Clearwater Threshers

The Clearwater Threshers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Class A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Clearwater, Florida, and have played their home games at Spectrum Field since 2004. They previously played at Jack Russell Memorial Stadium from 1985 to 2003.

Clearwater Threshers
Founded in 1985
Clearwater, Florida
Team logoCap insignia
Minor league affiliations
ClassClass A (from 2021)
Previous classesClass A-Advanced (1990–2020)
Class A (1985–1989)
LeagueFlorida State League (1985–present)
DivisionNorth Division
Major league affiliations
TeamPhiladelphia Phillies (1985–present)
Minor league titles
League titles (2)
  • 1993
  • 2007
Division titles (3)
  • 1991
  • 1996
  • 2007
Team data
NameClearwater Threshers (2004–present)
Previous names
Clearwater Phillies (1985–2003)
MascotPhinley
BallparkSpectrum Field (2004–present)
Previous parks
Jack Russell Memorial Stadium (1985–2003)
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
Philadelphia Phillies
General ManagerJason Adams[1]
ManagerShawn Williams

The team began play in 1985 as the Clearwater Phillies and were named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. Clearwater became the Threshers in 2004 when the team moved to the new Spectrum Field.

Clearwater Phillies

Clearwater city officials approached the Philadelphia Phillies as early as 1981 about locating a Phillies minor league affiliate at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater. In July 1982, in a visit to Philadelphia, Clearwater city officials and the president of the Florida State League again asked the Philadelphia Phillies about affiliating with a team to be based in Clearwater. The Amateur Softball Association Clearwater Bombers had long used Jack Russell Stadium during the summer months when the field would be reconfigured for softball. The placement of a minor league baseball team would mean the relocation of the Bombers.[2]

The Florida State League granted the city of Clearwater a franchise on September 26, 1984.[3] The Clearwater Phillies began play in 1985 after the Philadelphia Phillies ended their affiliation with their High Class A minor league team, the Carolina League Peninsula Pilots, based in Hampton, Virginia, and placed their new team at Jack Russell Stadium. The Philadelphia Phillies owned the franchise and named the club the Clearwater Phillies. The Clearwater Phillies played their first game on April 12, 1985, at home, against the Tampa Tarpons.[4]

The club played as the Clearwater Phillies through the 2003 season. The Phillies planned to leave Jack Russell Memorial Stadium after the 2003 season to move into a new ballpark, Spectrum Field, adjacent to the Carpenter Complex, the Phillies' minor league training facility. With the move to the new ballpark, the Clearwater Phillies were renamed the "Threshers" and adopted a new team logo and colors.

Threshers and Spectrum Field

In 2004, the Clearwater Threshers were managed by former Phillies player and Hall of Famer, Mike Schmidt. Greg Legg managed the team in 2005 and 2006. Dave Huppert was the manager in 2007, and Razor Shines in 2008. Ernie Whitt was named the manager for the 2009 season after Shines was promoted to base coach for the New York Mets.

In 2007, the Threshers won the second half in the FSL West Division. They defeated the Sarasota Reds (2–1) in the FSL West Division Playoffs, then defeated the Brevard County Manatees 3 games to 1 in the FSL Championship Series (best-of-five) to win the FSL title. The Threshers were named MiLB.com's Class A Advanced Team of the Year.[5]

A single-game attendance record of 9,090 was set on July 3, 2008.[6]

On July 26, 2009, Pedro Martínez made a rehab start for the Threshers against the St. Lucie Mets at Spectrum Field. Martinez pitched 1​1⁄3 innings before rain caused the game to be canceled, wiping out the official record of his start.[7] Martinez subsequently moved to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs for his next start.

On May 23, 2011, The Threshers gained national attention after playing in a 23-inning game against the Jupiter Hammerheads.[8]

Season-by-season

These statistics are current through the 2018 season.[9]

Full season
Year League Division Regular season Postseason
Finish Wins Losses Win% GB
Clearwater Phillies
1985 FSL West 4th 69 72 .489 14
1986 FSL West 3rd 63 74 .460 25.5
1987 FSL West 3rd 66 70 .485 16

