| Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders | |||||
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Class | Triple-A (1989–present) | ||||
| League | International League (1989–present) | ||||
| Division | East Division | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Team | New York Yankees (2007–present) | ||||
| Previous teams | Philadelphia Phillies (1989–2006) | ||||
| Minor league titles | |||||
| Class titles(1) |
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| League titles(2) |
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| Division titles(13) |
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| Second-half titles(1) |
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| Wild card berths(3) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Name | Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (2013–present) | ||||
Previous names |
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| Colors | Navy blue, cranberry, gold, white | ||||
| Mascot | CHAMP[1] | ||||
| Ballpark | PNC Field (2013–present) | ||||
Previous parks |
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Owner/ Operator | Diamond Baseball Holdings | ||||
| General manager | Katie Beekman[1] | ||||
| Manager | Shelley Duncan | ||||
| Website | milb.com/scranton-wb | ||||
TheScranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated toSWB RailRiders, are aMinor League Baseball team of theInternational League (IL) and theTriple-A affiliate of theNew York Yankees. They are located inMoosic, Pennsylvania, in theScranton/Wilkes-Barre area, and are named in reference toNortheastern Pennsylvania being home to the firsttrolley system in the United States. The RailRiders have played their home games atPNC Field since its opening in 1989.
Founded as members of the International League in 1989, the team was known as theScranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons during their affiliation with thePhiladelphia Phillies from 1989 to 2006. They became known as theScranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in 2007 after affiliating with the New York Yankees. They rebranded as the RailRiders in 2013. The RailRiders became members of the Triple-A East in 2021, but this league was renamed the International League in 2022.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has won twoInternational League championships (2008 and 2016) and oneTriple-A National Championship (2016).
Professional baseball teams first played in theScranton/Wilkes-Barre (SWB) area ofPennsylvania in the late 19th century. InScranton, the predominant moniker of these teams was theScranton Miners, who originated in 1886 as the Scranton Indians, though they were also known as Coal Heavers and Red Sox throughout their history.[2] The Miners' last season was in 1953 as members of theEastern League.[2] The franchise was surrendered to the league after it was unable to secure backing by aMajor League Baseball team for 1954.[3] InWilkes-Barre, theWilkes-Barre Barons, originally the Coal Barons, who were established in 1886, played their last season in the Eastern League in 1955.[4] Financial problems resulted in the relocation of the franchise toJohnstown during the 1955 season.[5]
Over three decades afterMinor League Baseball left the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area, theMaine Phillies were relocated fromOld Orchard Beach, Maine, toLackawanna County in 1989.[6] A group from Scranton, called Northeast Baseball, Inc. (NBI), purchased the team in 1987. The previous owner tried to renege on the sale, but after a lengthy court battle, NBI won control of the franchise and moved forward with its relocation.[6] The team was renamed the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons in reference to theScranton Red Sox and theWilkes-Barre Barons, who had preceded them.[2][4][6] They were to play in theInternational League (IL) as theTriple-A affiliate of thePhiladelphia Phillies, as had the franchise in Maine.[6] Their home ballpark was the newly constructed Lackawanna County Stadium, later renamedPNC Field, located in nearbyMoosic, Pennsylvania.[7]
The Red Barons struggled in their early years, finishing under .500 in their first three seasons.[2] In 1992,managerLee Elia led SWB to an 84–58 record and the Eastern Division title.[8][9] In the playoffs, they defeated thePawtucket Red Sox in the semifinals but lost the league championship versus theColumbus Clippers.[9] The Red Barons posted losing records for the next six seasons.[2]
