Trenton Thunder

Trenton Thunder Founded in 1980 Trenton, New Jersey
Team logo Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class	Collegiate summer (2021–present)
Previous classes	Double-A (1980–2020)
League	MLB Draft League (2021–present)
Previous leagues	Eastern League (1980–2020)
Major league affiliations
Team	Unaffiliated (2021–present)
Previous teams	New York Yankees (2003–2020) Boston Red Sox (1995–2002) Detroit Tigers (1986–1994) Chicago White Sox (1980–1985)
Minor league titles
League titles (5)	2007 2008 2013 2019 2021
Division titles (12)	1995 1996 1999 2006 2007 2008 2010 2012 2016 2017 2018 2019
Team data
Name	Trenton Thunder (1994–present) London Tigers (1989–1993) Glens Falls Tigers (1986–1988) Glens Falls White Sox (1980–1985)
Colors	Navy blue, gold, white, blue, silver
Mascots	Boomer and Cloudman
Ballpark	Trenton Thunder Ballpark (1994–present)
Previous parks	Labatt Memorial Park (1989–1993, in London, Ontario) East Field (1980–1988, in Glens Falls, New York)
Owner(s)/ Operator(s)	Garden State Baseball, LP Joe Plumeri Joseph Finley Joseph Caruso
General manager	Jeff Hurley
Manager	Jeff Manto

The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark.

From its inception in 1980 to 2020, the club was a Minor League Baseball team of the Double-A Eastern League until Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minors following the 2020 season. Prior to this, they were affiliates of the Chicago White Sox (1980–1985), Detroit Tigers (1986–1994), Boston Red Sox (1995–2002), and New York Yankees (2003–2020).

History[]

The Trenton Thunder were founded in 1980 in Glens Falls, New York, as the Glens Falls White Sox. The team was affiliated with the Chicago White Sox from 1980–1984. The Detroit Tigers replaced the White Sox in 1985 with the team being renamed as the Glens Falls Tigers, and stayed on as a Tigers affiliate after the franchise moved to London, Ontario, in 1989, becoming the London Tigers and began playing at historic Labatt Park.

In 1994, the London Tigers relocated to Trenton and became the Trenton Thunder. The team kept the Tigers affiliation for that season only, before switching affiliations to the Boston Red Sox in 1995. As a Red Sox affiliate, the club recorded three first-place finishes, but was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round each time. In 2003, the Thunder became the Yankees affiliate, and the Portland Sea Dogs became the new Red Sox affiliate. The switch reflected both teams' fanbases, as Central New Jersey is home to many Yankees fans, while Maine is home to many Red Sox fans.

On June 4, 1994, Phil Stidham became the first Thunder alumnus to play in the major leagues, for the Detroit Tigers, giving up six runs on six hits, including two home runs, as part of a 21–7 romp by the Minnesota Twins.^[1]

In 2006, the Thunder became the first team in Minor League Baseball history to draw over 400,000 fans for 12 consecutive seasons at the Double-A level or below. Through 13 seasons, over 5.4 million people had attended a Thunder game.^[2]

Surpassing the previous mark of 8,729, set while Derek Jeter was on a rehab stint with the team, the Thunder set a new single-game attendance record on May 23, 2007, when 9,134 fans attended, to watch Roger Clemens make his second minor-league start, as he worked toward a return to the Yankees. On Sunday, July 3, 2011, a paid attendance of 9,212 set a new record, as Derek Jeter returned once again, for a rehab start.

On September 15, 2007, the Thunder defeated the Akron Aeros to win their first Eastern League Championship Series in team history. Trenton defended its league title with 5–1 win over the Akron Aeros on September 14, 2008. The Thunder lost to the Altoona Curve in the 2010 Eastern League Championship Series.

