Harrisburg Senators
From SoSH
| Location: | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
| Established: | 1987 |
| MLB Affiliation: | Washington Nationals |
| League: | Eastern League |
| Level: | AA |
| Ballpark: | Commerce Bank Park |
| Championships: | 6 (1987, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999) |
| Division Titles: | 2 |
| Wild Card: |
The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The team, plays in the Eastern League, and is the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals.
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Franchise History
The Senators play in Commerce Bank Park, located on City Island in Harrisburg; originally opened in 1987 as Riverside Stadium, the stadium seats 6,302 fans. The "Senators" nickname refers to the host city being the capital and thus home of the Pennsylvania legislature. The team colors are red, navy blue, and gold, the same colors of the parent club, the Washington Nationals.
Harrisburg has won nine Eastern League titles and is the first team in league history to win four titles in a row: 1927, 1928, 1931, 1987, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999.
The city of Harrisburg has had a long history of baseball. In 1901, the first baseball club in Harrisburg is organized, and one year later, Chief Bender, a future Hall of Fame member pitches for the club for $125 per month. By 1912 the club would win the first of 3 Tri-State Association championships in a row. In 1915, Harrisburg would receive its first affiliated club, with a team from Newark, New Jersey for the then class "AA" International League moving to town. The club lasted one year before moving to the New York State League, and disbanding. For the next 7 years after that, sandlot teams played in Harrisburg.
The Original Senators
In 1924, a professional club would form, as the first incarnation of the Senators, and join the newly formed New York-Penn League, which would eventually be renamed the Eastern League. The team, and most teams in the league were initially independent from any affiliation from Major League teams. In 1925, Joe Munson hits a record .400 batting average, a record which stands to this day in Senators history, and 33 home runs, a Senators record that would last until 1999. At the same time, a Negro League team, the Harrisburg Giants had a legendary player also hit quite well, Oscar Charleston hit .430, all while managing the team as well. In 1927 the Senators would start a run of 3 Eastern League championships in 5 years, winning titles in 1927, 1928, and 1931. By 1932, the Senators begin an affiliation with the Boston Braves. The Senators would play a few more seasons before a flood washes away Island Field in 1936, effectively ending Eastern League participation for the next 51 years.
Another team representing Harrisburg would form 4 years later, though in the smaller, but affiliated Inter-State League, gaining affiliation with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Like the team before it, it gained success quickly, winning the league title one year later with stars Billy Cox and Dennis Taylor. The success however, would be short lived, as by 1943 the team moved down the road to York. Like before though, another team would quickly be formed, this time, affiliated with the Cleveland Indians. The team wasn't as successful, and by 1952, the team would disband, and any form of professional baseball would not be seen in Harrisburg for 35 years.
The Modern Day Senators
By the mid 1980's, recently elected mayor, Stephen Reed sought for a minor league team to be formed for Harrisburg, as a part of a plan to revitalize the city. By 1987, Harrisburg was able to build Commerce Bank Park (then known as Riverside Stadium), and was rewarded with the current version of the Eastern League Senators, having an affiliation with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The franchise previously played for four seasons in Nashua, New Hampshire, as the Nashua Pirates and Nashua Angels, and played in other cities, including Holyoke, Massachusetts, and Pittsfield, Massachusetts, prior to that.
Like the original Senators, success was quick, winning the Eastern League in its very first season. The affiliation with the Pirates lasted until 1991, when the Montreal Expos took over as the affiliate, the distinction the Senators has had with the team to this day, even after the Expos moved to Washington. The first several years of affiliation brought about much success, with championships in 1993, and 1996 through 1999, the only Eastern League team to have ever won 4 League championships in a row. Before the run in 1996, the previous owners of the Senators had plans of moving the team to Springfield, Massachusetts. To prevent the team from moving, the city of Harrisburg bought the team in 1995. By 2001, the Expos were bought by Major League Baseball with the intention of eliminating the team (along with the Minnesota Twins), and over time, the neglect of the Expos farm system made its way to the Senators. By 2004, Riverside Stadium was renamed Commerce Bank Park, as Commerce Bank bought the naming rights to the stadium.
Major League Affiliations
- Washington Nationals 2005-present
- Montreal Expos 1991-2004
- Pittsburgh Pirates 1987-1990
Franchise Names
- Harrisburg Senators (1987-present)
Notable Alumni
- Moises Alou
- Pedro Astacio
- Michael Barrett
- Miguel Batista
- Geoff Blum
- Milton Bradley
- Vladimir Guerrero
- Cliff Lee
- Guillermo Mota
- Brian Schneider
- Jose Vidro
- Jake Westbrook
- Rondell White
- Brad Wilkerson
- Ryan Zimmerman
Notable Red Sox Who Played Here
Trivia
- In 1952 the club signed twenty-four-year-old Eleanor Engle, a local (yes, female) stenographer to play shortstop, saying "She can hit a lot better than some of the fellows." For four days in June, Engle suited up for the Senators, but she never played.
- In 2003, pitcher Sueng Song pitched a no-hitter for the Senators, the first time in modern Senators history.
