| Gary SouthShore RailCats | |
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| Founded in 2001 Gary, Indiana |
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| Retired Numbers | 42, 45 |
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| Owner(s)/Operated By: Patrick A. Salvi Lindy Salvi |
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| General Manager: Andy Viano | |
| Manager: Greg Tagert | |
| Media: Post-Tribune, Northwest Indiana Times | |
| Website: www.railcatsbaseball.com | |
The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a professional baseball team based in Gary, Indiana, in the United States. The RailCats are a member of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. The RailCats have played their home games at the U.S. Steel Yard since 2002, when the team started as a member of the Northern League. In 2011 the team will be a member of the modern American Association.
During their time in the Northern League, the RailCats were the only team to ever reach the Championship Series five years in a row (2005–09) and won league championships in 2005 and 2007.
On January 23, 2001, the Northern League announced that it had awarded a franchise to Northwest Sports Ventures, LLC .[1] In June a Limited Liability Company by the name of Victory Sports Group was officially registered in Missouri, led by Michael A. Tatoian.
Amid much controversy, ground was broken for a new 6,000 seat stadium in Gary, Indiana. Mayor Scott King received much scrutiny for his decision to fund such a stadium; the city of Gary has had a history of mayors who have funded massive white elephants. Again with much controversy the city signed a fifteen year lease with the team ownership for the future baseball stadium.
In September, 2001, the team was officially named the Gary SouthShore RailCats, drawing its name from both the city's deep history of freight lines and the South Shore Line commuter train (visible over the left field wall at the stadium).
The stadium construction was behind schedule forcing the RailCats to play their first season entirely on the road. The city of Gary paid a financial penalty for failure to complete the stadium on time, which helped finance their season. The RailCats traveled approximately 12,000 miles to play 90 games. Despite that, RailCats manager Joe Calfapietra was named the Northern League Manager of the Year after his club won 35 games, the most ever by a team that played exclusively on the road.
Now that the stadium was complete, the RailCats signed a ten year naming rights agreement with United States Steel Corporation for the stadium. Joe Calfapietra resigned as Manager citing that he wanted to be closer to home. He later signed with the New Jersey Jackals. The RailCats hired former Major League All-Star Garry Templeton to Manage the team. Unfortunately, stadium or not, the RailCats were little more than a pushover, firmly stuck in last place.
Garry Templeton returned as coach for another season leading the Cats in their worst season. In June, they had a 14 game losing streak which was the longest in Northern League history. They completed the season in last place again securing the record for the most losses for a season in Northern League history. The RailCats announced that Templeton would not be offered his job next season. He later signed with the Fullerton Flyers.
The RailCats hired Greg Tagert as manager. Tagert made a number of roster changes, and turned the RailCats from losers to winners almost immediately, ending the first half with a .563 average, the first winning average in team history. The Northern League All-Star game was held at the U.S. Steel Yard. The second half went the same as the first but ended with an upset victory making the worst team in 2004, the 2005 Champions. The RailCats beat the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks to win the title.
Tagert returned as manager in 2006. The Cats were first in their division, second overall for the season. They returned to the championship series to face the RedHawks again. This time losing the title.
Tagert returned yet again. He proved that he could make the RailCats a legacy team. The RailCats appeared unstoppable all season. Winning first place both halves. The season was fraught with controversy between the Alberta teams and the rest of the league. Despite this fact, the Calgary Vipers made it to the championship series. The RailCats spared the league the embarrassment of having a team that was leaving the league win the championship, as the Cats beat the Vipers.
Prior to the season the Cats signed Tagert to an extended contract to keep him at least until the completion of the 2010 season. Patrick A. and his wife Lindy Salvi purchased the RailCats. Patrick is the managing partner of the law firm of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C. With the loss of the Alberta teams, the league contracted to six teams. Due to the size, the league opted to have a single-division full season. Tagert again lead the Cats in a winning season, ending in second place. They lost the championship series to the fourth place Kansas City T-Bones who beat the first place RedHawks in the playoffs to make it to the series.
The Cats again proved a force to be reckoned with as they ended the season in first place yet again and made it to the championship season for the fifth straight season. They lost to RedHawks.
The Cats finished in fourth place in the Northern League, their worst place finish in five years. For the first time since 2004, the RailCats did not reach the championship series, being swept by the RedHawks in the league semifinals.
On October 13, 2010, the RailCats left the Northern League, along with the RedHawks, T-Bones, and the Winnipeg Goldeyes to join the American Association for the 2011 season. [2]
| First Half | Second Half | Overall | ||||||||||||
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| Season | Division | W-L | Finish | W-L | Finish | W-L | Win% | Playoffs | ||||||
| 2002 | South | 16-28 | 5th | 18-27 | 3rd | 35-55 | .389 | Did not qualify | ||||||
| 2003 | East | 15-30 | 5th | 21-24 | 5th | 36-54 | .400 | Did not qualify | ||||||
| 2004 | South | 13-35 | 5th | 18-30 | 5th | 31-65 | .323 | Did not qualify | ||||||
| 2005 | South | 27-21 | 3rd | 27-21 | 3rd | 54-42 | .563 | Won championship | ||||||
| 2006 | South | 24-24 | 2nd | 27-22 | 1st | 51-46 | .526 | Lost championship | ||||||
| 2007 | South | 30-18 | 1st | 28-20 | 1st | 58-38 | .604 | Won championship | ||||||
| 2008 | N/A | 56-40 | 2nd | N/A | N/A | 56-40 | .583 | Lost championship | ||||||
| 2009 | N/A | 57-39 | 1st | N/A | N/A | 57-39 | .594 | Lost championship | ||||||
| 2010 | N/A | 52-48 | 4th | N/A | N/A | 52-48 | .520 | Lost in 1st round | ||||||
| 2011 | Central | 54-46 | 2nd | N/A | N/A | 54-46 | .540 | Did not qualify | ||||||
| Active (22-man) roster | Coaches/Other | ||||||||
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Manager
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Disabled list |
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| Jackie Robinson | Joe Gates[4] |
| 2B Retired throughout professional baseball on April 15, 1997 |
1B Coach Retired by the Gary SouthShore RailCats on May 21, 2010 |
* nlfan.com - yearly league standings & awards
| Achievements | ||
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| Preceded by St. Paul Saints 2004 |
Northern League Champions Gary SouthShore RailCats 2005 |
Succeeded by Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 2006 |
| Preceded by Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 2006 |
Northern League Champions Gary SouthShore RailCats 2007 |
Succeeded by Kansas City T-Bones 2008 |
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