Lehigh Valley IronPigs

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs were founded in 1993 as the Ottawa Lynx, who played at Ottawa Baseball Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario from 1993 to 2007 before moving to Allentown. As the Lynx, the team was affiliated with the Montreal Expos from 1993 to 2002, the Baltimore Orioles from 2003 to 2006, and the Philadelphia Phillies for the 2007 season only. The Lynx were the only International League franchise based in Canada at the time of their existence, and during the club's last years there, the team had difficulty attracting fans. The Phillies were unhappy with the local ownership of their previous affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, and affiliated with the Lynx when the Orioles ended their relationship. The Red Barons are now the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and serve as the affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Phillies signed a one-year Player Development Contract (PDC) with the Lynx while Coca-Cola Park was being constructed, and relocated the team to Allentown upon its completion. The IronPigs have been extremely well received in Allentown, given the Phillies' large fan base there, and the move permits Phillies' players to rehab without significant transportation time. The name "IronPigs" was well received by the fans in the Lehigh Valley.

View from the club level at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania, home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Prior to the arrival of the IronPigs, the Lehigh Valley had not had a Minor League-affiliated baseball team since 1960, when the Allentown Red Sox left for Johnstown.[3] The Allentown Red Sox played at Breadon Field (later called Max Hess Stadium) from 1958 to 1960, at the site where the Lehigh Valley Mall stands today.[4]

The region was previously home to two independent baseball teams: the Allentown Ambassadors of the Northeast League and the Lehigh Valley Black Diamonds of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The Ambassadors played at Bicentennial Park in Allentown until the team was disbanded in 2004. The Black Diamonds moved from Newburgh, New York in 1999 and were expected to move into a new ballpark near Easton called the Lehigh Valley Multi-Purpose Sport Complex, but the project never came to completion and ultimately was terminated. While the Black Diamonds waited for their new stadium, they played as a traveling team.

In 2003, Joseph Finley and Craig Stein began actively pursuing their interest in bringing affiliated baseball back to Allentown. Initially, the duo pursued a Class A franchise when the Ottawa Lynx, the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles at the time, were rumored to be moving to Harrisburg. When the city of Harrisburg did not upgrade Metro Bank Park to Triple-A standards, the Baltimore Orioles shifted their interest to Allentown because of its proximity to the Mid-Atlantic. The Phillies also looked into moving their Triple-A operations to Allentown from the Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre region. For the 2007 season, the Phillies shifted their Triple-A affiliate to Ottawa, leaving Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre after 18 seasons, while the Orioles affiliated with the Norfolk Tides. The Lynx relocated to Allentown as the Triple-A affiliate of the Phillies instead of being relocated as the Orioles Triple-A affiliate.

In 2008, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs opened their first season with an 11-game losing streak. On April 14, the team broke the streak, defeating the Richmond Braves 3–1 at their new home stadium Coca-Cola Park. The win was both the team's first home win and their first ever as the IronPigs. Early on in the season Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Shane Victorino made a rehab start with the IronPigs. In July, Phillies starter Brett Myers pitched a few games for the team after running up a dismal 3–9 record in the first part of the season.

In 2009, former Phillies' pitchers Kyle Kendrick and J. C. Romero pitched for the team. Kendrick was assigned to the IronPigs after failing to make the Phillies starting roster for 2009. Romero pitched for the IronPigs in May 2009 following a 50-game suspension for failing Major League Baseball's substance abuse policy, after he tested positive for the use of androstenedione.

On July 14, Coca-Cola Park hosted the Triple-A All-Star Game, and the game was broadcast on the MLB Network.

On July 7, left-handed pitcher J.A. Happ started a rehab assignment with the IronPigs. On July 29, Happ was traded to the Houston Astros for right-handed pitcher Roy Oswalt. Relief pitcher Michael Schwimer had a 1.35 ERA and held batters to a .080 batting average with runners in scoring position.[5]

The team finished in fifth place in the International League North Division with a record of 58–86.[6] The IronPigs finished the 2010 season ranked first among all affiliated Minor League Baseball teams in average attendance per home game.

Former MLB player Ryne Sandberg replaced Dave Huppert as manager prior to the season.

On April 7, 2011, the IronPigs won their season opener against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees at Coca-Cola Park, registering the first win-loss percentage above .500 in the team's history.[7] Before he was promoted to the majors, All-Star closer Michael Schwimer was 9–1 with a 1.88 ERA, and 10 saves, with 86 strikeouts in 67.0 innings (averaging 11.6 strikeouts per 9 innings).[8][9][10][11]

In September 2011, the IronPigs made it to the Governors' Cup finals, losing to the Columbus Clippers three games to one.[12] The team's 2011 regular season record of 80-64 was the best record since the team was started.

The IronPigs finished the 2012 season with 75 wins and 68 losses, for a win-loss percentage of .524. The team was 8½ games behind the leader of the International League North Division, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. The IronPigs had the highest attendance in the league with 622,421.

Manager Ryne Sandberg was promoted to the Philadelphia Phillies as batting coach (he eventually would become their manager when Charlie Manuel was fired later in the season), and was replaced by Dave Brundage, previously with the Gwinnett Braves. The team finished 72-72, 8½ games behind the North Division-winning Pawtucket Red Sox. Team attendance again led the league, at 613,075.

The team slid in the standings to last, at 66–78, but led the league again in attendance, with 614,888.

The IronPigs finished 63–81, fifth in the division behind Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, but again topped the league in attendance, with 613,815.

The team surpassed their regular-season record for wins, with 85 against 58 losses, qualifying for the Governors' Cup Playoffs, but were swept in three games by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Attendance fell to 611,015, but for a ninth straight year led the league.[13]

Dusty Wathan was named IronPigs manager before the 2017 season after five seasons with the Reading Fightin Phils.[14] The IronPigs opening day roster contained six of the Phillies' top ten prospects, including top prospect J. P. Crawford.[15]

Gary Jones was named IronPigs manager after Dusty Wathan joined the Phillies staff as third base coach. The Pigs won their first IL North Division title with an 84–56 record. The team finished with the best record in the International League and swept IL postseason awards [16] with Manager of the Year (Jones), Pitcher of the Year (Cole Irvin) and Hitter/Rookie of the Year (Joey Meneses) earning the honors.

The IronPigs finished 66–74 and fifth in the division.

• Rhys Hoskins (2017)[21]
• Joey Meneses (2018)

• Tyler Cloyd (2012)[22]
• Jake Thompson (2016)[23]
• Cole Irvin (2018)

• Rhys Hoskins (2017)[21]
• Joey Meneses (2018)

• Gary Jones (2018)

See: Baseball America § Minor League Baseball awards

• Ryne Sandberg, Lehigh Valley IronPigs[24]

• Andy Tracy (2009)[21]
• Rhys Hoskins (2017; 1B)[21]