North Shore Navigators

North Shore Navigators
File:Navigators.gif
Team Information
League	NECBL
Division	Northern Division
Location	Lynn, MA
Ballpark	Fraser Field
Franchise History
Founded	1994
Former Names	Middletown Giants Holyoke Giants
Former Cities	Middletown, CT Holyoke, MA
Former Ballparks	Palmer Field MacKenzie Stadium
League Championships (3)	1997 • 1998 • 1999
Post-Season Division Championships (0)	None
Regular Season Division Championships (1)	2007
2008 Record	26-16
2008 Home Attendance	11,719
Front Office
General Manager	Philip Rosenfield
Director Baseball Operations	Frank Carey
Field Manager	Jason Falcon
Broadcasters	John Hoffman & Brett Franklin
Mascot	Chomps the 'Gator
Website	nsnavs.com
Ownership
President & Owner	Philip Rosenfield

The North Shore Navigators are a wooden-bat, summer collegiate baseball team based in Lynn, Massachusetts, playing in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Formerly known as the Holyoke Giants, team ownership relocated the franchise to Lynn for the 2008 season.

Prior to moving to Lynn, the Navigators, as the Giants, were a successful team in the NECBL's Northern Division. The franchise has existed since the NECBL's inception in 1994, and previously, as the Middletown Giants, won three consecutive NECBL Championships, remaining the only team to have done so. Despite the geographic change, the franchise will remain in the Northern Division for 2008.

Team History

NECBL Charter Franchise

One of five charter franchises of the NECBL, the Navigators began their existence as the Middletown Giants, playing at Palmer Field in Middletown Connecticut. There, the Giants saw a great deal of success. The Giants finished the NECBL's inaugural 1994 regular season with the second-best record in the league, though the team did not qualify for the championship series under the league rules at the time.[1] After a last-place showing in 1995, the Giants qualified for postseaon play in 1996, though they fell to the now-defunct Central Mass. Collegians.

The 1997 season saw the Giants finish tied for third place with a 19-21 record, qualifying the team for postseason play for the second straight year. Giant and future major-leaguer Earl Snyder was a NECBL player of the week in week one. After sweeping the Rhode Island Reds in a best-of-three series that saw two rain outs, the Giants went on to defeat the Torrington Twisters, a first-year expansion team, for the 1997 NECBL Championship, the Fay Vincent Cup. Middletown took game one 8-7 after a 13-inning marathon, marking one of the longest games in NECBL playoff history. After being shut-out 4-0 at home, the Giants defeated Torrington 8-5 in a decisive Game 3.

1998 would again see the Giants finish in third place. After sweeping the Danbury Westerners in the postseason, Middletown defeated Torrington three games to one in a best-of-five rematch of the 1997 series, marking the franchise's second straight league championship.

File:MiddletownGiants.GIF

The Middletown Giants.

In 1999, the Giants had one of their most successful seasons in franchise history, fishing at 27-15, a half a game behind the first place Keene Swampbats. Middletown defeated the Rhode Island Reds two game to one, and defeated the Danbury Westerners three games to one for their third consecutive championship, marking the first (and only) time in NECBL history a team has one the championship three years in a row.

Post Championship Years

The 2000 season saw the Giants advance to the playoffs again after a fourth-place regular season record of 22-30, though they were knocked out in the semi-finals by Keene. In 2001, the Giants finished in fourth place, and with a losing record of 16-24, in the newly-created American Division, as the NECBL expanded to 10 teams. Attendance figures, however, continued to fall, as the Giants only brought in an average of 107 fans per game in 2001.[2]

The NECBL moved to a short-lived three division alignment for 2002[3], which saw Middletown finish as runner-up in the Southern Division to the Newport Gulls. The team lost two straight games to Danbury in the first round of the playoffs, and was eliminated. In 2003, the Giants were swept by the Torrington Twisters in the first round.

Fan support continued to be less than desired, with the Giants averaging only half as many fans in the stands at home games as away games in 2003, and a substantial decline seen from the small gains made the previous two seasons. As both 2003 playoff games were played in Torrington, what would become the final Giants game at Palmer Field took place on July 21, 2003, where the Giants lost, 4-2, to the Newport Gulls. The game was attended by a moderate 326 fans.

