North Shore Navigators
| North Shore Navigators | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| League | FCBL (East Division) | |||
| Location |
Lynn, MA (2008-present) Holyoke, MA (2004-2007) Middletown, CT (1994-2003) | |||
| Ballpark | Fraser Field (2008-present) | |||
| Year founded | 1994 | |||
| Nickname(s) | Navs | |||
| League championships | 4 NECBL (1997, 1998, 1999, 2010) | |||
| Regular-Season Division championships | 1 NECBL (2007) | |||
| Former name(s) |
Holyoke Giants (2004-2007) Middletown Giants (1994-2003) | |||
| Former league(s) |
NECBL (1994-2011)
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| Former ballparks |
Mackenzie Stadium (2004-2007) Palmer Field (1994-2003) | |||
| Colors |
Blue, White | |||
| Mascot | Chomps the 'Gator & High Seas Harry the Sailor | |||
| Ownership | Salvi Sports Enterprises | |||
| Management | Bill Terlecky (GM) | |||
| Manager | Richie Hebner | |||
| Media | Radio: Roei Biberstain | |||
| Website | nsnavs.com | |||
The North Shore Navigators are a wooden-bat, collegiate summer baseball team based in Lynn, Massachusetts, playing in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. The team plays home games at Fraser Field in Lynn. Formerly known as the Holyoke Giants, team ownership relocated the franchise to Lynn for the 2008 NECBL season. In the offseason following the 2011 NECBL season, a move to the Futures Collegiate Baseball League under new ownership, Salvi Sports New England, LLC, was announced.[1]
Prior to moving to Lynn, the Navigators, as the Giants, were a successful team in the NECBL's Northern Division. The franchise has existed since the NECBL's inception in 1994, and previously, as the Middletown Giants, won three consecutive NECBL Championships (1997, 1998, 1999 seasons), remaining the only team to have done so.
Team history
NECBL Charter Franchise
One of five charter franchises of the NECBL, the Navigators began their existence as the Middletown Giants, playing at Palmer Field in Middletown Connecticut. There, the Giants saw a great deal of success. The Giants finished the NECBL's inaugural 1994 regular season with the second-best record in the league, though the team did not qualify for the championship series under the league rules at the time. After a last-place showing in 1995, the Giants qualified for postseaon play in 1996, though they fell to the now-defunct Central Mass. Collegians.
The 1997 season saw the Giants finish tied for third place with a 19-21 record, qualifying the team for postseason play for the second straight year. Giant and future major-leaguer Earl Snyder was a NECBL player of the week in week one. After sweeping the Rhode Island Reds in a best-of-three series that saw two rain outs, the Giants went on to defeat the Torrington Twisters, a first-year expansion team, for the 1997 NECBL Championship, the Fay Vincent Cup. Middletown took game one 8-7 after a 13-inning marathon, marking one of the longest games in NECBL playoff history. After being shut-out 4-0 at home, the Giants defeated Torrington 8-5 in a decisive Game 3.
1998 again saw the Giants finish in third place. After sweeping the Danbury Westerners in the postseason, Middletown defeated Torrington three games to one in a best-of-five rematch of the 1997 series, marking the franchise's second straight league championship.
In 1999, the Giants had one of their most successful seasons in franchise history, fishing at 27-15, a half a game behind the first place Keene Swampbats. Middletown defeated the Rhode Island Reds two game to one, and defeated the Danbury Westerners three games to one for their third consecutive championship, marking the first (and only) time in NECBL history a team has one the championship three years in a row.
Post Championship Years
The 2000 season saw the Giants advance to the playoffs again after a fourth-place regular season record of 22-30, though they were knocked out in the semi-finals by Keene. In 2001, the Giants finished in fourth place, and with a losing record of 16-24, in the newly created American Division, as the NECBL expanded to 10 teams. Attendance figures, however, continued to fall, as the Giants only brought in an average of 107 fans per game in 2001.
The NECBL moved to a short-lived three division alignment for 2002, which saw Middletown finish as runner-up in the Southern Division to the Newport Gulls. The team lost two straight games to Danbury in the first round of the playoffs, and was eliminated. In 2003, the Giants were swept by the Torrington Twisters in the first round.
Fan support continued to be less than desired, with the Giants averaging only half as many fans in the stands at home games as away games in 2003, and a substantial decline seen from the small gains made the previous two seasons. As both 2003 playoff games were played in Torrington, what would become the final Giants game at Palmer Field took place on July 21, 2003, where the Giants lost, 4-2, to the Newport Gulls. The game was attended by a moderate 326 fans.
Numerous team members of the Middletown era went on to play professional baseball, including major leaguers Rajai Davis, Chad Paronto, Mike Smith, Doug Clark, and Earl Snyder.
The Move to Holyoke
The Giants left Connecticut for Holyoke, MA in 2004, where they played their games at MacKenzie Stadium. The team saw success there in terms of attendance, averaging 548 fans a game, with a season total of 11,514. With a 17-25 record, though, the Giants failed to make the playoffs.
In 2005, the team fared better in the standings, at 23-19, and while attendance dropped off somewhat, the team saw its first playoff berth in Holyoke. 1,100 fans came out for Game 1 of the first round against the Vermont Mountaineers, though the Giants fell, 9-0, and went on to lost Game 2 in Vermont. Despite a losing season in 2006, the Giants again saw a playoff berth, though they were once again swept by the Mountaineers in the first round.
