Long Island Ducks

Long Island Ducks
Team logo Cap insignia
League	Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (Liberty Division)
Location	Central Islip, New York
Ballpark	Bethpage Ballpark
Year founded	1998
League championships	(3) 2004, 2012, 2013
Division championships	(4) 2004, 2011, 2012, 2013
Colors	Black, green, orange, white
Ownership	Frank Boulton, Bud Harrelson, Seth Waugh
Manager	Kevin Baez
General Manager	Michael Pfaff
Media	New York Newsday
Website	www.liducks.com

The Long Island Ducks are an American professional baseball team based in Central Islip, New York. They are a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Since the 2000 season, the Ducks have played their home games at Bethpage Ballpark - formerly known as EAB Park, Citibank Park, and Suffolk County Sports Park.

The "Ducks" name refers to Long Island's duck-farming heritage, which is further represented by the Big Duck ferrocement. The Big Duck is in Suffolk County, in which Central Islip is also located.^[1]

The Ducks set the independent league baseball single-season attendance record at the time by welcoming 443,142 fans during the 2001 season. This surpassed the previous record of 436,361 fans which the team had also set in 2000. The Ducks reached the 5 million fan mark in attendance in July 2011 and welcomed their Atlantic League record 6 millionth fan in mid-2014.

Bud Harrelson, a 1971 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner, is a part-owner of the Ducks. He was the first manager of the team following a stint as the New York Mets manager.

History

Residents of Long Island anticipated the arrival of professional baseball for many years, until the Ducks' inaugural 2000 season. The New York Mets and the New York Yankees own the territorial rights to keep an affiliated team, Major or Minor League, from moving within a certain distance of their respective ballparks.

Baseball fans on Long Island enthusiastically support the Ducks, and the team has led the Atlantic League in attendance in 12 of their 14 seasons. In 2007, team owner Frank Boulton expressed his contentment with the Ducks to Baseball America saying, "The Long Island Ducks are the best thing I've ever done in baseball."^[2]

Along with their success at the gate, the Ducks celebrated their first Atlantic League championship in 2004 when they defeated the Camden Riversharks in a three-game sweep to capture the Atlantic League Championship Series. Outfielder Justin Davies was named Championship Series Most Valuable Player. That summer, shortstop Kevin Baez was named the MVP of the Atlantic League All-Star Game, which was also held at Camden's Campbell's Field.

On Monday, November 10, 2009, the Ducks announced that former Major Leaguer and Hall-of-Famer Gary Carter would be the new manager for the 2009 season. That year, he led the Ducks to a 74-66 record along with the Second Half Liberty Division championship. It would be the sixth consecutive season that the Ducks reached the postseason. After Carter's passing in 2012, the Ducks honored his memory by dedicating the season to their former skipper and wearing a commemorative #8 patch on their uniforms all season long.

Former MLB All-stars Dontrelle Willis^[3] and Ramon Castro^[4] signed with the Ducks in 2013. Among the other former Major Leaguers on Long Island's roster in 2013 were Ben Broussard, Leo Rosales, Josh Barfield, Bill Hall, Bryant Nelson, Ian Snell and Lew Ford.

Logos and uniforms

The official colors of the Long Island Ducks are black, green, orange, and white. The primary logo features the "Ducks" wordmark in orange with black outline. The wordmark begins with a stylized, cartoon duck head in the form of a capital, cursive "D."

The Ducks wear caps produced by FlexFit and uniforms by Rawlings. The home caps are black throughout with the duck head logo centered on the front. The away caps are black with an orange brim and the duck head logo. The batting helmets are black with the webbed-foot logo.

The home jersey is white with black pinstripes with the "Ducks" wordmark centered across the front. The numbering on the jersey is primarily in green with white outline and black drop shadow. The away jerseys are grey with the "Long Island" cursive wordmark centered across in green with white and orange outline. The numbering is in green with white outline and orange drop shadow. The alternate is an orange jersey with the "Ducks" word mark centered across the chest.