In 2013, the Minor League Baseball website named the Trenton Thunder the Minor League team of the year. Trenton also took home two other awards which included "Promo of the Year" for the Retirement Party for team bat dog Chase That Golden Thunder. The 13-year-old Golden Retriever retired this year and in his final game the team included a bobble head give away in honor of the long time mascot. The third award was for "Mascot of the Year" which included an online four minute which garnered the most hits of any other team's mascot video.^[3]

In 2018, the team began to temporarily rename itself as the Trenton Pork Roll, honoring Trenton's role in developing the Pork roll.^[4]

On November 7, 2020, the Yankees announced that they would end their affiliation with the Thunder organization in favor of the previously independent Somerset Patriots, located in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey. The Thunder organization was offered the Patriots' spot in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.^[5] Instead, they became members of the newly created MLB Draft League, which serves as a showcase for draft-eligible prospects.^[6]

In April 2021, it was announced that the Thunder organization will host the Buffalo Bisons, the Triple-A affliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. “After 27 years serving as the Double-A home of the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees, we are excited to welcome the highest level of Minor League Baseball to New Jersey,” said Jeff Hurley, Thunder GM & COO. “We look forward to working with the Bisons, Blue Jays, and Major League Baseball to make this a successful season start.” The Blue Jays began the 2021 MLB season by calling their spring training facilities in Dunedin, Florida, as a result of COVID-19 restrictions in Canada. Toronto had played the coronavirus-shortened 60-game 2020 season in Buffalo. According to the Bisons, the move to Trenton allows the club to complete a joint renovation project to prepare Buffalo’s Sahlen Field for major-league regular-season games. Buffalo expects the upgrades will “far exceed the new required Major League Baseball Player Development League facility standards, making Sahlen Field one of the premier locations for player training and performance amenities in Minor League Baseball.” Buffalo played the season through July in Trenton and moved back to Buffalo for August.^[7]

Retired numbers[]

• 2: David Eckstein
• 5: Nomar Garciaparra
• 33: Tony Clark
• 42: Jackie Robinson

Season records[]

Season	Affiliation	Manager	Record
1994	Tigers	Tom Runnells	55–85, 5th place South
1995	Red Sox	Ken Macha	73–69, 1st place South (tie)
1996	Red Sox	Ken Macha	86–56, 1st place South
1997	Red Sox	DeMarlo Hale	71–70, 4th place South
1998	Red Sox	DeMarlo Hale	71–70, 3rd place South
1999	Red Sox	DeMarlo Hale	92–50, 1st place North
2000	Red Sox	Billy Gardner, Jr.	67–75, 5th place North
2001	Red Sox	Billy Gardner, Jr.	67–75, 5th place North
2002	Red Sox	Ron Johnson	63–77, 5th place North (tie)
2003	Yankees	Stump Merrill	70–71, 4th place North
2004	Yankees	Stump Merrill	64–78, 6th place North
2005	Yankees	Bill Masse	74–68, 2nd place North
2006	Yankees	Bill Masse	80–62, 1st place North
2007	Yankees	Tony Franklin	83–59, 1st place North
2008	Yankees	Tony Franklin	86–54, 1st place North
2009	Yankees	Tony Franklin	69–72, 3rd place North
2010	Yankees	Tony Franklin	83–59, 1st place East
2011	Yankees	Tony Franklin	68–73, 4th place East
2012	Yankees	Tony Franklin	79–63, 1st place East
2013	Yankees	Tony Franklin	74–67, 2nd place East
2014	Yankees	Tony Franklin	67–75, 4th place East
2015	Yankees	Al Pedrique	71–71, 3rd place East
2016	Yankees	Bobby Mitchell	87–55, 2nd place East
2017	Yankees	Bobby Mitchell	92–48, 1st place East
2018	Yankees	Jay Bell	79–61, 1st place East
2019	Yankees	Patrick Osborn	76–62, 2nd place East
2021	None	Jeff Manto	30-18-8, 1st place League

Playoff appearances[]

Arm & Hammer Park[]

• Former name (until 2012): Mercer County Waterfront Park
• Address: One Thunder Road, Trenton, NJ 08611
• Opened: May 9, 1994
• Seating capacity: 6,440
• Dimensions: LF – 330 ft, CF – 407 ft, RF – 330 ft

Mascots[]

Boomer[]

The Thunder's mascot is a blue "Thunderbird" named Boomer. He wears a Thunder uniform as well as purple and yellow shades. Boomer traditionally takes part in many of the promotions and activities throughout Thunder home games, such as a race around the bases against a young fan. Boomer's likeness has appeared on numerous pieces of merchandise, and he is involved with several programs assisting children in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Cloudman[]

