Binghamton Triplets

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The Binghamton Triplets were a minor league baseball team in Binghamton, New York, affiliated with the New York Yankees (1932-1961, 1965-1968); the team also had brief affiliations with the Kansas City Athletics (1962-1963) and the Milwaukee Braves (1964). The Triplets played in the former New York-Pennsylvania League (1923-1937), the Eastern League (1938-1963, 1967-1968), and the current New York-Penn League (1964-66). They won league championships in 1929, 1933, 1935, 1940, 1944, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1965, and 1967.

The Triplets played their home games at Johnson Field in nearby Johnson City until the team disbanded in 1968; the old ballpark was then torn down to help construct New York Route 17. The team wore caps with an intertwined 'T' and 'C' logo (similar to the original Minnesota Twins cap insignia); the letters stood for 'Triple Cities' (i.e., Binghamton, Johnson City, and Endicott). While the Triplets were a Yankee farm team, the parent club—featuring such legends as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Mickey Mantle—played one exhibition game each year at Johnson Field.

[edit] Triplet players of note

• Whitey Ford: Yankee left-handed starter and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
• Thurman Munson: Yankee captain and all-star catcher, who played for the Triplets in their swansong 1968 season.
• Bobby Richardson: second baseman who won the 1960 World Series MVP (even though the Bronx Bombers lost the series).
• Joe Pepitone: Gold Glove-winning first baseman.
• Al Downing: On April 8, 1974, while pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Downing yielded Hank Aaron's 715th home run.
• Clete Boyer: defensive standout third baseman, whose brothers (Ken and Cloyd) were also major leaguers.

[edit] Triplet managers of MLB note

(Listed chronologically per tenure as Triplet manager.)

• Mike Konnick: Cincinnati Red shortstop and catcher.
• Heinie Groh: Cincinnati Red and New York Giant third baseman famed for his 'bottle bat.'
• Billy Meyer: known for his woes as Pittsburgh Pirate manager.
• Lefty Gomez: Yankee Hall-of-Fame southpaw hurler.
• George ‘Twinkletoes’ Selkirk: replaced Babe Ruth as starting Yankee rightfielder.
• George ‘Snuffy’ Stirnweiss: slick-fielding Yankee second baseman.
• Freddie Fitzsimmons: New York Giant and Brooklyn Dodger knuckleballer.
• Granny Hamner: shortstop for the 1950 Phillies 'Whiz Kids'.
• John McNamara: manager of the AL-pennant-winning 1986 Boston Red Sox.
• Andy Pafko: outfielder for the 1957 World Series champion Braves.
• Cloyd Boyer: St. Louis Cardinal pitcher, and brother of Clete and Ken.

[edit] References

Baseball in Broome County (2004). by Marvin Cohen and Michael McCann.