Columbus Clippers

A navy blue capital "C" outlined in white and grey with a ship centered in the opening of the "C" with blue waves and baseball threading on the sails.

Division titles

League titles

1979, 1980, 1981, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1996

Manager

John Stearns

Owner

Franklin County, Ohio government

The Columbus Clippers are a Triple-A baseball team in the International League. The Clippers are affiliated with the Washington Nationals and play at Cooper Stadium (formerly Franklin County Stadium) in Columbus, Ohio. The team and Cooper Stadium are owned by the government of Franklin County, Ohio.

The Clippers franchise was born in 1977 as an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, changing its affiliation to the New York Yankees in 1979. Its affiliation with the Washington Nationals begins with the 2007 season. The franchise, however, traces its post-World War II roots to the Jersey City Giants, who played from 1937 through 1950.

The Jersey City team moved to Ottawa, Ontario, in 1951 and played in Canada's capital for four seasons. At the close of the 1954 season, the Columbus Red Birds, longtime American Association affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, moved to Omaha, Nebraska, opening the valuable Columbus territory. The struggling Ottawa franchise claimed it, and Columbus joined the International League in 1955. This team eventually affiliated with the Pirates and became the Columbus Jets. When the Jets encountered stadium problems, after the 1970 campaign, they moved to Charleston, West Virginia as the Charleston Charlies from 1971-76. With the availability of Cooper Stadium, the former Jets were lured back to Ohio's capital, and the Clippers were launched in 1977. In 1979, the Clippers became the AAA affiliate of the New York Yankees, beginning a 28 year relationship that ended in 2006.

In February of 2006, plans were announced that a new stadium will be built in the Arena District of downtown Columbus at the corner of Neil Ave. and Nationwide Blvd. The stadium which will be called Huntington Park is named for Huntington Bankshares Inc. which has purchased the naming rights for the stadium. Play is expected to begin at the new stadium in the 2009 season. Rumors according to the Columbus Dispatch says local motorcycle business A.D. Farrow's is going to buy the lot of Cooper Stadium to turn it into a motorcycle 'mecca' for racing, dining, and lodging.^{[citation needed]}

On September 14, 2006, the New York Yankees announced that they would be ending their affiliation with the Clippers after 28 years. ^[1] On September 20, 2006, the Clippers announced a two-year player development contract with the Washington Nationals. ^[2]

1 Postseason results
2 2006 Roster
3 Alumni
4 Notes
5 External links

[edit] Postseason results

The Clippers have won the Governors' Cup, the championship of the IL, 7 times, and played in the championship series 10 times.

1979 - Defeated S. Sky Chiefs
1980 - Defeated Toledo
1981 - Defeated Richmond
1985 - Lost to Tidewater
1987 - Defeated Tidewater
1990 - Lost to Rochester
1991 - Defeated Pawtucket
1992 - Defeated S./W.-B. Red Barons
1996 - Defeated Rochester
1997 - Lost to Rochester

[edit] 2006 Roster

As of September 4, 2006; Final day of regular season

Pitchers

-- Winston Abreu
-- Mike Bacsik
-- Jesús Colomé
-- Brandon Claussen
-- Félix Díaz
-- Josh Hall
-- Ray King
-- Colby Lewis
-- Jim Margrane
-- Anastacio Martinez
-- Luis Martinez
-- Chris Michalak
-- Arnie Munoz
-- Jason Simontacchi
-- Edward Valdez
-- William White

Catchers

-- Danny Ardoin
-- Juan Brito
-- Brandon Harper

Infielders

-- Melvin Dorta
-- Robert Fick
-- D'Angelo Jimenez
-- Brandon Larson
-- Travis Lee
-- José Macias
-- Juan Melo
-- Joe Thurston
-- Jorge Toca
-- Tony Womack

Outfielders

-- Tony Blanco
-- Frank Diaz
-- George Lombard
-- Wayne Lydon
-- Darnell McDonald
-- Abraham Núñez

(Players with a linked name have Major League Baseball experience)

[edit] Alumni

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

Washington Nationals Franchise
AAA	AA	A	Rookie
Columbus Clippers	Harrisburg Senators	Potomac Nationals Hagerstown Suns Vermont Lake Monsters	Gulf Coast Nationals VSL Nationals

North Division		South Division		West Division
International League
Buffalo Bisons \| Ottawa Lynx \| Pawtucket Red Sox \| Rochester Red Wings \| Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees \| Syracuse Chiefs		Charlotte Knights \| Durham Bulls \| Norfolk Tides \| Richmond Braves		Columbus Clippers \| Indianapolis Indians \| Louisville Bats \| Toledo Mud Hens