Lehigh Valley IronPigs
Founded in2008 Allentown, Pennsylvania
Team logo Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class	Triple-A (2008–present)
League	International League (2008–present)
Division	East Division
Major league affiliations
Team	Philadelphia Phillies (2008–present)
Minor league titles
League titles(0)	None
Division titles(1)	2018
Wild card berths(3)	2011 2016 2017
Team data
Name	Lehigh Valley IronPigs (2008–present)
Colors	Furnace blue, brick red, steel, white
Mascots	Ferrous and FeFe
Ballpark	Coca-Cola Park (2008–present)
Owner(s)/ Operator(s)	Joseph Finley and Craig Stein
General manager	Kurt Landes
Manager	Anthony Contreras
Media	MiLB.TV andWTKZ AM 1320
Website	milb.com/lehigh-valley

TheLehigh Valley IronPigs are aMinor League Baseball team of theInternational League (IL) and theTriple-A affiliate of thePhiladelphia Phillies. They are located inAllentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference topig iron, used in the manufacturing ofsteel, for which theLehigh Valley region ofPennsylvania is well known. The IronPigs play their home games atCoca-Cola Park in Allentown.

Following the 2007 season, theOttawa Lynx relocated to Allentown as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. In conjunction withMajor League Baseball's reorganization of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the IronPigs were shifted to the Triple-A East, whose name was restored to the International League in 2022.

Since their 2008 inaugural season, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs have made four appearances in the International League Governors' Cup playoffs (2011, 2016, 2017, and 2018). In 2018, the IronPigs won their first Northern Division title with an 84–56 record, the highest winning percentage (.600) in franchise history, but the team has not yet won anInternational League championship.^[1]

Allentown, Pennsylvania, in theLehigh Valley region of easternPennsylvania, has aprofessional baseball history dating back to 1884 with the Allentown Dukes of the originalEastern League. Though the city went through several stretches without a team, various otherMinor League Baseball teams hailed from Allentown through 1960. The last of these were theAllentown Cardinals (1944–1956) andAllentown Red Sox (1958–1960).^[2] The Red Sox played atBreadon Field (later called Max Hess Stadium) at the site where theLehigh Valley Mall was later built.^[3]

These affiliated clubs were followed by twoindependent baseball teams: theAllentown Ambassadors of theNortheast League and theLehigh Valley Black Diamonds of theAtlantic League of Professional Baseball. The Ambassadors played atBicentennial Park in Allentown until the team was disbanded after the 2003 season.^[2][3] The Black Diamonds moved fromNewburgh, New York, in 1999 and were expected to move into a new ballpark nearEaston called theLehigh 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 from 1999 to 2001.^[4]

In 2003, Joseph Finley and Craig Stein began actively pursuing their interest in bringing affiliated baseball back to Allentown. Initially, the duo pursued aClass A franchise when theOttawa Lynx, theTriple-A affiliate of theBaltimore Orioles at the time, were rumored to be moving toHarrisburg. When the city of Harrisburg was unwilling to upgradeCommerce Bank Park to Triple-A standards, the Orioles shifted their interest to Allentown because of its proximity to theMid-Atlantic. ThePhiladelphia Phillies also looked into moving their Triple-A operations to Allentown from theScranton/Wilkes-Barre region. For the 2007 season, the Phillies shifted their Triple-A affiliate to Ottawa, leaving theScranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons after 18 seasons, while the Orioles affiliated with theNorfolk Tides. The Phillies signed a one-year Player Development Contract with the Lynx while the US$50.25-millionCoca-Cola Park capable of seating up to 8,100 people with a total capacity of 10,000, was being constructed in Allentown.^[5][6]

The Ottawa Lynx were relocated to Allentown in 2008 and continued as the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies in the International League (IL).^[2] Known as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, their moniker, selected in a name-the-team contest, refers to the region'ssteelmaking history, in particular the refining ofpig iron into steel. The other finalists were "Gobblers", "Crushers", "Phillies", "Phantastics", "Vulcans", "Keystones", and "Woodchucks".^[5]

The IronPigs played their firstOpening Day game on the road, losing to theScranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, 4–0, on April 3, 2008.^[7] The team went on to lose their next 10 games. On April 14, Lehigh Valley broke the 11-game losing streak, defeating theRichmond Braves, 3–1, at their new home stadium, Coca-Cola Park.^[7] They ended their inaugural season last of 14 teams in the IL at 55–89.^[8] The next season,Justin Lehr became the first member of the team to win a league year-end award when he was selected as the International League's 2009Most Valuable Pitcher.^[9] On July 14, 2010, Coca-Cola Park hosted theTriple-A All-Star Game. In the event, which was broadcast nationally onMLB Network, a team of the IL's All-Stars defeated a team of thePacific Coast League's All-Stars, 3–1.^[10]

