Year founded 2015 Founded 2015 Manager Simon Walters | Year folded 2016 Ballpark Duffy Fairgrounds | |
Website www.oobsurgebaseball.com Former league(s) East Coast Baseball League (2015); North Country Baseball League (2015) Location Watertown, New York, United States League Empire Professional Baseball League | ||
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The Watertown Bucks were an independent American professional baseball team based in Watertown, New York. The Bucks played in the newly formed Empire Professional Baseball League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, during its inaugural season. The Bucks played in the North Country Baseball League in 2015. They were previously a member of the short lived East Coast Baseball League.
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Watertown bucks open try outs
History
In 2015, the Bucks were set to be a member of the East Coast Baseball League. The team was owned by Bruce Zicari and was to be managed by Kelly Stinnett. General Manager and NCBL Executive was Matt McClusky. Prior the planned start of the ECBL's first season the American teams, including the Bucks, pulled of the league to form the North Country Baseball League.
2015 season
The Bucks posted a record of 16-23 in the start-up league. The Bucks promoted no players to the higher Independent Leagues. The team drew 9,250 fans, for an average of 237 a game. The team played its first game against the Road City Explorers on Memorial Day.
2016 season
The Bucks were announced to play in the newly formed Empire Professional Baseball League. The Bucks announced Simon Walters as manager January 5. The Empire League named Kyle Scodo as general manager and operations manager of the Watertown Bucks on January 12. It was reported that Bruce Zicari would no longer own the team in 2016, and that it would be owned by the league. On January 26, Watertown Superintendent of Park and Recreation, Erin Gardner, endorsed the Empires League's offer to sign an franchise agreement. The Empire League Director stated with regards to the team that league will have "all the money in place before the season ever begins". After finishing the season, the Buck lost their lease for the stadium and ceased operations.