Season-by-season records

Long Island Ducks - 2004 to 2015[5]
Season	W - L Record	Winning Percentage	Finish	Playoffs
2000	82-58	.586	3rd in North Division	Did Not Make Playoffs
2001	62-64	.492	1st in North Division	Did Not Make Playoffs
2002	65-61	.516	2nd in North Division	Did Not Make Playoffs
2003	67-59	.532	1st in North Division	Did Not Make Playoffs
2004	65-61	.516	3rd in North Division	5-1 (Won Championship)
2005	67-73	.479	1st in North Division	1-2 (Lost Division Final)
2006	73-53	.579	2nd in North Division	0-2 (Lost Division Final)
2007	72-54	.571	1st in North Division	0-2 (Lost Division Final)
2008	71-69	.507	1st in Liberty Division	0-2 (Lost Division Final)
2009	74-66	.529	1st in Liberty Division	2-3 (Lost Division Final)
2010	70-68	.507	3rd in Liberty Division	Did Not Make Playoffs
2011	78-47	.624	1st in Liberty Division	4-4 (Lost Championship Series)
2012	63-74	.460	3rd in Liberty Division	6-4 (Won Championship)
2013	63-77	.450	2nd in Liberty Division	6-2 (Won Championship)
2014	73-67	.521	2nd in Liberty Division	Did Not Make Playoffs
2015	80-59	.576	2nd in Liberty Division	2-3 (Lost Division Final)
2016	72-68	.514	2nd in Liberty Division	0-6 (Lost Championship to Sugar Land)
Totals (2000–2015)	1119-998	.526	11 Playoff Berths	3 Championships
Playoffs	24-26	.480	-	-

• 3 Atlantic League Championships (2004, 2012, 2013)

Back-to-back championships

The Long Island Ducks won back-to-back Atlantic League championships in 2012 and 2013. They became the third consecutive team in Atlantic League history to win back-to-back league titles after the Somerset Patriots accomplished the feat in 2008 and 2009 and the York Revolution did so in 2010 and 2011. It was Long Island's second and third league championships, respectively, giving them the second-most titles in Atlantic League history behind Somerset's six.

The Atlantic League uses a split-season format to determine playoff berths. The league consists of two divisions with four teams each. The division winners in the first half play the division winners in the second half of the season in a five-game divisional playoff. Then, the first-round winners meet in a five-game championship series. As customary in split-season playoff formats, the winners of the first half division are guaranteed a playoff berth. If a team wins both halves, a wild card team is selected to compete in the playoffs against said team. The wild card team is the one with the best overall record, regardless of division, who has failed to win either half of its division.

In 2012, the Ducks won the First Half Liberty Division title with a 39–30 record. It marked the second consecutive season in which the Ducks won the first-half title and was their third-consecutive half-season division title. In the playoffs, they defeated the second-half winner Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in five games during the Liberty Division Championship Series and then upset the Lancaster Barnstormers, who had won a then-league record 88 games that year, in the Atlantic League Championship Series. Long Island rallied from 1–0 and 2–1 series deficits to win the series in five games on a walk-off bunt single by shortstop Dan Lyons in the bottom of the ninth, scoring Matt Esquivel as the winning run from third. For his efforts in Game Five, as well as his game-winning three-run triple in the ninth inning of Game Two, Lyons was named Championship Series Most Valuable Player.

In 2013, the Ducks successfully defended their Atlantic League championship to earn their second consecutive title. After failing to clinch a playoff spot in the first half, the Ducks won the Second Half Liberty Division title by a game and a half over the Bridgeport Bluefish, which guaranteed Long Island its third consecutive playoff berth and ninth in 10 years. The Ducks were helped by the late-season signing of former Major Leaguer Lew Ford, who had played in the Majors as recently as 2012 and had been released by the Baltimore Orioles in late August 2013. He had a hit in 16 of the 17 regular season games he participated in and went on to bat .412 in the playoffs.

