The Lynn Tigers of the New England League, the city's last professional baseball franchise, folded in the middle of the 1949 season.
Lynn Sailors cap (top) and jersey (bottom) insignia
After more than 30 years without a professional team, Lynn returned to minor league baseball in 1980, when the owners of the West Haven Yankees moved the franchise to Boston's North Shore. The Seattle Mariners, founded as an expansion team in 1977, were slowly building out their farm system, and did not field a Double-A affiliate before 1980. During the 1979–80 offseason, the New York Yankees moved their Double-A affiliation to the Nashville Sounds of the Southern League, and the Mariners replaced them as sponsors of the relocated West Haven franchise, the Lynn Sailors. (Complicating matters further, the Oakland Athletics placed an expansion Eastern League team in West Haven called the Whitecaps and the Glens Falls White Sox also entered the EL in 1980.)
The three Sailors teams were competitive, but sparse media coverage was partially to blame for the less-than-enthusiastic showing at the gate. The maiden edition of the Sailors drew 50,786; it would be the high-water mark for the franchise's four-year history, but still ranked next to last in the Eastern League. In the fall of 1981, after Sailor attendance dropped to 38,468, Mike Agganis, nephew of former Red Sox player and Lynn sporting legend Harry Agganis, purchased the franchise.[2]
The 1982 Sailors captured the Eastern League North Division pennant by 51⁄2 games and swept Glens Falls in the opening round of the playoffs, before falling to West Haven in the finals. But attendance dropped to an all-time low: 23,791—more than 28,000 fans fewer than the league's second-poorest draw.
After the season, the Mariners left Lynn and signed a player development contract with the Chattanooga Lookouts, also a Southern League franchise.
Lynn Pirates (1983)
In 1983, the Pirates were forced to move their Double-A affiliation from the Buffalo Bisons (then in the Eastern League) and succeeded the Mariners in Lynn as parent club of the renamed Lynn Pirates.[1]
The Pirates made the playoffs with the second-best overall record in the Eastern League. They swept the Bisons in the best-of-three opening round before losing, two games to one, to the New Britain Red Sox in the finals. Because of poor regular-season attendance in Lynn (only 31,575 came through the turnstiles), all the postseason games were played on the road. The Lynn Pirates' last game was a 3–0 playoff loss at New Britain—a three-hit, 10-strikeoutshutout by Roger Clemens, then finishing his first pro season. After the playoffs, the Lynn franchise moved to Burlington, Vermont, for 1984, affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds, and became the Vermont Reds.[1] The Sailors/Pirates franchise spent five seasons (1984–88) in Burlington, and is now the Akron RubberDucks.[3]
Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN978-0-9637189-8-3.
January 17, 2023
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The Lynn Sailors were a Minor League Baseball franchise that originated in 1980 in Lynn Massachusetts The Sailors were affiliated with the Seattle Mariners from 1980 to 1982 and with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1983 when they were known as the Lynn Pirates 1 They were a member of the Eastern League in class Double A and played at Fraser Field After the 1983 season the franchise was moved to Burlington Vermont and became the Vermont Reds Lynn Sailors 1980 1982 Lynn MassachusettsMinor league affiliationsClassDouble APrevious leaguesEastern LeagueMajor league affiliationsPrevious teamsSeattle MarinersMinor league titlesDivision titles 1 1982Team dataPrevious namesWest Haven Yankees 1972 1979 ColorsRoyal blue gold white BallparkFraser FieldOwner s Operator s Kern and Zeig Sports Inc Contents 1 Lynn Sailors 1980 82 2 Lynn Pirates 1983 3 Season by season record 4 Notable players 4 1 As Seattle Mariners affiliate 1980 82 4 2 As Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate 1983 5 Notes 6 ReferencesLynn Sailors 1980 82 EditThe Lynn Tigers of the New England League the city s last professional baseball franchise folded in the middle of the 1949 season Lynn Sailors cap top and jersey bottom insignia After more than 30 