Lehigh Valley IronPigs

Lehigh Valley IronPigs

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs were founded in 1993 as the Ottawa Lynx. The team previously played at Ottawa Baseball Stadium located in Ottawa, Ontario from 1993–2007 before moving to Allentown to become Lehigh Valley IronPigs. As the Lynx, the team was affiliated with three MLB clubs which were the Montreal Expos from 1993–2002, the Baltimore Orioles from 2003–2006, and the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2007 season only which was also the last season for the Ottawa Lynx playing in Ottawa. The Lynx were the only International League franchise based in Canada at the time of their existence. Before the Philadelphia Phillies affiliated with the Ottawa Lynx, the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate was the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons. The Red Barons existed from 1987–2006, and played their home games at PNC Field in Moosic, Pennsylvania. Today, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons are known as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and are now serving as the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. Unhappy with the local management that owned the Red Barons, the Phillies decided to pursue their interest in bringing professional baseball back to Allentown. In response, the Phillies switched their affiliation from the Red Barons to the Ottawa Lynx, right after the Orioles ended their affiliation with the Lynx. The Phillies signed a one-year Player Development Contract (PDC) with the Lynx while Coca-Cola Park was being constructed. After the completion of the new Coca-Cola Park, the team was then relocated to the Lehigh Valley area in 2008 to become the IronPigs after serving fifteen consecutive seasons in Ottawa as the Ottawa Lynx. During the club's last years as the Ottawa Lynx, the team had difficulty attracting fans, which was one of several factors why the team relocated. The relocation of the Lynx to Allentown to become the IronPigs has been extremely well received, since the Phillies have a large fan base in the Allentown area, and because the move to Allentown will permit Phillies' players to rehab in Allentown without significant transportation time as compared to Ottawa or Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Allentown is 60 miles (97 km) north of Philadelphia). The name IronPigs was well received by the fans in the Lehigh Valley.

Before the IronPigs

Prior to the arrival of the IronPigs, the Lehigh Valley did not have a Minor League-affiliated baseball team since 1960, when the Allentown Red Sox left for Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The Allentown Red Sox played at Breadon Field (later called Max Hess Stadium) from 1958–1960, at the site where the Lehigh Valley Mall stands today.

The region was previously home to two independent baseball teams: the Allentown Ambassadors of the Northeast League and the Lehigh Valley Black Diamonds of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The Ambassadors played at Bicentennial Park in Allentown until the team was disbanded in 2004. The Black Diamonds moved from Newburgh, New York in 1999 and were expected to move into a new ballpark near Easton called the Lehigh Valley Multi-Purpose Sport Complex, but the project never came to completion and ultimately was terminated. While the Black Diamonds waited for their new stadium, they played as a traveling team.

Pursuit of a Single-A franchise or Orioles affiliate

In 2003, Joseph Finley and Craig Stein began actively pursuing their interest in bringing affiliated baseball back to Allentown. Initially, the duo pursued a Single-A franchise when the Ottawa Lynx, the AAA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles at the time, were rumored to be moving to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. When the city of Harrisburg did not upgrade Metro Bank Park to AAA standards, the Baltimore Orioles shifted their interest to Allentown because of its proximity to the Mid-Atlantic. The Phillies also looked into moving their AAA operations to Allentown from the Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre region. For the 2007 season, the Phillies shifted their AAA affiliate to Ottawa, leaving Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre after 18 seasons, while the Orioles affiliated with the Norfolk Tides. The Lynx relocated to Allentown as the Triple-A affiliate of the Phillies instead of being relocated as the Orioles Triple-A affiliate.

2008 season

In 2008, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs opened their first season with an 11-game losing streak. On April 14, the team broke the streak, defeating the Richmond Braves 3–1 at their new home stadium Coca-Cola Park. The win was both the team's first home win and their first ever as the IronPigs. Early on in the season Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino made a rehab start with the IronPigs. In July, Phillies starter Brett Myers pitched a few games for the team after running up a dismal 3–9 record in the first part of the season.

