История бейсбольной команды Скрантон/Уилкс-Барр: от Red Barons до Yankees

Minor League Baseball team in Moosic, Pennsylvania

Over three decades after Minor League Baseball left the Scranton/Wilkes Barre area, the Maine Phillies were relocated from Old Orchard Beach, Maine, to Lackawanna County in 1989. A group from Scranton, called Northeast Baseball, Inc. (NBI), purchased the team in 1987. The previous owner tried to renege on the sale, but after a lengthy court battle, NBI won control of the franchise and moved forward with its relocation. The Red Barons struggled in their early years, finishing under .500 in their first three seasons. In the playoffs, they defeated the Pawtucket Red Sox in the semifinals but lost the league championship versus the Columbus Clippers. The 1999 Northern Division champion Red Barons were eliminated from the playoffs in the semifinals by the Charlotte Knights. In 2000, the team missed winning the division but qualified for the IL wild card spot. They defeated the Buffalo Bisons in the semifinals but fell to the Indianapolis Indians in the championship round. Another wild card berth in 2001 sent SWB back to the playoffs. They won the semifinals over Buffalo, 3–2, and advanced to face the Louisville RiverBats for the league title. After losing Game One of the series, the postseason came to abrupt end when it was cancelled in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Louisville, with a 1–0 series lead, was declared the champion. They made one more postseason appearance as the Red Barons and as a Phillies affiliate in 2006 via a division title win, but the Rochester Red Wings ended their championship hopes in the semifinals. Following the 2006 season, the Philadelphia Phillies ended their affiliation with the Red Barons and signed a player development contract with the Ottawa Lynx in anticipation of that team's move to Allentown's new Coca Cola Park as the Lehigh Valley IronPigs for the 2008 season.

In 2007, the club became the Triple A affiliate of the New York Yankees and rebranded as the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees. In 2008, the Yankees won another division title with an 88–56 record behind manager Dave Miley. After defeating Pawtucket in the semifinals, 3–1, the Yankees beat the Durham Bulls, 3–1, in the final round to earn the Governors' Cup, their first IL championship. SWB won the 2009 semifinals over the Gwinnett Braves, 3–1, but were swept by Durham in the finals, 3–0. The 2010 team was eliminated by Columbus in the semifinals. In November 2010, the Lackawanna County Multipurpose Stadium Authority voted to sell the SWB Yankees to Mandalay Baseball Properties, which planned a $40 million renovation of PNC Field. However, negotiations stalled the actual sale for over a year. The sale was finalized on April 26, 2012, with the franchise being sold to SWB Yankees LLC, an ownership entity that was a joint venture between the New York Yankees and Mandalay.

The SWB Yankees chose to temporarily relocate their operations for the 2012 season to allow major renovations to PNC Field to be completed in one season, rather than being spread over two to three years. The team based itself in Rochester, New York, at Frontier Field, home of Red Wings. They played their entire schedule on the road, often being designated as the home team at an opponent's ballpark. In addition to Frontier Field, the Yankees also played home games at Dwyer Stadium in Batavia, New York; Alliance Bank Stadium in Syracuse, New York; Coca Cola Field in Buffalo, New York; Coca Cola Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania; and McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The team was known as the Empire State Yankees in the 2012 season for promotional purposes, though it retained its official SWB Yankees moniker. After missing the playoffs in 2011, the Yankees returned in 2012 by winning the Northern Division title, but they were eliminated by Pawtucket in the semifinals.