years without a professional team Lynn returned to minor league baseball in 1980 when the owners of the West Haven Yankees moved the franchise to Boston s North Shore The Seattle Mariners founded as an expansion team in 1977 were slowly building out their farm system and did not field a Double A affiliate before 1980 During the 1979 80 offseason the New York Yankees moved their Double A affiliation to the Nashville Sounds of the Southern League and the Mariners replaced them as sponsors of the relocated West Haven franchise the Lynn Sailors Complicating matters further the Oakland Athletics placed an expansion Eastern League team in West Haven called the Whitecaps and the Glens Falls White Sox also entered the EL in 1980 The three Sailors teams were competitive but sparse media coverage was partially to blame for the less than enthusiastic showing at the gate The maiden edition of the Sailors drew 50 786 it would be the high water mark for the franchise s four year history but still ranked next to last in the Eastern League In the fall of 1981 after Sailor attendance dropped to 38 468 Mike Agganis nephew of former Red Sox player and Lynn sporting legend Harry Agganis purchased the franchise 2 The 1982 Sailors captured the Eastern League North Division pennant by 51 2 games and swept Glens Falls in the opening round of the playoffs before falling to West Haven in the finals But attendance dropped to an all time low 23 791 more than 28 000 fans fewer than the league s second poorest draw After the season the Mariners left Lynn and signed a player development contract with the Chattanooga Lookouts also a Southern League franchise Lynn Pirates 1983 EditIn 1983 the Pirates were forced to move their Double A affiliation from the Buffalo Bisons then in the Eastern League and succeeded the Mariners in Lynn as parent club of the renamed Lynn Pirates 1 The Pirates made the playoffs with the second best overall record in the Eastern League They swept the Bisons in the best of three opening round before losing two games to one to the New Britain Red Sox in the finals Because of poor regular season attendance in Lynn only 31 575 came through the turnstiles all the postseason games were played on the road The Lynn Pirates last game was a 3 0 playoff loss at New Britain a three hit 10 strikeout shutout by Roger Clemens then finishing his first pro season After the playoffs the Lynn franchise moved to Burlington Vermont for 1984 affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds and became the Vermont Reds 1 The Sailors Pirates franchise spent five seasons 1984 88 in Burlington and is now the Akron RubberDucks 3 Professional baseball did not return to Lynn until 1996 when the Massachusetts Mad Dogs of the independent Northeast League began play at Fraser Field Season by season record EditSeason PDC Division Finish Wins Losses Win GB Post season Manager AttendanceLynn Sailors1980 SEA North 3rd 66 71 482 11 Bobby Floyd 50 7861981 SEA North 3rd 62 76 449 22 5 Bobby Floyd 38 4681982 SEA North 1st 85 57 599 0 Defeated Glens Falls in division series 2 0 Lost to West Heaven in championship series 0 3 Mickey Bowers 23 791Lynn Pirates1983 PIT No divisions 2nd 77 62 482 18 5 Defeated Buffalo in semi final series 2 0 Lost to New Britain in championship series 1 3 Tommy Sandt 31 575Notable players EditAs Seattle Mariners affiliate 1980 82 Edit Karl Best Bud Black Al Chambers Alvin Davis Mario Diaz Jerry Don Gleaton Vance McHenry Orlando Mercado Mike Moore John Moses Jamie Nelson Donell Nixon Spike Owen Jim Presley Harold Reynolds Paul Serna Dave Valle Matt Young As Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate 1983 Edit Rafael Belliard Mike Bielecki Stan Cliburn Benny Distefano Sam Khalifa Dale Mohorcic Nelson Norman Rick Renteria Don Robinson Tommy Sandt Jeff ZaskeNotes Edit a b c Fun While It Lasted net Singelais Neil 1981 Portecelli 2 others purchase Lynn Sailors The Boston Globe p 35 Akron RubberDucks References EditJohnson Lloyd Wolff Miles eds 1997 The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball 2nd ed Durham North Carolina Baseball America ISBN 978 0 9637189 8 3 Home of the North Shore Spirit Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Lynn Sailors amp oldid 1093684459, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
