian Sandford		Manager Bart Zeller Coaches Bob Bozzuto Gary Lee (Pitching Coach) Rich Pasquale Disabled list ‡ Inactive list § Suspended list Roster updated 5-15-2013 Transactions

Highlights

Washington Wild Things mascot

• Frontier League Organization of the Year (2002, 2004, 2005)
• Second team in Frontier League history to make playoffs four straight years (Evansville 1997–2000)
• Led Frontier League in wins four straight seasons
  • 2002 (56 – 28)
  • 2003 (54 – 34)
  • 2004 (62 – 34)
  • 2005 (63 – 32)
• In 2005:
  • 35–12 second half of season (Since July 18)
  • 23–5 the month of August
  • 13 game winning streak (July 27 – August 9)
  • 11 game winning streak (August 12 – August 23)
  • 14 straight home wins (August 3 – August 23)
  • Hosted the Frontier League All Star Game

New Frontier League Records as of 2005

• Wins in a season: 63 (old record - Washington Wild Things 2004)
• Triples: 46 (old record - 33; Springfield 1999)
• Runs: 645 (old record - 612; London 1999)
• At Bats: 3,357 (old record - 3329; Rockford 2004)
• Hits: 999 (old record - 962; Rockford 2004)
• RBI: 567 (old record - 550; London 1999)
• Base on Balls: 433 (old record - 427; Dubois County 2002)
• Saves: 34 (old record - Washington Wild Things 2004)
• Total Chances: 3740 (old record - 3,687; S/O 2004)

Managers

2002-2003: Jeff Isom (110-62)
2004-2007: John Massarelli (239-143)
2008: Greg Jelks (48-48)
2009: Mark Mason (43-53)
2010-2011: Darin Everson (80-110)
2012: Chris Bando 2013-present:Bart Zeller

Following the 2003 season, Jeff Isom resigned as manager and moved to the Joliet Jackhammers of the Northern League. After the 2007 season, Massarelli and the Wild Things parted ways. He took 2008 off and was named the first manager in Lake Erie Crushers history. In 2008, Greg Jelks was named the new manager of the Wild Things, but failed to lead them to the playoffs and finished the season at 48-48.

Mark Mason returned to the Wild Things in 2009 as manager after coaching the Paints for two seasons. In November 2009, Mason left the Wild Things to become pitching coach of the Atlantic League's York Revolution, leaving the Wild Things without a manager. On February 16, 2010, they announced Darin Everson as their new manager. After the 2011 season, Darin Everson and the Wild Things parted ways following an 80-110 record over two seasons. On October 18, 2011, the Wild Things hired former MLB catcher and class Triple AAA coach Chris Bando as the 6th manager in Wild things history. In March of 2013 Bando announced due to complications from hip surgery in january he resigned as manager. recently hired Bench coach Bart Zeller who had managed the Joliet Slammers the last two seasons and won a championship, was promoted to manager.

Official websites

• Washington Wild Things
• Frontier League
• Wild Things Page at OurSports Central
• Wild Things Roster Page