Marc Bombard took over as manager in 1997 and led the club to four consecutive postseason appearances from 1999 to 2002.[10] The 1999 Northern Division champion Red Barons were eliminated from the playoffs in the semifinals by theCharlotte Knights.[11] In 2000, the team missed winning the division but qualified for the IL wild card spot. They defeated theBuffalo Bisons in the semifinals but fell to theIndianapolis Indians in the championship round.[12] Another wild card berth in 2001 sent SWB back to the playoffs. They won the semifinals over Buffalo, 3–2, and advanced to face theLouisville RiverBats for the league title.[13] After losing Game One of the series, the postseason came to abrupt end when it was cancelled in the wake of theSeptember 11 terrorist attacks.[14] Louisville, with a 1–0 series lead, was declared the champion.[14] The Red Barons returned to the playoffs in 2002 with the Northern Division title but were eliminated by Buffalo in the semifinals.[15] They made one more postseason appearance as the Red Barons and as a Phillies affiliate in 2006 via a division title win, but theRochester Red Wings ended their championship hopes in the semifinals.[16]
Following the 2006 season, the Philadelphia Phillies ended their affiliation with the Red Barons and signed a player development contract with theOttawa Lynx in anticipation of that team's move toAllentown's newCoca-Cola Park as theLehigh Valley IronPigs for the 2008 season.[17]
In 2007, the club became the Triple-A affiliate of theNew York Yankees and rebranded as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.[2][17] In terms of regular-season records and championships, the Yankees affiliation has been more successful than that with the Phillies. From 2007 to 2009, the SWB Yankees made four consecutive trips to the postseason, all by virtue of winning the Northern Division title. The 2007 team was eliminated in the semifinal round by theRichmond Braves.[18] In 2008, the Yankees won another division title with an 88–56 record behind managerDave Miley.[19][20] After defeating Pawtucket in the semifinals, 3–1, the Yankees beat theDurham Bulls, 3–1, in the final round to earn the Governors' Cup, their firstIL championship.[19] This qualified them for theBricktown Showdown, a single game against thePacific Coast League's champion to determine an overall champion of the Triple-A classification. They lost the Triple-A championship versus theSacramento River Cats by a score of 4–1.[21] SWB won the 2009 semifinals over theGwinnett Braves, 3–1, but were swept by Durham in the finals, 3–0.[22] The 2010 team was eliminated by Columbus in the semifinals.[23]
In November 2010, the Lackawanna County Multipurpose Stadium Authority voted to sell the SWB Yankees toMandalay Baseball Properties, which planned a $40-million renovation of PNC Field.[24] However, negotiations stalled the actual sale for over a year.[25] The sale was finalized on April 26, 2012, with the franchise being sold to SWB Yankees LLC, an ownership entity that was a joint venture between the New York Yankees and Mandalay.[26]
The SWB Yankees chose to temporarily relocate their operations for the 2012 season to allow major renovations to PNC Field to be completed in one season, rather than being spread over two to three years. The team based itself inRochester, New York, atFrontier Field, home of Red Wings.[27] They played their entire schedule on the road, often being designated as the home team at an opponent's ballpark. In addition to Frontier Field, the Yankees also played home games atDwyer Stadium inBatavia, New York;Alliance Bank Stadium inSyracuse, New York;Coca-Cola Field inBuffalo, New York;Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania; andMcCoy Stadium inPawtucket, Rhode Island.[28] The team was known as theEmpire State Yankees in the 2012 season for promotional purposes, though it retained its official SWB Yankees moniker.[29] After missing the playoffs in 2011, the Yankees returned in 2012 by winning the Northern Division title, but they were eliminated by Pawtucket in the semifinals.[30]
In anticipation of their return to the renovated PNC Field in 2013, a name-the-team contest was launched to select a new moniker for the SWB franchise. Among the finalists were "Blast", "Black Diamond Bears", "Fireflies", "Porcupines", and "Trolley Frogs".[31] The chosen name, "RailRiders", is in reference toNortheastern Pennsylvania being home to the firsttrolley system in the United States.[32] Although RailRiders received the most first-place votes by fans, Porcupines received the most overall fan votes on the ballots ranked one through three. As a result, a porcupine was incorporated in the RailRiders' logos.[33]
The 2013 and 2014 RailRiders finished under .500 and did not qualify for the postseason.[2] In September 2014, Mandalay Baseball Properties sold its 50% interest in the team to SWB Investors LLC, a group consisting of David Abrams,David Blitzer, Grant Cagle, and Michael Hisler, for approximately $14 million.[34] The RailRiders returned to the playoffs in 2015 with a Northern Division title win, but they were swept out of the semifinals by Indianapolis.[35] After nine seasons, six division titles, and one league championship, the 2015 season was the last for Dave Miley as the team's manager.[20]
