Binghamton Triplets

The Binghamton Triplets were a minor league baseball team in Binghamton, New York, affiliated with the New York Yankees (1932–1961, 1965–1968); the team also had brief affiliations with the Kansas City Athletics (1962–1963) and the Milwaukee Braves (1964). The Triplets played in the former New York–Pennsylvania League (1923–1937), the Eastern League (1938–1963, 1967–1968), and the current New York–Penn League (1964–66). They won league championships in 1929, 1933, 1935, 1940, 1944, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1965, and 1967. The Triplets moved to Manchester, New Hampshire after the 1968 season and became the Manchester Yankees, and the city was without a team until the current Class AA Binghamton Rumble Ponies began play in 1992.

The Triplets played their home games at Johnson Field in nearby Johnson City until the team disbanded in 1968; the old ballpark was then torn down to help construct New York Route 17. The team wore caps with an intertwined 'T' and 'C' logo (similar to the original Minnesota Twins cap insignia); the letters stood for 'Triple Cities' (i.e., Binghamton, Johnson City, and Endicott). While the Triplets were a Yankee farm team, the parent club—featuring such legends as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle—played one exhibition game each year at Johnson Field.

Notable alumni[]

Triplet players of note[]

• Whitey Ford: Yankee left-handed starter and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• Thurman Munson: Yankee captain and all-star catcher, who played for the Triplets in their swansong 1968 season.
• Bobby Richardson: second baseman who won the 1960 World Series MVP (even though the Bronx Bombers lost the series).
• Joe Pepitone: Gold Glove-winning first baseman.
• Al Downing: On April 8, 1974, while pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Downing yielded Hank Aaron's 715th home run.
• Clete Boyer: defensive standout third baseman, whose brothers (Ken and Cloyd) were also major leaguers.
• Marv Throneberry: 'Marvelous Marv' was a member of the infamous 1962 Mets.
• Ken Harrelson: longtime White Sox broadcaster, who hit 38 homers and drove in 138 runs for the Triplets in 1962, and who led the AL in RBIs in 1968 (with 109, as a member of the Red Sox).
• Vic Raschi: one the "Big Three" of the Yankees' pitching staff in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
• Tony La Russa: Baseball Hall of Fame manager who won the World Series in both leagues (with the Oakland Athletics and St. Louis Cardinals).
• Cito Gaston: manager of the Toronto Blue Jays during their two World Series victories (1992 and 1993).
• Bert Campaneris: All Star shortstop for Kansas City A's and Oakland A's, first MLB player to play all nine positions in one game September 8, 1965, led AL in steals 6 times, 1965–68, 1970 and 1972
• John McNamara: minor league catcher who went on to manage the Oakland A's, San Diego Padres, Cincinnati Reds, California Angels, Boston Red Sox, and Cleveland Indians winning AL Manager of the Year with Boston in 1986

Triplet managers of MLB note[]

(Listed chronologically per tenure as Triplet manager.)

• Mike Konnick: Cincinnati Reds shortstop and catcher.
• Heinie Groh: Cincinnati Reds and New York Giants third baseman famed for his 'bottle bat.'
• Billy Meyer: known for his woes as Pittsburgh Pirates manager.
• Lefty Gomez: Yankee Hall-of-Fame southpaw hurler.
• George ‘Twinkletoes’ Selkirk: replaced Babe Ruth as starting Yankee right fielder.
• George ‘Snuffy’ Stirnweiss: slick-fielding Yankee second baseman.
• Freddie Fitzsimmons: New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers knuckleballer.
• Granny Hamner: shortstop for the 1950 Phillies 'Whiz Kids'.
• John McNamara: manager of the AL-pennant-winning 1986 Boston Red Sox.
• Andy Pafko: outfielder for the 1957 World Series champion Braves.
• Cloyd Boyer: St. Louis Cardinal pitcher, and brother of Clete and Ken.

References[]

Baseball in Broome County (2004). by Marvin Cohen and Michael McCann.