New Bedford Bay Sox

The New Bedford Bay Sox were a baseball team that played in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, a collegiate summer baseball league operating in the New England region of the United States. The team was located in New Bedford, Massachusetts and called Paul Walsh Field its home ballpark for eleven seasons.

New Bedford Bay Sox
Information
LeagueNECBL (Southern Division)
LocationNew Bedford, MA (2009-present)
BallparkPaul Walsh Field (2009-present)
Year founded1997
League championships0
Post-Season Division championships4 (1997, 1998, 2003, 2006)
Regular-Season Division championships4 (2001, 2002, 2004, 2007)
Former name(s)Torrington Twisters (1997-2008)
Former league(s)
  • NECBL
    • Southern Division (2004-2008)
    • Western Division (2002)
    • National Division (2001)
Former ballparksFuessenich Park (1997-2008)
ColorsNavy, Red
         
MascotSlamu the whale
OwnershipStephen King (President)
ManagementTammy Silveira (GM)
ManagerChris Cabe
Websitenbbaysox.com

History

Relocation
Former Twisters Logo (1997-2007)

On December 17, 2008, Torrington Twisters owners Robin Wadsworth and Rita Hubner, along with New Bedford mayor Scott W. Lang, announced the relocation of the franchise from Torrington, Connecticut to New Bedford, Massachusetts. Also made public was the fact that the team had entered into an agreement to lease the city's Paul Walsh Field for three seasons. At the press conference, Wadsworth was quoted as saying, "New Bedford has a sense of pride, community and passion that clearly shines through; their enthusiasm is second to none. It quickly became a virtual no-brainer, the minute we engaged with Mayor Lang, Matt Morrissey and other community leaders."[1] The team, renamed the New Bedford Bay Sox, made its debut on June 4, 2009, in front of a home crowd of nearly 4,000 fans.

On December 26, 2010, changes were announced in the Bay Sox ownership. While owners Wadsworth and Hubner maintained their positions, Tewksbury, Massachusetts residents Jim and Effie Dragon joined as minority partners in the operation. All owners voiced their interest in keeping the team in New Bedford.[2]

In October of 2011, Pat and Beth O'Connor - owners of the Little Fenway, Little Wrigley, and Little Field of Dreams Wiffle ball parks in Essex, Vermont - purchased majority interest in the Bay Sox from Wadsworth and Hubner. The O'Connors would operate the team for the next five seasons.

One of the O'Connors' first moves was to hire former MLB player Rick Miller as the Bay Sox manager in November of 2011. In his debut season at the helm, the former Boston Red Sox and California Angels outfielder would be named the NECBL's 2012 Manager of the Year.[3]

After three years as Bay Sox manager, Miller retired at the conclusion of the 2014 season. He was succeeded by his pitching coach, Westport, MA native and former Boston Red Sox draft pick Kyle Fernandes.[4] Fernandes led the Bay Sox to back-to-back postseason appearances in his two seasons as manager.

In December of 2016, local ownership took control of the Bay Sox when the O'Connors sold most of their shares in the team to Stephen King and Tammy Silveira. The pair would oversee operation of the ball club for its final three seasons, with Silveira serving as the club's general manager. Unfortunately, said campaigns saw the team finish last in the NECBL's Southern Division for three straight years. Exacerbating the team's woes in 2019 was the fact that nine of 21 Bay Sox home games were postponed by rain. At the conclusion of the season, it was announced that the Bay Sox were suspending operations and would not return to the NECBL in 2020.

Franchise postseason appearances
Year Division Semi-Finals Division Finals* NECBL Championship Series
Torrington Twisters
1997 Danbury Westerners W (2-0) Middletown Giants L (1-2)
1998 Rhode Island Gulls W (2-0) Middletown Giants L (1-2)
2001 Keene Swamp Bats L (1-2)
2002 Keene Swamp Bats L (1-2)
2003 Middletown Giants W (2-0) Newport Gulls W (2-0) Keene Swamp Bats L (0-2)
2004 Newport Gulls L (1-2)
2006 North Adams SteepleCats W (2-0) Newport Gulls W (2-0) Vermont Mountaineers L (0-2)
2007 Manchester Silkworms W (2-0) Newport Gulls L (0-2)
New Bedford Bay Sox
2009 Newport Gulls L (0-2)
2012 Laconia Muskrats W (2-0) Newport Gulls L (0-2)
2015 Mystic Schooners L (0-2)
2016 Mystic Schooners L (1-2)
  • *The NECBL did not separate into divisions until 2001.

MLB alumni
Year Player Position MLB Team
1999 Kurt Birkins LHP Baltimore Orioles
1999 Mike Rabelo C Detroit Tigers
1999 Sean Green RHP Seattle Mariners
1999 Bobby Korecky RHP Minnesota Twins
2000 Charlton Jimerson CF Houston Astros
2003 Mike Parisi RHP St. Louis Cardinals
2006 Josh Zeid RHP Houston Astros
2006 Andrew Albers LHP Minnesota Twins
2007 Stephen Strasburg RHP Washington Nationals
2008 Steven Geltz RHP Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
2008 Eric Jokisch RHP Chicago Cubs
2008 Josh Smith RHP Cincinnati Reds
2009 Eric Goeddel RHP New York Mets
2009 Andrew Triggs RHP Oakland Athletics
  • Chris Shaw, member of the 2013 Bay Sox team, was drafted in the 1st round (31st overall selection) by the San Francisco Giants in the 2015 MLB Draft.[5] Shaw is currently ranked 3rd in the Giants' farm system.[6]
  • Jared Shuster (born 1998), baseball pitcher, first round 2020 MLB draft pick
gollark: ÆÆÆÆÆÆ
gollark: Which may or may not just be rebranded multivitamins.
gollark: Just take anti-hallucination pills.
gollark: I sleep with my phone nearby, which has access to the osmarks.tk orbital laser strike target designation web interface™, which has recently been upgraded with the ability to fire into ideatic space.
gollark: Well, in that case, you can just remind yourself that they do not actually exist.

References
  1. http://www.nbbaysox.com/nbbs/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=35:new-bedford-lands-new-england-collegiate-baseball-league-team&catid=18:press-releases Bay Sox news page, URL accessed December 19, 2008
  2. Bay Sox have new partners, new GM heading to 2011 at southcoasttoday.com, URL accessed December 27, 2010. Archived 12-27-2010
  3. "Bay Sox Welcome Former MLB Star Rick Miller as Manager". South Coast Today. 29 November 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  4. Writer, Bill Abramson Contributing. "2015 Bay Sox Preview: Westport's Kyle Fernandes has gone from playing to managing". southcoasttoday.com. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
  5. "Giants draft impact hitter Shaw". mlb.com.
  6. "MLB.com 2016 Prospect Watch". Major League Baseball. Retrieved 2017-01-24.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.