Al Pedrique was hired to lead the team in 2016.[36] SWB finished with a league-best 91–52 record and another Northern Division title. They swept Lehigh Valley, 3–0, in the semifinals and won their second Governors' Cup over Gwinnett, 3–1.[37] The IL championship qualified them for theTriple-A National Championship Game versus theEl Paso Chihuahuas, where they won, 3–1, claiming their second Triple-A championship.[38]
The 2017 RailRiders won the division title and defeated Lehigh Valley in the semifinals but lost the IL championship to Durham.[39] The 2018 club made another postseason run via a wild card berth. Like in the previous season, they advanced to the finals by beating Lehigh Valley but again lost in the finals to Durham.[40] The RailRiders finished the 2019 season tied for first place with theSyracuse Mets, each with a 75–65 record. On September 3, SWB defeated Syracuse in a one-game playoff, 14–13, to win the Northern Division title.[41] They were, however, swept in the playoff semifinals by Durham.[42]
The start of the 2020 season was initially postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic before being cancelled altogether.[43][44]
In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the RailRiders were organized into theTriple-A East.[45] No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner.[46] SWB placed third in the league standings with a 68–49 record under managerDoug Davis, who had been with the club as a coach since 2017.[47][48] 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.[46] The RailRiders finished the tournament in sixth place with a 7–3 record.[49]
In December 2021, SWB Investors sold their 50% stake in the club toDiamond Baseball Holdings.[50] 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.[51] Davis returned to the club for his second season as manager, leading the team to an 83–67 record, finishing second in the ten-team East Division.[52]
| Season | League | Regular-season | Postseason | MLB affiliate | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record | Win % | League | Division | GB | Record | Win % | Result | ||||
| 2021 | AAAE | 75–52[n 1] | .591 | 3rd | 2nd | 4+1⁄2 | — | — | — | New York Yankees | [56] |
| 2022 | IL | 83–67 | .553 | 5th | 2nd | 3 | — | — | — | New York Yankees | [57] |
| 2023 | IL | 73–75 | .493 | 10th | 6th | 16+1⁄2 | — | — | — | New York Yankees | [58] |
| 2024 | IL | 89–60 | .597 | 2nd | 1st | — | — | — | — | New York Yankees | [59] |
| 2025 | IL | 87–60 | .592 | 2nd | 2nd | 1⁄2 | 1–2 | .333 | Won second-half title[60] LostIL championship vs.Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, 2–1[61] | New York Yankees | [62] |
| Totals | — | 407–314 | .564 | — | — | — | 1–2 | .333 | — | — | — |
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The RailRiders' primary home uniform is white with navy bluepinstripes, mirroring those of the New York Yankees.[32] The primary home jersey features a descending "SWB" logo on train tracks on the left chest and a navy interlocking New York Yankees "NY" logo on the right sleeve. The home cap is navy with a golden "R" set against a railroad track.[63] The team's road uniform is gray with "RailRiders" across the jersey's chest and is worn with a navy cap with a white interlocking "SWB" logo.
An alternate solid navy jersey was introduced in 2022, featuring the white interlocking "SWB" crest on the left chest and a white interlocking New York Yankees "NY" logo on the right sleeve. These are worn with the navy cap feature the same "SWB" logo.[64]
SWB's first radioplay-by-play announcer was Kent Westling, a former local television sportscaster who previously worked on telecasts of theSt. Louis Blues hockey team. While cutting back on his schedule in later years, he retired following the 2007 season after having called over 2,000 games since the team's inaugural 1989 campaign.[65] Mike Vander Woude served as the team's second play-by-play announcer from 2008 until 2012.[66][67] He was followed byJohn Sadak from 2013 to 2017.[67][68] Adam Marco has been the "Voice of the RailRiders" since 2018.[69]
All RailRiders home and road games are broadcast byWICK across their five frequencies in Northeastern Pennsylvania: 1400 WICK (Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties), 1440WCDL (Lackawanna County and Pocono Lake Region), 93.5 FM (Scranton and Northern Lackawanna County), 106.7 FM (Wayne and Pike Counties), and 107.9 FM (Lackawanna County).[69] Live audio broadcasts are also available online through the team's website and the MiLB First Pitch app.[69] All home and road games can be viewed through theMiLB.TV subscription feature of the official website of Minor League Baseball, with audio provided by a radio simulcast.[70]
| Players | Coaches/Other |
|---|---|
Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders Outfielders | Manager Coaches
|
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Eight players, six managers, and two executives have won league awards in recognition for their performance with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the International League.
