Binghamton Mets

From SoSH

Binghamton Mets

Location:	Binghamton, New York
Established:	1992
MLB Affiliation:	New York Mets
League:	Eastern League
Level:	AA
Ballpark:	NYSEG Stadium
Championships:	2 (1992, 1994)
Division Titles:	2 (1994, 2000)
Wild Card:

The Binghamton Mets are a Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York in the United States. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets. The Mets play in NYSEG Stadium, located in Binghamton.

1 Franchise History
2 Major League Affiliations
3 Franchise Names
4 Notable Alumni
5 Notable Red Sox Who Played Here
6 External Links
7 See Also

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Franchise History

The current franchise began as the Williamsport Bills in 1987, but was affiliated with several different major-league teams during its five seasons. The parent New York Mets bought the Bills franchise in late 1990 and announced they would move the club a short distance north to Binghamton. The Bills played out their final season in Williamsport in 1991 while a new stadium was constructed. Then, in 1992, minor league baseball was back in the Triple Cities for the first time in 24 years. (The Binghamton Triplets, a New York Yankee affiliate, had played at Johnson Field in nearby Johnson City until 1968.)

In their first year as the Binghamton Mets, the team set a still-standing attendance record by drawing just over a quarter-million fans to the ballpark. They also proceeded to win the Eastern League championship.

In 1994, the New York parent club sold ownership of the team to a group of local investors led by Michael Urda. That year, the team went on to another EL title and a league-best record of 82-59. Binghamton also hosted the Double-A All-Star Game in July of that year. Former Mets farmhand Blaine Beatty, who was the losing pitcher in that All-Star Game, would serve as the B-Mets' pitching coach in 2005.

The Mets alternated between 2nd- and 4th-place finishes for the next four years, and although they made the playoffs with their runner-up showings in 1996 and 1998, they were eliminated in the first round both times.

After a dreadful season in 1999 where the team finished 38 games out of first place, the Mets pulled off a "worst-to-first" turnaround in 2000, winning the EL Northern Division but losing to New Haven in the playoffs. Binghamton posted identical 73-68 records in both 2001 and 2002 but failed to make the postseason.

The B-Mets made it back to the postseason in 2004, winning the EL Northern Division with a 76-66 record before losing in the first round of the playoffs to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats who, like the B-Mets, would go on to win the EL championship in their inaugural season.

A new video scoreboard was installed at NYSEG Stadium in time for the 2007 season and, despite finishing in last place, the B-Mets drew 230,053 fans, their best attendance figure since 1992.

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