In the postseason, the Ducks defeated the Blue Crabs for the third consecutive season in the Liberty Division Championship Series by sweeping the three-game series. Long Island won games one and two at home before claiming the series clincher in Southern Maryland. The Ducks went on to face the Somerset Patriots in the Atlantic League Championship Series after the Patriots swept the Sugar Land Skeeters, who had won a league record 95 games during the regular season, in the first round. Long Island defeated Somerset in the first two games at home while the Patriots took the next two games in their park, setting up a decisive game five at Somerset's TD Bank Ballpark. The Ducks won the game 6-4 with the help of a three-run home run in the top of the fourth by Ray Navarrete, giving the Ducks a 4–1 lead that they would never relinquish. In a league where player turnover is high, as it consists of players frequently being signed by Major League organizations, Navarrete played for the Ducks from 2006 to 2013. He was their longest tenured player and holds most of the team's offensive records. He had announced earlier in the season that the 2013 season would be his last in professional baseball, and hit his game-winning home run came in his final game as an active player. Right-handed starter John Brownell was named Championship Series Most Valuable Player after he earned wins in both Game One and the decisive Game Five, pitching into the ninth inning of the final game.

Ferry Cup

The Long Island Ducks contend with the Bridgeport Bluefish over the Ferry Cup, which is sponsored by the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company. The two teams border on the Long Island Sound, and many fans of both teams regularly cross it to support them. The current Bluefish/Ducks rivalry record is 135-133 in favor of Bridgeport.

Radio

All Friday & Saturday games are broadcast on 103.9 FM LI News Radio along with a select Game of the Week. The remaining games, including all home games, are broadcast over the Ducks' official YouTube channel and website. Michael Polak, Chris King, David Weiss and Chris Buckley currently serve as the team's official broadcasters.

Mascot

The Long Island Ducks' official mascot is an anthropomorphic duck named QuackerJack. He wears the Ducks' full home white uniform with green and white sneakers. He debuted on March 18, 2000 at then-Citibank Park.^[6] His name alludes to a popular baseball game food produced by the Cracker Jack brand, and the quacking sound of a duck.

Current roster

Long Island Ducks roster
Active (25-man) roster				Coaches/Other
Pitchers -- Kevin Vance -- Dan Blewett 7 John Brownell 13 Frank DeJiulio, Jr. 14 Patrick Crider 18 Bobby Blevins 23 Darin Downs 24 Nick Struck 38 Amalio Diaz 39 Jack Snodgrass		Catchers 9 Mike Blanke Infielders 2 Cody Puckett 12 Dan Lyons 25 Sean Burroughs Outfielders -- Blake Tekotte 5 Delta Cleary, Jr. 20 Lew Ford 22 Fehlandt Lentini 27 Anthony Vega		Manager 10 Kevin Baez Coaches 20 Lew Ford (bench) 3 Bud Harrelson (first base) 36 Marty Janzen (pitching) Disabled list ‡ Inactive list § Suspended list Roster updated March 24, 2016 Transactions

Retired numbers

4 (Justin Davies)

Outfielder and franchise record holder for stolen bases. Retired on June 18, 2015

16 (Ray Navarrete)

Utility player and franchise record holder for runs, hits, home runs, RBI, and doubles. Retired on August 16, 2015

42 (Jackie Robinson)

Second baseman. Retired throughout professional baseball on April 15, 1997

References

1. Determining the Facts Reading 1: Representational Architecture, Roadside Attractions, National Park Service.
2. Baseball America's 2007 Independent organization of the year
3. "Dontrelle Willis Joins Long Island".
4. "Ramon Castro Inked by Ducks".
5. Atlantic League information
6. "QuackerJack". Long Island Ducks. Retrieved June 11, 2011.

External links

• Long Island Ducks (official website)
• Atlantic League of Professional Baseball