| Award | Recipient | Season | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Shane Victorino | 2005 | [71] |
| Most Valuable Player | Shelley Duncan | 2009 | [71] |
| Most Valuable Player | Ben Gamel | 2016 | [71] |
| Most Valuable Pitcher | Brandon Duckworth | 2001 | [71] |
| Most Valuable Pitcher | Joe Roa | 2002 | [71] |
| Pitcher of the Year Award | Greg Weissert | 2022 | [72] |
| Rookie of the Year | Marlon Anderson | 1998 | [71] |
| Rookie of the Year | Brandon Duckworth | 2001 | [71] |
| Rookie of the Year | Austin Jackson | 2009 | [71] |
| Rookie of the Year | Ben Gamel | 2015 | [71] |
| Manager of the Year | Lee Elia | 1992 | [71] |
| Manager of the Year | Marc Bombard | 2002 | [71] |
| Manager of the Year | John Russell | 2006 | [71] |
| Manager of the Year | Dave Miley | 2007 | [71] |
| Manager of the Year | Dave Miley | 2012 | [71] |
| Manager of the Year | Al Pedrique | 2016 | [71] |
| Manager of the Year | Al Pedrique | 2017 | [71] |
| Manager of the Year | Shelley Duncan | 2025 | [73] |
| Executive of the Year | Bill Terlecky | 1990 | [71] |
| Executive of the Year | Josh Olerud | 2017 | [71] |
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The RailRiders have honored three players byretiring theiruniform numbers. This ensures that the number will be associated with one player of particular importance to the team. An additional number, 42, was retired throughout professional baseball in 1997 to honorJackie Robinson, the first African American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era.[74] Also, the RailRiders planned to retire the number 21 in honor ofRoberto Clemente in conjunction with Minor League Baseball'sCopa de la Diversión initiative on July 16, 2019.[75] The team's retired numbers are displayed atPNC Field.
The number 14 was retired in honor ofGreg Legg, who played for the team from 1989 to 1994.[76]Dave Miley's number 11 was retired, to honor the team's skipper from 2007 to 2015, during the franchise's twenty-five year anniversary.[77] Finally,Marc Bombard, who managed the Red Barons to two consecutiveIL championships over eight non-consecutive terms (1997–2001, 2001–2004), had his number 13 retired on May 31, 2019.[78][79]
 |  |  |  |
| Dave Miley | Marc Bombard | Greg Legg | Jackie Robinson |
| Mgr 2007–2015 Retired June 8, 2014[77] | Mgr 1997–2001, 2001–2004 Retired May 31, 2019[78] | 2B 1989–1994 Retired June 8, 1998[76] | Retired throughout professional baseball on April 15, 1997[74] |
One former Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRider has been elected to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame. ShortstopDerek Jeter was inducted in 2020.[80] During the 2013 season, Jeter made a rehab assignment appearance with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre while recovering from an injury with theNew York Yankees.[81][82][83] The RailRiders are also represented in theInternational League Hall of Fame. ManagersDave Miley andMarc Bombard were inducted in 2014 and 2015, respectively.[84][85]
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are owned by Diamond Baseball Holdings, a subsidiary of the investment firmSilver Lake, previously a subsidiary ofEndeavor Group Holdings.[86]
Prior to the Diamond Baseball Holdings ownership, the RailRiders were owned by SWB Yankees LLC, a joint venture betweenYankee Global Enterprises and SWB Investors LLC. It was previously a joint venture between Yankee Global Enterprises andMandalay Baseball Properties until Mandalay sold its stake in SWB Yankees LLC to SWB Investors LLC. Yankee Global Enterprises is the owner of the RailRiders' parent club theNew York Yankees and SWB Investors LLC was the local ownership group that handled the day-to-day operations of the RailRiders.
The joint venture's name comes from SWB Yankees, an alternate name used by the RailRiders when they were known as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees to distinguish themselves from their MLB affiliate, the New York Yankees. Yankee Global Enterprises and SWB Investors LLC each owned 50% in the SWB Yankees LLC joint venture, automatically gave each 50% ownership in the RailRiders. SWB Investors LLC's 50% stake in the SWB Yankees LLC joint venture was originally held by Mandalay Baseball Properties. Former MLB pitcherAndy Ashby was one of the team's owner-investors.[87]
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