2007 saw one of the most successful seasons for the Giants in nearly a decade, as they finished at 26-16, amidst a battle for first place in the NECBL North. The first round of the playoffs had Holyoke paired up with the Lowell All-Americans, and in the longest three game series in NECBL history, the Giants came out on top. After winning Game 1 in 11 innings on a walk-off walk, the Lowell All-Americans won Game 2 on a walk-off single, in the bottom of the 15th inning. The series returned to Holyoke for Game 3, where, in 10 innings, a walk-off sacrifice fly sent the Giants to the Northern Division Championship Series.
Having finished the regular season in first place, the Giants had home field advantage for Game 1 against the Vermont Mountaineers, though lost 7-3. Game 2 seemed like it would be yet another extra inning contest for the Giants, but a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th by Vermont ended Holyoke's season.
North Shore Navigators
By December 2007, word had spread that the Giants would move to Lynn and play at Fraser Field under the name North Shore Navigators. Owner Phil Rosenfield announced the move in The Republican.[2] Fraser Field had been home to the North Shore Spirit of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, which ceased operation at the end of 2007 after five years. Rosenfield expressed regrets for leaving Holyoke and praised his staff. However, the Concord Quarry Dogs immediately took the Giants' place in Holyoke as the Holyoke Blue Sox (now known as the Valley Blue Sox).
The move to Lynn was the first move by the NECBL into Greater Boston area, having previously come no closer than Lowell. It also marked the abandonment of the original name of the last of the five charter NECBL teams.
The Navigators finished their first season in Lynn in second place in the NECBL Northern Division, at 26-16, two games behind eventual 2008 champion Sanford Mainers. The Navigators' 2.52 team ERA and .973 team fielding percentage were the best in the league. In the postseason, the Navigators were upset by the Keene Swampbats, who swept North Shore 11-7 in Lynn, then 1-0 in Keene. Home games were televised in several communities by LYNNCAM TV.
In 2009, the Navigators finished third in the East Division at 20-21. In a first-round matchup with the second-seeded Sanford Mainers, the Navigators split the first two games. In the decisive third game, the Navigators lost, 5-3.
In 2010, the Navigators finished second in the East Division at 25-17. They beat the Sanford Mainers, two games to one, to advance the East Finals against defending champion Newport Gulls. They dropped the first game in Newport, but they came back with a home victory to force a deciding third game, which North Shore pulled out on the road. The Navigators moved on to face the Danbury Westerners in the Championship Series. Both teams won a game at their home fields to set up a winner-take-all third game at Fraser Field in Lynn. The Navigators won a back-and-forth contest 5-4 to secure the team's 4th NECBL crown, the first as the Navigators.
League switch
On February 8, 2012, the Futures Collegiate Baseball League announced via Twitter that the Navigators would be switching leagues from the New England Collegiate Baseball League. The switch came after an ownership change, as Pat Salvi's Salvi Sports New England, LLC, purchased the team from former owner Tim Haley. Salvi also owns the Gary SouthShore Railcats, a independent professional baseball team based in Gary, Indiana.[1]
Postseason Appearances
NECBL
| Year | Division Semi-Finals* | Division Finals* | NECBL Championship Series | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middletown Giants | ||||||
| 1996 | Central Mass Collegians | L (1-2) | ||||
| 1997 | Rhode Island Reds | W (2-0) | Torrington Twisters | W (2-1) | ||
| 1998 | Danbury Westerners | W (2-0) | Torrington Twisters | W (3-1) | ||
| 1999 | Rhode Island Reds | W (2-1) | Danbury Westerners | W (3-1) | ||
| 2000 | Keene Swamp Bats | L (1-2) | ||||
| 2002 | Danbury Westerners | L (0-2) | ||||
| 2003 | Torrington Twisters | L (0-2) | ||||
| Holyoke Giants | ||||||
| 2005 | Vermont Mountaineers | L (0-2) | ||||
| 2006 | Vermont Mountaineers | L (0-2) | ||||
| 2007 | Lowell All-Americans | W (2-1) | Vermont Mountaineers | L (0-2) | ||
| North Shore Navigators | ||||||
| 2008 | Keene Swamp Bats | L (0-2) | ||||
| 2009 | Sanford Mainers | L (1-2) | ||||
| 2010 | Sanford Mainers | W (2-1) | Newport Gulls | W (2-1) | Danbury Westerners | W (2-1) |
| 2011 | Sanford Mainers | L (1-2) | ||||
- *The NECBL did not separate into divisions until 2001. In 1994, a points system was used. From 1995 - 2000, the top four teams played each other in a league semi-final.
FCBL
| Year | Play-In Round** | Semi-Final Round* | FCBL Championship | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Torrington Titans | W (2-1) | Nashua Silver Knights | L (0-2) | ||
| 2013 | Brockton Rox | L (0-1) | ||||
- *The FCBL changed its postseason to a two-round format starting in the 2012 season
- ** A one-game Play-In round was added in the 2013 season
References and notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cornetta, Kat H. (8 February 2012). "North Shore Navigators Move To Futures League". College Baseball Daily. Archived from the original on 2012-02-09. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
- ↑
External links
- Official website of the North Shore Navigators
- Official Blog of the North Shore Navigators
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