Syracuse Chiefs

Establishment

The first Syracuse Chiefs baseball team was established in 1934, when the Jersey City Skeeters moved to Syracuse and were renamed the Chiefs. The team played in the International League (IL) through 1955 (winning five championships), but was sold and moved to Miami as the Marlins for the 1956 campaign.

Another team known as the Syracuse Chiefs competed in the Class A Eastern League (then two levels below the IL) during 1956–57, but moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania on July 13, 1957.

Syracuse was without professional baseball until the 1961 season, when the Montreal Royals franchise was abandoned by its owners (the Los Angeles Dodgers) and relocated to Syracuse as the top affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, becoming the Syracuse Chiefs.

Rebirth

The Chiefs have played in Syracuse without interruption since their rebirth in 1961. The team was renamed the SkyChiefs in 1997. The name reverted to the original "Chiefs" in December 2006.

From 1978 to 2008, the Chiefs were the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The three-decade Toronto–Syracuse affiliation is the longest of the 11 major league affiliations the Chiefs have had since 1936. While the Chiefs reached three Governors Cup finals during this time, many of the players who helped lead the Blue Jays to consecutive World Series titles in 1992 and 1993 passed through Syracuse.

The Chiefs played at MacArthur Stadium from 1934 to 1996, moving to then-P&C Stadium in 1997.

Washington Nationals

On September 20, 2008 the Chiefs signed a two-year affiliation agreement with the Washington Nationals, ending their relationship with the Blue Jays. That season the players wore a decal on their uniforms with the letters "HB" to commemorate Harold Berman, former member of the team's board of directors, who died after the 2007 season. In 2009 the Chiefs wore a decal on their uniforms with the letters "HM" to commemorate Hy Miller, former state assemblyman and former member of the team's board of directors, who died after the 2008 season.

In 2010 the Chiefs celebrated their 50th season of community-owned baseball (1961–2010), wearing 1961 jerseys for every Thursday home game. The team brought back radio announcers from the past, such as Dan Hoard and Syracuse University alumnus Sean McDonough. They had a 76–67 won-lost record, with pitching prospect Stephen Strasburg winning two game and losing one in five appearances.

In 2011 the Chiefs, playing their 51st season of community ownership, wore throwback jerseys for every Thursday home game to commemorate the 35th anniversary of their last International League Governors' Cup championship team (managed by Syracuse Wall of Fame member Bobby Cox). The Chiefs added four alternate jerseys to their rotation for the season: one for Latin American Day, a second for Jackie Robinson Day (commemorating Negro League uniforms), a third for national holidays such as Independence Day and Memorial Day and a fourth for Breast Cancer Awareness Night. The team played the Pawtucket Red Sox on August 20 at Fenway Park as part of a doubleheader in conjunction with the sixth annual Futures at Fenway event, featuring games involving Boston Red Sox minor-league teams. The Chiefs, behind starter Brad Meyers, defeated the PawSox 3–1 before more than 29,000 fans. At Alliance Bank Stadium (now NBT Bank Stadium) the Chiefs added a "Home Plate Club" to the stadium: premium seating in the first four rows behind home plate, with waitstaff for merchandise, food and drink.

On May 14 Chiefs DH Michael Aubrey went four for four, hitting four home runs in an 11–0 victory over the Durham Bulls and becoming the second player in team history to hit four home runs in a game; Gene Locklear was the first, on July 14, 1977. On August 27 Stephen Strasburg pitched his only rehab game for the Chiefs, against the Rochester Red Wings. Giving up two hits in the sixth inning (his only hits allowed before departing, with the Chiefs leading 1–0), he received no decision in Syracuse's 4–3 win (which won the Thruway Cup for the third time; the team's other wins were in 1999 and 2010). The club's record for the season was 66–74, 14 games out of first place and fourth place in the six-team North Division.

On April 5, 2012, the Chiefs opened at home against the Rochester Red Wings. Top pick Bryce Harper, since promoted to the Nationals, made the opening-day roster. Randy Knorr did not return for a second season as manager, and Tony Beasley was promoted from the Harrisburg Senators. The Chiefs played all 16 of its games against the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees at Alliance Bank Stadium due to stadium renovation in Moosic, Pennsylvania. On May 7 the Chiefs unveiled a new high-definition video board in left field, replacing the board which had existed since the stadium's 1997 opening.

The 2013 season, with manager Tony Beasley in his second season with the team, began on April 4 in Allentown, Pennsylvania against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs; the Chiefs' home opener was eight days later against the IronPigs. On Throwback Thursdays, the team wore jerseys from 1983 to 1996.

Management change

On September 30, 2013, it was announced that 16-year general manager John Simone and any family members associated with the team (including assistant GM Mike Vounitas) were fired. On October 8 it was announced that former Auburn Doubledays general manager Jason Smorol would become the Chiefs' GM, with Jason Horbal his assistant. It was the first time since 1970 that someone not named Simone was general manager of Syracuse; John Simone had taken over the job from his father, Anthony (Tex) Simone, in 1997.

The Chiefs opened their 2014 season on April 3 with a loss at home to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and finished the season with the best record (81-62) in the International League and clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 1998 and the first IL North Division title since 1989. NBT Bank Stadium hosted its first ever playoff game on September 5, 2014, a 7-6 loss to the Pawtucket Red Sox which capped off a 3-0 first round series sweep for the Red Sox. The season featured an aggressive promotional campaign, including Social Media Monday, Two-for-One Tickets on Tuesday, Winning Wednesday, Dollar Thursday, Fireworks Friday, Giveaway Saturday and Family Sunday. The Chiefs sold out the outfield wall, the dugouts and the field tarp, earning $500,000 in advertising. On July 1 the Chiefs introduced Tattoo Night, sponsored by Carmelo's Ink City.