In anticipation of their return to the renovated PNC Field in 2013, a name the team contest was launched to select a new moniker for the SWB franchise. Among the finalists were "Blast", "Black Diamond Bears", "Fireflies", "Porcupines", and "Trolley Frogs". The chosen name, "RailRiders", is in reference to Northeastern Pennsylvania being home to the first trolley system in the United States. Although RailRiders received the most first place votes by fans, Porcupines received the most overall fan votes on the ballots ranked one through three. As a result, a porcupine was incorporated in the RailRiders' logos. The 2013 and 2014 RailRiders finished under .500 and did not qualify for the postseason. The RailRiders returned to the playoffs in 2015 with a Northern Division title win, but they were swept out of the semifinals by Indianapolis. After nine seasons, six division titles, and one league championship, the 2015 season was the last for Dave Miley as the team's manager. SWB finished with a league best 91–52 record and another Northern Division title. They swept Lehigh Valley, 3–0, in the semifinals and won their second Governors' Cup over Gwinnett, 3–1. The IL championship qualified them for the Triple A National Championship Game versus the El Paso Chihuahuas, where they won, 3–1, claiming their second Triple A championship. The 2017 RailRiders won the division title and defeated Lehigh Valley in the semifinals but lost the IL championship to Durham. The 2018 club made another postseason run via a wild card berth. Like in the previous season, they advanced to the finals by beating Lehigh Valley but again lost in the finals to Durham. The RailRiders finished the 2019 season tied for first place with the Syracuse Mets, each with a 75–65 record. On September 3, SWB defeated Syracuse in a one game playoff, 14–13, to win the Northern Division title. They were, however, swept in the playoff semifinals by Durham. The start of the 2020 season was initially postponed due to the COVID 19 pandemic before being cancelled altogether. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the RailRiders were organized into the Triple A East. No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead, the team with the best regular season record was declared the winner. SWB placed third in the league standings with a 68–49 record under manager Doug Davis, who had been with the club as a coach since 2017. However, 10 games that had been postponed from the start of the season were reinserted into the schedule as a postseason tournament called the Triple A Final Stretch in which all 30 Triple A clubs competed for the highest winning percentage. In December 2021, SWB Investors sold their 50% stake in the club to Diamond Baseball Holdings. In 2022, the Triple A East became known as the International League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. Davis returned to the club for his second season as manager, leading the team to an 83–67 record, finishing second in the ten team East Division.

The RailRiders' primary home uniform is white with navy blue pinstripes, mirroring those of the New York Yankees. The team's road uniform is gray with "RailRiders" across the jersey's chest and is worn with a navy cap with a white interlocking "SWB" logo. An alternate solid navy jersey was introduced in 2022, featuring the white interlocking "SWB" crest on the left chest and a white interlocking New York Yankees "NY" logo on the right sleeve. These are worn with the navy cap feature the same "SWB" logo.

SWB's first radio play by play announcer was Kent Westling, a former local television sportscaster who previously worked on telecasts of the St. Louis Blues hockey team. While cutting back on his schedule in later years, he retired following the 2007 season after having called over 2,000 games since the team's inaugural 1989 campaign. Mike Vander Woude served as the team's second play by play announcer from 2008 until 2012. He was followed by John Sadak from 2013 to 2017. Adam Marco has been the "Voice of the RailRiders" since 2018. All RailRiders home and road games are broadcast by WICK across their five frequencies in Northeastern Pennsylvania: 1400 WICK (Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties), 1440 WCDL (Lackawanna County and Pocono Lake Region), 93.5 FM (Scranton and Northern Lackawanna County), 106.7 FM (Wayne and Pike Counties), and 107.9 FM (Lackawanna County).

Eight players, five managers, and two executives have won league awards in recognition for their performance with Scranton/Wilkes Barre in the International League. +International League awardsAwardRecipientSeasonRef. (Reference)Most Valuable Player2005Rookie of the Year199819966199671997–20018200120019200120012001–2004102005112006122007–2015132016–2017142018152019162020–2022172023–present

The Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders are owned by Diamond Baseball Holdings, a subsidiary of the investment firm Silver Lake, previously a subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. Prior to the Diamond Baseball Holdings ownership, the Railriders were owned by SWB Yankees LLC, a joint venture between Yankee Global Enterprises and SWB Investors LLC and was previously a joint venture between Yankee Global Enterprises and Mandalay Baseball Properties until Mandalay sold its stake in SWB Yankees LLC to SWB Investors LLC. Yankee Global Enterprises is the owner of the RailRiders' parent club the New York Yankees and SWB Investors LLC was the local ownership group that handled the day to day operations of the RailRiders. The joint venture's name comes from the name SWB Yankees, an alternate name that was used by the RailRiders when they were known as the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees to distinguish themselves from their MLB affiliate, the New York Yankees. Yankee Global Enterprises and SWB Investors LLC each owned 50% in the SWB Yankees LLC joint venture, automatically gave each 50% ownership in the RailRiders. SWB Investors LLC's 50% stake in the SWB Yankees LLC joint venture was originally held by Mandalay Baseball Properties. Former MLB pitcher Andy Ashby was one of the team's owner investors.