Tucson Sidewinders

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Tucson Sidewinders
Tucson Sidewinders
League Pacific Coast League
Division Pacific Conference
Year founded 1969
Major League affiliation Arizona Diamondbacks
Home ballpark Tucson Electric Park
Previous home ballparks Hi Corbett Field
City Tucson, Arizona
Current uniform colors black, bronze, teal
Previous uniform colors red, gold
Logo design The wordmark "Sidewinders" in bronze outlined in black with the two "s"'s formed by a snake colored in bronze with black outline and teal markings wrapped around a baseball bat.
Division titles
League titles 2006
Manager Bill Plummer
Owner Jay Zucker

The Tucson Sidewinders (1998-present) are a minor league baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona. The team, which plays in the Pacific Coast League, is the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks major-league club. The Sidewinders play in Tucson Electric Park, located on the south side of Tucson.

Contents

[edit] History

From 1969-97 the Tucson Toros were Tucson's Triple-A baseball club, playing at Hi Corbett Field in midtown Tucson. Part of the old 10-team configuration of the Pacific Coast League, the Toros won the PCL Championship in 1991 and 1993.

After the MLB expansion that added the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the Toros moved to Fresno,California as the Fresno Grizzlies. The Phoenix Firebirds relocated to Tucson as the Triple-A affiliate of the new Diamondbacks. The new Tucson team was named the "Sidewinders" after a name the team contest was held. The team had played as the Phoenix Firebirds from 1958 through 1997 as an affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. The franchise joined the Pacific Coast League as a charter member in 1904 as the San Francisco Seals (baseball), relocating to Phoenix when the major league New York Giants moved to San Francisco. Seals alumni include Joe DiMaggio.

With the coming of the Diamondbacks, a new ballpark was needed for spring training in Tucson, since the Colorado Rockies used Hi Corbett Field. Tucson Electric Park was built, and became the spring training site for the both the D'backs and the Chicago White Sox. It also became home to the Tucson Sidewinders in 1998. This ended minor league baseball history at Hi Corbett Field. Many changes took place between 1997 and 1999 - a new name, new affiliation, newly expanded league, new owner, new general manager and new venue - resulting in disgruntled fans and lower than expected attendance. Financial arrangements between team owners and Pima County were also the subject of criticism. Since purchasing the team in 2000, owner Jay Zucker has attempted to improve the situation with a variety of promotions, including weekly fireworks. These efforts have met with limited success.

The team has been very successful as a supplier of major league-quality players to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Many individual Sidewinders have performed admirably in mid-season call-ups, sometimes returning to the major league club time and again as needed. This has earned the Sidewinders the nickname "Baby 'Backs."

In 2006, the Tucson Sidewinders won the Pacific Coast League championship, and afterwards defeated the Toledo Mud Hens 5-2 in the Bricktown Showdown for the Triple-A baseball championship at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.

[edit] Sidewinders Timeline

1997 - Martin Stone, a businessman, land speculator and former owner of the Phoenix Firebirds,[1] purchases the Tucson Toros from Rick Holtzman. The Tucson Toros have a one year player development contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, filling the gap between the end of the Toros' contract with Houston and the beginning of the team's affiliation with the expansion Diamondbacks. Diamondbacks prospect Travis Lee plays in Tucson for part of the season. Toros owner Stone persuades the Pima County Board of Supervisors to approve a lease on Tucson Electric Park (then under construction) that protects the team owner from a portion of the team's financial losses at taxpayer expense.[2]

1998 - The renamed Tucson Sidewinders begin their affiliation with the Arizona Diamondbacks, playing at Tucson Electric Park. A new mascot is also introduced, Sandy Sidewinder, a snake with arms. The old mascot, Tuffy the Toro, is phased out.

1999 - In May, longtime Toros general manager Mike Feder is fired from the Sidewinders by team owner Stone. A local uproar ensues in support of Feder. He is replaced by Jack Donovan.[3]

2000 - Before the 2000 baseball season, broadcasting entrepreneur Jay Zucker purchases the Sidewinders from Martin Stone, reportedly for about $7 to $8 million, after Stone is diagnosed with prostate cancer. Zucker loses over $200,000 in his first season as owner.

2002 - Despite the parent club's World Series win the previous year, the Sidewinders report 268,807 total attendance for the season, an average of 3,895 per game. Tucson Electric Park has a capacity of 11,000.

2003 - Tucson Sidewinders prospects earn the nickname "Baby 'Backs" with their relative youth and frequent call-ups to the major league club.

2006 - The team finishes the regular season 91-53, the best in AAA baseball for 2006 and a new franchise record. Team manager Chip Hale is named PCL Manager of the Year. After defeating the Salt Lake Bees 3-1 in a best-of-five PCL Pacific Conference Championships series, the Sidewinders win the Pacific Coast League Championship Series in three straight games versus the Round Rock Express. They then defeat the International League champion, the Toledo Mud Hens, 5-2 in a one-game playoff in Oklahoma City for the unofficial AAA title.

2007 and beyond - after the 2006 season, the Sidewinders renew their player development contract with the Diamondbacks for another two years. Manager Chip Hale is promoted to the Diamondbacks coaching staff as their new third base coach. Bill Plummer, the former manager of the Diamondbacks' former Double-A affiliate, the Tennessee Smokies, is signed to take over as skipper for the Sidewinders in 2007.

[edit] Notable Players

Some notable players to don a Toros or Sidewinders uniform:

It should be noted, however, that at least a few of these were "Tucson" players only by virtue of being sent down to AAA for rehab after an injury.

[edit] Team name

The name "Sidewinders" refers to both a snake indigenous to Arizona and pitchers with a particular style of throwing. Since a Diamondback rattlesnake is also common in Arizona, the Tucson team's name is now more in line with that of the parent club than the alliterative name "Tucson Toros." Nevertheless, many fans seem to miss the old club name with its long history. For a few seasons on Tuesdays, the Sidewinders reverted back to throwback "Toros nights," wearing the old Toros pinstriped uniforms. 2005 was the last season that Tucson held "Toros Tuesdays." However, Tuffy the Toro continues to make cameo appearances at the ballpark, joining the latest Tucson mascot, Sandy Sidewinder. The team still has the occasional Toros-related promotions, such as a giveaway of replica Toros hats [4].

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links


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