Charleston RiverDogs

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Charleston RiverDogs

Location:	Charleston, South Carolina
Established:	1980
MLB Affiliation:	New York Yankees
League:	South Atlantic League
Level:	A
Ballpark:	Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park
Championships:
Division Titles:	4
Wild Card:

The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team that plays in the South Atlantic League, and are a Single-A affiliate to the New York Yankees.

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

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Franchise History

The RiverDogs were originally formed in 1980 under the name of the Charleston Royals, and were a farm team of the Kansas City Royals. In their first season as the Royals they won the South Atlantic League's Southern Division championship, but fell in the playoffs against Greensboro. Like the Pirates, the Royals were known for their pitching, because in 1981 pitcher Jeffery Gladden led the league with a 2.09 ERA. In 1982 batting may have caught up with the pitching as pitcher Danny Jackson led the league with a 10-1 record and slugger Cliff Pastornicky paced the South Atlantic League with a .343 batting average. In 1983 Mark Pirruccello set a single-season team record with 25 home runs. 1984 was an exciting season for Charleston as the city hosted the all-star game in which Tom Glavine and Pat Borders played in. On the field the Royals went on to win the Southern Division and Kevin Seitzer was named league MVP.

In 1985 the Royals were renamed the Rainbows and became affiliated with the San Diego Padres. 1985-1987 were building years as the Rainbows improved each season under a great pitching staff until 1988 when they won the Southern Division title, but were bounced in the first round of the playoffs. The 1988 season was powered by a pitching staff whose combined ERA equaled 2.07. 1988 was the last of the "good ol' days", because starting in 1989 the team suffered eleven consecutive losing seasons. In 1989 despite Pedro Martinez tying a team-record with a 1.97 ERA the Rainbows suffered a 46-96 record. Poor play on the field translated into a South Atlantic League record, when in 1990 pitcher Charles Thompson registered seventeen losses. 1994 saw the final name change as the Rainbows became the Riverdogs. Despite the name change the losing continued. 1997 saw the RiverDogs leave their 84 year old College Park stadium and move into the brand new 5,500 seat stadium, Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. The team also began its eight year affiliation with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1997. The "Joe" as it's nicknamed quickly saw a rise in total attendance setting a record of a 100,000 fan increase over just 1 year Finally, in 2000 the 'Dogs posted their first winning season since 1988. Despite missing the playoffs the RiverDogs continued posting losing seasons until 2003.

2003 saw the beginning of a new era as the RiverDogs played well on the field and posted a winning season for the first time since 2000. In 2004 the RiverDogs secured the wildcard spot in the playoffs bringing Charleston a playoff series for the first time in sixteen years. Charleston faced the hated rival Capital City in the first round, but were swept two games to none. The RiverDogs became a Class A affiliate with the New York Yankees on September 15, 2004. 2005 was another great season as the Riverdogs jumped out winning the first-half Southern Division Championship qualifying them for the playoffs for the first consecutive seasons in franchise history. The 2005 playoffs weren't as good to the RiverDogs as fans had hoped, because the RiverDogs fell to eventual champion the Kannapolis Intimidators two games to none. At the end of the 2005 season, Charleston was making an attempt to attract a Class AA team by expanding their stadium by a few hundred seats. 2006 saw a good performance on the field, but no playoffs as the RiverDogs posted a 78-62 record. In the current 2007 season the Riverdogs are in the mix for the second-half Southern Division Championship.

Through solid ownership, the RiverDogs are home to what is consistently voted one of the best ballparks in the Southeast, and also subsidizes ticket and refreshment sales, keeping prices low and contributing most of the proceeds generated from concessions to local schools and charities.

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