2009 season

In 2009, former Phillies' pitchers Kyle Kendrick and J. C. Romero pitched for the team. Kendrick was assigned to the IronPigs after failing to make the Phillies starting roster for 2009. Romero pitched for the IronPigs in May 2009 following a 50-game suspension for failing Major League Baseball's substance abuse policy, after he tested positive for the use of androstenedione.

2010 season

On July 14, Coca-Cola Park hosted the Triple-A All-Star Game, and the game was broadcast on the MLB Network.

On July 7, left-handed pitcher J.A. Happ started a rehab assignment with the IronPigs. On July 29, Happ was traded to the Houston Astros for right-handed pitcher Roy Oswalt. Relief pitcher Michael Schwimer had a 1.35 ERA and held batters to a .080 batting average with runners in scoring position.

The team finished in fifth place in the International League North Division with a record of 58–86. The IronPigs finished the 2010 season ranked first among all affiliated Minor League Baseball teams in average attendance per home game.

2011 season

Former MLB player Ryne Sandberg replaced Dave Huppert as manager prior to the season.

On April 7, 2011, the IronPigs won their season opener against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees at Coca-Cola Park, registering the first win-loss percentage above .500 in the team's history. Before he was promoted to the majors, All-Star closer Michael Schwimer was 9–1 with a 1.88 ERA, and 10 saves, with 86 strikeouts in 67.0 innings (averaging 11.6 strikeouts per 9 innings).

In September 2011, the IronPigs made it to the Governors' Cup finals, losing to the Columbus Clippers three games to one. The team's 2011 regular season record of 80-64 was the best record since the team was started.

2012 season

The IronPigs finished the 2012 season with 75 wins and 68 losses, for a win-loss percentage of .524. The team was 8½ games behind the leader of the International League North Division, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. The IronPigs had the highest attendance in the league with 622,421.

2013 season

Manager Ryne Sandberg was promoted to the Philadelphia Phillies as batting coach (he eventually would become their manager when Charlie Manuel was fired later in the season), and was replaced by Dave Brundage, previously with the Gwinnett Braves. The team finished 72-72, 8½ games behind the North Division-winning Pawtucket Red Sox. Team attendance again led the league, at 613,075.

2014 season

The team slid in the standings to last, at 66-78, but led the league again in attendance, with 614,888.

2015 season

The IronPigs finished 63-81, fifth in the division behind Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, but again topped the league in attendance, with 613,815.

2016 season

The team surpassed their regular-season record for wins, with 85 against 58 losses, qualifying for the Governors' Cup Playoffs, but were swept in three games by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Attendance fell to 611,015, but for a ninth straight year led the league.

Mascot

On December 1, 2007, the IronPigs selected "PorkChop" as the name of their mascot from 7,300 submitted names. On December 2, 2007, the name was changed to Ferrous, derived from the chemical name for iron, because of complaints from the local Puerto Rican population, who alleged that "Pork Chop" was a racist term, despite the name being submitted by a young girl who lived in the Lehigh Valley area. The current mascots for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs are Ferrous and FeFe. Ferrous wears the number 26, which is the atomic number for iron. FeFe is named after the abbreviation for iron, Fe.

Broadcast coverage

The IronPigs franchise broadcasts all 72 of its home games on television, a rarity for a minor league team. Local cable outlet Service Electric TV2 carries the IronPigs games, covering most of the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. In addition, TV2 feeds the telecasts to Blue Ridge Cable TV-13 for broadcast to other areas in the eastern part of the state. In addition, select Saturday night home games are telecast on WFMZ-TV 69, which serves the Lehigh Valley as well as the northern Philadelphia market and western New Jersey. All 144 IronPigs games are also broadcast on WEEX, an Easton, Pennsylvania-based ESPN Radio affiliate. Former in-game reporter Meredith Marakovits is now a field reporter for the New York Yankees games on WPIX-TV and YES Network, sideline reporter for the Philadelphia 76ers on Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, contributor for WFAN (660 AM) radio in New York, N.Y.

Logos and team uniforms

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs also added a dark blue jersey for Sunday games at the beginning of the 2014 season. The team also has an alternate all black jersey set for Friday evening home games.

International League Most Valuable Pitcher

Baseball America Minor League Manager of the Year