Numerous team members of the Middletown era went on to play professional ball, including major leaguers Rajai Davis, Chad Paronto, Mike Smith, and Doug Clark, and Earl Snyder.[4]

The Move to Holyoke

The Giants left Connecticut for Holyoke, MA in 2004, where they played their games at MacKenzie Stadium. The team saw success there in terms of attendance, averaing 548 fans a game, with a season total of 11,514.[5] With a 17-25 record, though, the Giants failed to make the playoffs.

File:HolyokeGiants3.GIF

The Holyoke Giants, 2004 - 2007.

In 2005, the team fared better in the standings, at 23-19, and while attendance dropped off somewhat, the team saw its first playoff berth in Holyoke. 1,100 fans came out for Game 1 of the first round against the Vermont Mountaineers, though the Giants fell, 9-0, and went on to lost Game 2 in Vermont. Despite a losing season in 2006, the Giants again saw a playoff berth, though the were once again swept by the Mountaineers in the first round.

2007 saw one of the most successful seasons for the Giants in nearly a decade, as they finished at 26-16, amidst a battle for first place in the NECBL North. The first round of the playoffs had Holyoke paired up with the Lowell All-Americans, and in the longest three game series in NECBL history, the Giants came out on top. After winning Game 1 in 11 innings on a walk-off walk, the Lowell All-Americans won Game 2 on a walk-off single, in the bottom of the 15th inning. The series returned to Holyoke for Game 3, where, in 10 innings, a walk-off sacrifice fly sent the Giants to the Northern Division Championship Series.

Having finished the regular season in first place, the Giants had home field advantage for Game 1 against the Vermont Mountaineers, though lost 7-3. Game 2 seemed like it would be yet another extra inning contest for the Giants, but a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th by Vermont ended Holyoke's season.

2008: The NS Navs

By December of 2007, word had spread that the Giants would be moving for the 2007 season. It was soon publicly revealed that the Giants would be moving to Lynn, Massachusetts, and would be playing at Fraser Field under the name North Shore Navigators.

"I had a great opportunity to move to Fraser Field in Lynn, and it is one of the best baseball facilities in New England," owner Phil Rosenfield told The Republican. Fraser Field had been home to the North Shore Spirit, of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, which ceased operation at the end of 2007 after five years in Lynn. With the adoption of the Navigators name, the Giants name will become unused for the first time in league history. The Giants were the last of the original five franchises to have continued to use its original name.

When it came to leaving Holyoke, Rosenfield said, "I do have some regrets because we were just really coming around and we had such committed staff." While many in the city met the departure with disappointment,[6] almost simultaneously it was announced that the former Concord, New Hampshire Quarry Dogs would be taking the Giants place in Holyoke, as the Holyoke Sox.

The move to Lynn marks the first time a NECBL team will be attempted in the Metro-Boston area, the next closest franchise being located in Lowell. With the departure of the Spirit, the Navigators are hoping to capitalize on the void left behind.

The Navigators first season in Lynn was marked by a second place regular season finish in the NECBL Northern Division, with a record of 26-16, marking the 11th postseason berth in franchise history. Home games gained regional exposure by media coverage of the team via LYNNCAM TV, which televised the games live in multiple Massachusetts communities.

In the postseason, the Navigators were upset by the lower seeded Keene Swampbats, who swept North Shore out of the playoffs in the first round with a 11-7 victory in Lynn in Game 1, followed by a 1-0 shutout in Game 2 in Keene. The Navigators had finished the regular season with a league best 2.52 team ERA and .973 team fielding percentage, though in second place in the Northern Division, two games behind the 2008 NECBL Champion Sanford Mainers.

Postseason Appearances

Year	Division Semi-Finals*		Division Finals*		NECBL Championship Series
1996			Central Mass Collegians	L (1-2)
1997			Rhode Island Reds	W (2-0)	Torrington Twisters	W (2-1)
1998			Danbury Westerners	W (2-0)	Torrington Twisters	W (3-1)
1999			Rhode Island Reds	W (2-1)	Danbury Westerners	W (3-1)
2000			Keene Swampbats	L (1-2)
2002	Danbury Westerners	L (0-2)
2003	Torrington Twisters	L (0-2)
2005	Vermont Mountaineers	L (0-2)
2006	Vermont Mountaineers	L (0-2)
2007	Lowell All-Americans	W (2-1)	Vermont Mountaineers	L (0-2)
2008	Keene Swampbats	L (0-2)

• The NECBL did not separate into divisions until 2001. In 1994, a points system was used. From 1995 - 2000, the top four teams played each other in a league semi-final.

External links

• Official site of the North Shore Navigators

References & Notes

• NECBL Website Official site for league history and stats.