River City Rascals
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| River City Rascals Founded in 1993 O'Fallon, Missouri |
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| Owner(s)/Operated By: Steve Malliet | |||
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| Manager: Toby Rumfield | |||
| Media: O'Fallon Journal | |||
| Website: www.rivercityrascals.com | |||
The River City Rascals are an independent minor league baseball team playing in O'Fallon, Missouri as a member of the Frontier League.
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[edit] History
The team was previously located in Zanesville, Ohio where they were known as the Greys. On Tuesday, October 27th, 1998, O'Fallon, Missouri Mayor Paul Renaud announced the new name of the team to be the River City Rascals. Initial ownership of the Rascals consisted of a local group headed by Harold Burkemper.
The Rascals began play in 1999 in the Western Division of the Frontier League under manager Jack Clark, pitching coach Greg Mathews, and first-base coach Dick Schofield Jr., all previous Major League Baseball players.
The first five players to be signed to the club consisted of pitcher Jeff Pohl, outfielder Mike Robertson, first baseman Jonathan Bushman, infielder Jason Rackers, and outfielder Kevin Pitts. The first game played was on Wednesday, June 2, 1999 on the road against the Cook County Cheetahs of Crestwood, Illinois. Pitcher Joey Pipes pitched a complete game in losing by a score of 1-0 .
The first home game was played on Tuesday, June 8, 1999 at T.R. Hughes Ballpark at the Ozzie Smith Sports Complex in front of an overflow crowd of 4,173 (3,500 seat capacity). The Rascals beat the Dubois County, Indiana Dragons by a score of 6-5 by rallying from a 5-1 deficit with William Black scoring on Tim Still's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning. This was the first minor league baseball game in Missouri since 1955.
On October 11, 2006, the franchise was acquired by the group PS and J Professional Baseball Club, LLC headed by Steve Malliet, who moved to O'Fallon, Missouri from Joliet, Illinois, where he had worked with the Joliet JackHammers since 2001. Malliet has managed and operated the Rascals since the closing of the 2006 acquisition.
Former pitcher Josh Kinney who played for the Rascals in 2001 (21 innings, 18 strikeouts, 1.71 ERA) became the first Rascal player to make it to the Major Leagues. His contract was purchased from the Memphis Redbirds on July 2, 2006 by the St. Louis Cardinals where he appeared out of the bullpen during the 2006 regular season. His first major league pitch (July 3, 2006) was hit for a home run by Atlanta Braves left fielder Ryan Langerhans; Kinney finished the 2006 season winning a championship ring with the Cardinals as 2006 World Series Champions.
Known As
Zanesville Greys (1993-1996)
River City Rascals (1999-Present)
[edit] Seasons
| Zanesville Greys (Frontier League) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | W-L | PCT | Place | Postseason |
| 1993 | 35-17 | .673 | 1st in FL West | Won Frontier League Championship vs. Ohio Valley Redcoats 2-0. |
| 1994 | 35-28 | .548 | 3rd in FL West | |
| 1995 | 37-31 | .544 | 3rd in FL | Won 1st Round Playoff vs. Newark Buffaloes 2-0. Lost Frontier League Championship vs. Johnstown Steal 2-0. |
| 1996 | 40-34 | .531 | 3rd in FL East | |
| River City Rascals (Frontier League) | ||||
| 1999 | 39-45 | .464 | 5th in FL West | |
| 2000 | 46-36 | .561 | 1st in FL West | Lost 1st Round Playoff vs. Evansville Otters 2-0. |
| 2001 | 46-38 | .548 | 2nd in FL West | |
| 2002 | 39-45 | .464 | 4th in FL West | |
| 2003 | 43-47 | .478 | 4th in FL West | |
| 2004 | 51-43 | .543 | 3rd in FL West | |
| 2005 | 42-52 | .447 | 4th in FL West | |
| 2006 | 40-56 | .417 | 5th in FL West | |
| 2007 | 36-60 | .375 | 3rd in FL West | |
| Zanesville | 147-110 | .572 | ||
| Playoffs | 4-2 | .667 | 1 Division Title. 2 Playoff Appearances. 1 Championship | |
| River City | 382-422 | .475 | ||
| Playoffs | 0-2 | .000 | 1 Division Title. 0 Championships. | |
| Zanesville-River City | 529-532 | .499 | 2 Division Titles. 1 Championship. | |
[edit] External links
- River City Rascals Official Home Page
- River City Rascals (Tim's Unofficial Frontier League History Pages)
[edit] Sources
- -- "Rascals pick Rumfield as their new manager." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Oct. 4, 2006. Sports. p. C11
- English, Nordeka. "No Trouble: River City Rascals Coming to Minor League Home." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Oct. 29, 1997. St. Charles Sec. p. 1
- Lyons, Joe. "Clark Returns as Manager." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jan. 21, 1999. Sports. p. D5
- Lyons, Joe. "Rascals Getting Down to Business." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Mar. 22, 1999. St. Charles Sec. p. 1
- Lyons, Joe. "Rascals Head for Home after 1-3 Road Start" St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Jun. 8, 1999. St. Charles Sec. p. 6
- Lyons, Joe. "Rascals Win Home Debut in a Thriller." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Mar. 22, 1999. Sports. p. D1
- Lyons, Joe. "New owner is anxious to take over Rascals." St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Aug. 2, 2006. Metro. p. B4
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