Cloudman is the Thunder's newest mascot, debuting during the 2015 season. He is a fearless caped crusader who serves the greater good in our community. The Cloudman's Hometown Heroes program debuted in 2015. Fans have the opportunity to nominate local heroes in their community to be honored in the middle of the seventh inning of every home game. Current and former armed forces members, first-responders and individuals who do good in the community are often nominated. Cloudman can be seen all over Arm & Hammer Park during a Thunder game, usually in tandem with Boomer, the Thunder's original mascot. Together Cloudman and Boomer take part in such in-game activities as shooting T-shirts off into the crowd, racing a youngster around the bases for a prize, and competing against one another to pick the loudest section in the stadium on a given night.

Chase, Derby and Rookie[]

Chase "That Golden Thunder" was a Golden Retriever who was part of the Thunder family from late in the 2002 season until his death in 2013. He often served as "batdog" during the first inning at most Thunder home games, retrieving bats and balls and returning them to the Thunder dugout. Contrary to popular belief, his teeth did not leave marks in the equipment, as Retrievers are trained to carry birds without puncturing them; however, he did have a golden tooth, due to his bat carrying duties. Later in the game, Chase usually caught frisbees to win a cash prize for a lucky fan. Chase had garnered significant media attention, appearing on FOX, CNN, YES Network, UPN9, WNBC4, and even Japanese television. In 2008, Chase sired a litter of pups. One of the pups was trained to be his successor and was named Home Run Derby (or Derby for short) in a fan poll during the offseason. Another of the pups from that litter was named Ollie, and served as a batdog for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats until September, 2016. Chase died July 8, 2013, aged 13. He was diagnosed with cancer in February and had been suffering from arthritis.^[8]

One of Derby's pups, Rookie, has been trained to keep the family business intact as a third-generation "batdog".^[9] In 2017, Rookie and Derby shared "batdog" duties with Rookie retrieving bats in the first inning and Derby retrieving in the second inning during every game. On January 8, 2018, Derby died from cancer. Rookie became the Thunder's batdog beginning with the 2018 season.^[10]

Ownership[]

Joe Plumeri, Trenton-born and Vice Chairman of the First Data Board of Directors, Joseph Finley and Joseph Caruso are the owners of the Trenton Thunder. Together, they make up Garden State Baseball, LP. Both Plumeri and Finley also owned the Lakewood BlueClaws as American Baseball Company, LLC until July 2017.^[11] Finley also is part owner of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.^[12][13]

Roster[]

Trenton Thunder roster

• v
• t

Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers -- Chandler Brierly -- Louis Davenport III -- Jordyn Eglite -- Keith Gabrielson -- Justin Garcia -- Rob Griswold -- Garrett Hawkins -- Dylan Heid -- Alec Huertas -- Chris Jefferson -- Joshua Loeschorn -- Alex Mack -- Deylen Miley -- Nick Mondak -- Ian Murphy -- Zach Parish -- Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz -- Kyle Salley -- James Sharkey -- Joe Sprake -- Julian Tristan -- Logan VanWey -- Jared Viertel -- Trenton Wallace -- JP Williams		Catchers -- Andrew Cossetti -- Chad McDaniel -- Jayden Melendez -- Shawn Vazquez Infielders -- Christopher Brue -- Ryan Cepero -- Casey Dana -- Tyler Finke -- Daniel Harris IV -- Jordan Hollins -- Carson Matthews -- Daryl Myers -- TJ Rumfield -- Alec Sanchez -- Dexter Swims -- Yamil Torres -- Peter Vazquez -- Jonny Weaver Outfielders -- Mason Auer -- Adan Fernandez -- Jared Gillen -- Dane Goodman -- Shane Marshall -- Ben Norman -- Carlos Pena -- Juan Teixeira -- Garret Thornton -- Jake Topolski		Manager -- Jeff Manto Coaches 7-day injured list ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list ± Taxi squad † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated November 7, 2020 Transactions → More MiLB rosters

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Trenton Thunder.

• Official website
• Statistics from Baseball-Reference

Preceded by New Britain Red Sox

Boston Red Sox Double-A affiliate 1995–2002

Succeeded by Portland Sea Dogs