The 2015 season saw the Chiefs finish in 4th place in the 6 team IL North division with a record of 66-78. The Chiefs early season struggles including a 11-game losing streak extending from May to June hurt the Chiefs too much to rebound despite going 39-26 after July 1 including an 11-game win streak in Mid July. Billy Gardner Jr. managed the Chiefs in his second season with the team. Stephen Strasburg went 1-1 with the Chiefs in two rehab starts. In the two games Strasburg pitched 9.2 innings with an ERA of 4.66. The team's best pitcher by record was Bruce Billings who went 8-5 in 27 games. The best pitcher by ERA with more than 25 innings pitched was Evan Meek who had an ERA of 2.15 in 30 games, with a record of 2-4. The Chiefs player with the most hits in 2016 was Darin Mastroianni with 114 hits. The Chiefs player with the best average with over 100 At Bats was Trea Turner, with an AVG of .314 in 188 at bats, including 3 home runs, 7 doubles and 15 RBI.

The 2016 season saw the Chiefs finish last in the 6 team IL North division with a record of 61-82, their worst record since the 1997 season. Billy Garnder Jr. managed his third season with the team. Players such as Ryan Zimmerman and Jose Lobaton rehabbed for the Chiefs that season. The Chiefs also had three all stars that season, which included Trea Turner, Brian Goodwin and Rafael Martin. Matt Skole also won a Gold Glove for his fielding performance at 1st Base. The Chiefs players with the most hits in 2016 were Matt Skole and Brian Goodwin with 122 hits. The Chiefs player with the best average with over 100 At Bats was Brian Goodwin, with an AVG of .280 in 119 at bats, including 14 home runs, 25 doubles and 68 RBI. The team's best pitcher by record was A.J. Cole who went 8-8 in 22 games. The best pitcher by ERA with more than 25 innings pitched was Sean Burnett who had an ERA of 2.27 in 40 games, with a record of 0-3.

Community Baseball Club, Inc.

The Chiefs are owned by the Community Baseball Club of Central New York, Inc., "a community-owned club, controlled by a [13-person] board of directors," acting on behalf of approximately 4,000 shareholders, who together hold 15,857 shares.

Shares

According to Dick Ryan, a "former club chairman of the board and treasurer", a majority of the shares "are owned by people who own one or two shares." Shares in the club were first sold in 1961, at a price of $10 each; as of 2011, shares had a resale value of approximately $126, but are not publicly traded. A provision in the Chief's certificate of corporation states that "no one may vote more than 500 shares." This provision is intended to make it difficult for the club to be sold and moved to another location, as happened earlier in its history.

Management

Current officers of the Syracuse Chiefs/ Community Baseball Club of Central New York, Inc., include:

Among those serving on the organization's Board of Directors are Stephen A. Rogers, Chairman, Syracuse Media Group; and Crandall Melvin III, "a software executive from Syracuse and the team's largest single shareholder with 502 shares."

Dutch is a partner in Chiefs First LLC, an investment company established in September 2013, which loaned the Chiefs $500,000 in return for 600 shares and control of the team's new, 13-member board.

Finances

The Chiefs have been operating at a loss since 2006, except for the 2010 season when they ended the season $100,000 in the black. The team lost $973,516 in the 2013 season, on operating expenses of $3.1 million. Under new general manager Jason Smorol, their losses were reduced to $241,584 in 2014, and $169,011 in 2015.

NBT Bank Stadium

* Includes playoffs

MacArthur Stadium

* Includes playoffs

Governors' Cup

The Chiefs have won the Governors' Cup (the IL championship) eight times, and have played in the championship series 17 times.

The Chiefs have won the International League pennant — finishing the regular season with the best record in the league — eight times.

Junior World Series

The Chiefs have played in the Junior World Series five times, winning it once, in 1970 against the Omaha Royals, 4-1.

All-time records

Note: One playoff series is missing from the original Syracuse Chiefs. It will be added to the records when found.

Alumni

Broadcasters

Television and radio

Locally games are broadcast on the Chiefs' flagship station, WSKO "The Score" 1260 AM, and globally on SyracuseChiefs.com All games are broadcast by Eric Gallanty and Kevin Brown. In addition, all Chiefs' games are broadcast on MiLB.TV, an internet video subscription service. Select games are broadcast live on Time Warner Cable Sports Channel (TWCS) a central New York regional sports channel provided on Time Warner Cable services throughout the Central and Northern New York area. The games on TWCS are called by Brown and Steve Grilli, Syracuse Wall of Fame member and former Major Leaguer. All games against thruway rivals Rochester or Buffalo are broadcast on TWCS and fed between the cities, with the host city providing the presentation and announcers.

In popular culture

Writer Ken Levine based the Springfield Isotopes minor league team in The Simpsons episode Dancin' Homer on experiences as an announcer for the Syracuse Chiefs. The episode includes references to former announcer Dan Hoard and owner Anthony "Tex" Simone (named Antoine "Tex" O'Hara in the episode).

The Chiefs gained national media attention for a promotion planned for 2014's Tattoo Appreciation Night, where anyone who got a tattoo of their "C" logo would receive free tickets to Chiefs games for life.