Split season
League champions † Finals appearance * Division winner ^ Wild card berth ¤
Year League Division Regular season Post-season
1st half 2nd half
Finish Wins Losses Win% GB Finish Wins Losses Win% GB
Clearwater Phillies
1988 FSL West 5th 25 44 .362 9.5 5th 27 42 .391 13.5
1989 FSL West 4th 34 36 .486 6 5th 23 43 .348 17.5
1990 FSL West 5th 23 46 .333 17.5 5th 27 41 .397 13
1991 FSL West 1st ^ 42 23 .646 — 1st ^ 39 26 .600 — Won semifinals (St. Lucie) 2–1
Lost finals (West Palm Beach) 0–2 *
1992 FSL West 2nd 38 31 .551 12 2nd ¤ 37 28 .569 4 Won quarterfinals (Dunedin) 2–0
Lost semifinals (Lakeland) 0–2
1993 FSL West 1st ^ 44 24 .647 — 5th 31 36 .463 13.5 Won semifinals (Charlotte) 2–1
Won finals (St. Lucie) 3–1 †
1994 FSL West 5th 36 33 .522 9 3rd 36 29 .554 5.5
1995 FSL West 2nd 38 32 .543 3 2nd 41 27 .603 3
1996 FSL West 1st ^ 44 26 .629 — 5th 31 36 .463 11.5 Won semifinals (Tampa) 2–0
Lost finals (St. Lucie) 1–3 *
1997 FSL West 7th 31 38 .449 11.5 4th 39 30 .565 4.5
1998 FSL West 3rd 42 28 .600 4.5 2nd 40 30 .571 6.5
1999 FSL West 1st ^ 46 23 .667 — 7th 31 36 .463 9.5 Lost semifinals (Dunedin) 1–2
2000 FSL West 4th 37 33 .529 3.5 7th 27 38 .415 15.5
2001 FSL West 3rd 32 35 .478 2.5 4th 36 34 .514 11
2002 FSL West 6th 22 50 .306 21 3rd 35 29 .547 8
2003 FSL West 2nd 37 31 .544 6 2nd 35 30 .538 2.5
Clearwater Threshers
2004 FSL West 6th 25 45 .357 16 4th 30 36 .455 8.5
2005 FSL West 6th 17 50 .254 28 6th 24 45 .348 17.5
2006 FSL West 5th 31 38 .449 6.5 3rd 36 34 .514 6
2007 FSL West 3rd 39 31 .557 4 1st ^ 44 26 .629 — Won semifinals (Sarasota) 2–1
Won finals (Brevard County) 3–1 †
2008 FSL West 6th 32 38 .457 13.5 5th 32 38 .457 17
2009 FSL North 4th 32 34 .485 9 4th 35 35 .500 14
2010 FSL North 3rd 37 33 .529 4 6th 30 39 .435 13
2011 FSL North 2nd 39 30 .565 7.5 3rd 36 33 .522 2.5
2012 FSL North 3rd 38 30 .559 5.5 3rd 36 30 .545 1
2013 FSL North 4th 35 33 .515 3 3rd 32 35 .578 11.5
2014 FSL North 6th 17 51 .250 28.5 4th 32 38 .457 10
2015 FSL North 1st ^ 37 33 .529 — 1st ^ 42 25 .627 — Lost semifinals (Daytona) 0–2
2016 FSL North 2nd 39 29 .574 2.5 2nd 43 25 .632 1
2017 FSL North 2nd 38 32 .543 1 4th 29 39 .426 18.5
2018 FSL North 4th 32 36 .471 6 1st ^ 45 24 .652 — Lost semifinals (Daytona) 0–2
Statistic Wins Losses Win %
Regular season record (1985–2018) 2,316 2,329 .499
Postseason record (1985–2017) 18 18 .500
All-time regular and postseason record 2,334 2,347 .499

Roster
Clearwater Threshers roster
Players Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 23 Kyle Arjona
  • 29 Gustavo Armas
  • 11 Andrew Brown
  • 49 Ethan Evanko
  • -- Nick Fanti
  • 16 Kyle Glogoski
  • 13 Michael Gomez
  • -- Tyler Hallead
  • 37 Keylan Killgore
  • 30 Ethan Lindow
  • 66 Omar Maldonado
  • 39 Oscar Marcelino
  • 22 James MacArthur
  • 44 Jack Perkins
  • 34 Alejandro Requena
  • -- Waylon Richardson
  •  8 Austin Ross
  • 33 Zach Warren
  • -- Kyle Young

Catchers

  • -- Edgar Cabral
  • 19 Rodolfo Duran
  • -- Willie Estrada
  • 10 Colby Fitch
  • 24 Rafael Marchan
  •  7 Nick Matera
  • -- Gabriel Ojeda

Infielders

  • 21 Daniel Brito
  • 46 Dalton Guthrie
  • 45 Matt Kroon
  •  3 Luke Miller
  • 17 Madison Stokes

Outfielders

  • 15 Ben Aklinski
  • 12 Simon Muzziotti
  • 26 Jhailyn Ortiz
  • 28 Matt Vierling

Manager

Coaches

  • 41 Chris Heintz (hitting)
  • -- Mycal Jones (coach)
  • -- Héctor Mercado (pitching)


7-day injured list
* On Philadelphia Phillies 40-man roster
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporary inactive list
Roster updated February 16, 2020
 Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB • Florida State League
 → Philadelphia Phillies minor league players

Notable Clearwater Phillies and Threshers alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame alumni

Notable alumni

Former coaches and trainers
  • Mike Schmidt (manager – 2004) W-L: 55–81
  • Greg Legg (manager 2005–2006) W-L: 108–167
  • Dave Huppert (manager 2007) W-L: 83–57 / League Champions
  • Razor Shines (manager 2008) W-L: 64–76
  • Manny Amador (bench coach 2004)
  • Ken Dominguez (bench coach 2005)
  • Dan Roberts (hitting coach 2004–2005)
  • Greg Gross (hitting coach 2006)
  • Brad Komminsk (hitting coach 2007)
  • Scott Lovekamp (pitching coach 2005–2006)
  • Steve Schrenk (pitching coach 2004 and 2007–2008)
  • Shawn Fcasni (trainer)
  • Jason Kirkman (trainer)
  • Ichiro Kitano (trainer)
  • Chris Mudd (trainer)

References
  1. "Jason Adams Named Clearwater Threshers GM". Ballpark Digest. October 25, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
  2. Brew, Tom (1982-09-03). "Minor league team sought for Clearwater". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  3. Brew, Tom (1984-09-26). "It's time for Bombers to move on". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  4. Henderson, Robert (1985-04-09). "Clearwater Phillies' debut is right around the corner". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  5. Hill, Benjamin (2007-10-08). "Threshers came together at right time: Team of the Year award follows end of championship drought". MLB.com. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  6. Clearwater Threshers (2008-07-03). "Phantastic! Threshers walk off in front of record crowd". Clearwater Threshers. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  7. Hagan, Paul (2009-07-27). "Pedro Martínez has rain-shortened start with Phillies' minor leaguers". Philadelphia Daily News. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  8. "Minor League game goes 23 innings". Espn.com.
  9. Florida State League 2016 Media Guide & Record Book. Florida State League. 2016. pp. 69–81.

Further reading
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