Baseball Hall of Fame inducteeRyne Sandberg becamemanager of the IronPigs in 2011. On April 7, they 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.^[11] Sandberg led the club to an 80–64 record which, though not good enough to win the Northern Division title, gave them a wild card berth into the Governors' Cup playoffs for theInternational League championship. They won the semifinals over thePawtucket Red Sox, 3–0, but lost the championship finals to theColumbus Clippers, 3–1.^[12]Tyler Cloyd was selected as the Most Valuable Pitcher in 2012.^[9]

From 2016 to 2018, Lehigh Valley made three consecutive appearances in the Governors' Cup playoffs. The 2016 wild-card winners set a season record for wins, with 85 against 58 losses, but were swept in three games by theScranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.^[13]Jake Thompson was the circuit's Most Valuable Pitcher.^[9] The 2017 team won another wild card berth but was eliminated again by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 3–1.^[14] Phillies prospectRhys Hoskins was selected as the IL's 2017Most Valuable Player (MVP) andRookie of the Year.^[9]

In 2018, the IronPigs won their first Northern Division title with an 84–56 record, the highest winning percentage (.600) in franchise history, but were knocked out of the semifinals for the third year in a row by the RailRiders, 3–1.^[1] Nevertheless, the IronPigs swept the International League awards withJoey Meneses as MVP and Rookie of the Year,Cole Irvin as the top pitcher, andGary Jones as theManager of the Year winner.^[9]

The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic before being cancelled on June 30.^[15][16] Through 13 seasons in the International League, the IronPigs had a 855–861 record. They experienced more success at the turnstiles as their season attendance topped 500,000 people each season.^[17] From 2008 to 2016, the team led Minor League Baseball with a per-game average attendance of 8,978.^[18] In 2019, franchise was recognized with theLarry MacPhail Award for outstanding minor league promotions.^[19]

Following the 2020 season,Major League Baseball assumed control ofMinor League Baseball in a move to increase player salaries, modernize facility standards, and reduce travel. The Philadelphia Phillies retained Lehigh Valley as their Triple-A affiliate, but the International League disbanded, and the IronPigs followed the other IL teams into theTriple-A East.^[20] Lehigh Valley ended the season in fourth place in the Northeastern Division with a 52–66 record.^[21] No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner.^[22] However, 10 games that had been postponed from the start of the season were reinserted into the schedule as a postseason tournament called the Triple-A Final Stretch in which all 30 Triple-A clubs competed for the highest winning percentage.^[22] The IronPigs finished the tournament in 30th place with a 1–9 record.^[23] In 2022, the Triple-A East became known as the International League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.^[24]

In August 2022, as Phillies' star right fielderBryce Harper was designated to the IronPigs in a final step in his rehabilitation stint as part of his comeback from a fractured thumb, the IronPigs' games against theGwinnett Stripers atCoca-Cola Park quickly sold out to the stadium's 10,100 capacity. In his August 23 appearance with the IronPigs, Harper homered twice against the Stripers.^[25]

In 2023, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs drew an average home attendance of 7,990 in 71 games, the highest MiLB average.^[26]

The IronPigs franchise broadcasts all of its home games on television, a rarity for a minor league team.^[27] Local cable networkSEN (The Service Electric Network) carries the IronPigs' games, covering most of the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania plus parts ofWarren andHunterdon Counties in northwestern New Jersey. In addition, SEN feeds the telecasts toBlue 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 onWFMZ-TV 69, which serves the Lehigh Valley as well as the northern Philadelphia market and westernNew Jersey. All IronPigs games, home and away, are also broadcast onWEEX, anEaston-basedFOX Sports Radio affiliate.^[28]

The IronPigs' mascots are a pair of furryanthropomorphicpigs, similar toMangalicas, called FeRROUS and FeFe. Their names are derived from the Latin term foriron (ferrum) and the element'schemical symbol (Fe). FeRROUS, who has gray fur and a lighter gray face, wears an IronPigs jersey with the number 26 (theatomic number for iron), a team cap, and shoes. FeFe, who is also gray but with a tan face and brunette pigtails, wears a red jersey that extends into a skirt with the number 08, which commemorates the team's first season (2008), a team cap, and shoes.^[29][30] The name "PorkChop" was originally chosen for FeRROUS, but it was changed the day after its selection because of complaints from localPuerto Rican residents alleging that Pork Chop was a derogatory term.^[31]

The franchise has been awarded the following honors byMinor League Baseball:^[19]

Seven players, one manager, and one executive have won league awards in recognition for their performance with Lehigh Valley.^[9]

Sixteen IronPigs have been named to postseason all-star teams.

• Sports in Allentown, Pennsylvania

Wikimedia Commons has media related toLehigh Valley IronPigs.

• Official website
• Lehigh Valley IronPigs atTwitter
• Statistics fromBaseball-Reference
• The Morning Call, coverage about the IronPigs and Phillies

• Lehigh Valley IronPigs
• 2008 establishments in Pennsylvania
• Baseball in Allentown, Pennsylvania
• Baseball teams established in 2008
• International League teams
• Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliates
• Professional baseball teams in Pennsylvania
• Triple-A East teams

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