Staten Island Yankees - Team History

Team History

The Staten Island Yankees were brought to Staten Island in 1999 in a deal brokered by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. The team came from the Watertown Indians and the Oneonta Yankees. The Staten Island Yankees played their first two seasons at College of Staten Island Baseball Complex before moving into the Richmond County Bank Ballpark for the 2001 season.

The first SI Yankee to reach the major leagues as a New York Yankee was pitcher Jason Anderson, pitching in relief in an 8-4 Yankee win over the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. The first Staten Island Yankee to reach the majors for any team was Wily Mo Peña, who broke in with the Cincinnati Reds.

On March 26, 2006, the Staten Island Advance reported that the teams' majority owners, the Getzler family, were considering selling their 51 percent share of the team, and were asking for between three and five million dollars. The New York Yankees purchased the Getzler's interest in the team and in return hired Mandalay Sports Properties to run the day-to-day operations of the team. Part of the agreement was that the New York Yankees and Mandalay become equal partners and Mandalay now owns 50% of the Staten Island Yankees.

In 2006, the Yankees were managed by Gaylen Pitts, noted for frequently being ejected from games. In a game on August 25, 2006, Pitts was ejected and then returned to the field in sandals after a batter was hit by a pitch in the 9th inning of a 21-6 victory over the Brooklyn Cyclones.

In 2007, the Yankees were managed by Mike Gillespie, who led the 1998 USC Trojans to a College World Series championship. Gillespie led the Baby Bombers to their third consecutive playoff appearance before losing to the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2007 NYPL Playoffs, 2 games to none.

Former Florida Gator coach Pat McMahon had managed the Yankees for the 2008 season.

Former major league catcher Josh Paul had managed the Yankees for the 2009 season and will return for the 2010 season.

Due to Dave Eiland taking a leave of absence manager Josh Paul was summoned to fill in as the New York Yankees bullpen coach. Until Paul returns former major leaguer Jody Reed is filling in a the interim manager for the Staten Island Yankees.

Staten Island Yankees Recaps

On June 16, 1999, in Oneonta, New York at Damaschke Field, Brad Ticehurst became the first batter in Staten Island Yankees history. The Yankees were managed by Joe Arnold. Oneonta won the game 4-3.

The Yankees home opener was on June 20, 1999, facing the Hudson Valley Renegades in front of 4,547 fans on the campus of the College of Staten Island. This marked the first professional baseball game played on the island since 1889. The Yankees won the game 5-1.

In 2000, in the McNamara Division series the Yankees beat the Kings two games to one and go on to the Championship series. The Yankees went on to beat the Mahoning Valley Scrappers two games to one to win the 2000 NY-Penn League Championship.

In 2001, the Yankees finished second to the eventual McNamara Division and Series Champions, the Brooklyn Cyclones. The Yankees lost in a classic series against the Cyclones, 2 games to 1.

In 2002 during the playoffs, the Yankees would go on to sweep the Oneonta Tigers to win the 2002 NY – Penn League Championship on September 12, 2002. Matt Brumit came in to close all four games, receiving the save in each contest.

The 2003 and 2004 Yankees were plagued with errors and finished in last place.

On July 14, 2003, the Yankees celebrated Jason Anderson Day, while his number 19 was officially retired. Jason Anderson became the first former SI Yankee to play for the NY Yankees, however, he was traded to the Mets the very next day.

The Yankees primary logo was introduced in their inaugural season and used on advertisements and publications only. On the field, the team wore New York Yankees uniforms that featured the flag patch of Staten Island on the sleeve.

In 2000, the Yankees introduced their own style of the New York Yankees jersey which features the Yankees script across the chest with Staten Island written in the tail. These style uniforms were used from 2000–2007 with some minor changes to the sleeve patch in 2003 when the Staten Island Yankees logo patch was removed and the New York Yankees logo patch added. Also in 2003, Staten Island replaced their batting practice jersey which originally features the Yankees script logo across the chest with one that featured the Interlocking SI logo.

In 2002, the Staten Island Yankees introduced the interlocking SI logo that was reminiscent of the New York Yankees NY logo. It received a minor facelift just prior to the 2007 season when a hat and bat was added to the logo. While it is not the team's primary logo, it is used more than the primary on advertisements and graphics.

Prior to the 2008 season, the Staten Island Yankees unveiled brand new logos and uniforms. It was the second time the Baby Bombers have made changes to their logo set, the third time they changed their primary uniforms, and the fourth time they changed their batting practice/alternate jerseys.

The new primary Staten Island home jersey features the interlocking SI logo with the hat and bat while a new pinstripe alternate was introduced that uses an alternate script Y logo that is also features on the team's primary home and road cap. The road jersey remained the same except with the new SINY logo patch that was added to all the game jerseys on the left sleeve. The Yankees introduced two alternate caps, one that features the interlocking SI logo with the hat and bat and the other featuring the SINY logo. The batting practice jersey now features the script Y logo on the left chest with a flex-fit mesh hat that features a stylized top hat logo.

It was announced by the NY-Penn League that Richmond County Bank Ballpark will be the site of the 2010 NYPL All-Star Game, which will be played on August 17, 2010

In 2010, a Staten Island Yankee, Chase Whitley, got the save in the 2010 NYPL All-Star Game on August 17, 2010. The AL rallied back for 3 runs and Chase sealed the victory 4-3.

In 2011 the Staten Island Yankees were sold for the second time in a five year span to a Connecticut-based investment group.