Syracuse Mets


The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which opened in 1997 and has a seating capacity of 11,071. The Mets are named for their major league affiliate and owner, the New York Mets.
Throughout most of its existence, from 1934 to 1996 and again from 2007 to 2018, the team was known as the Syracuse Chiefs, while from 1997 to 2006 it was known as the Syracuse SkyChiefs. The club was rebranded as the Syracuse Mets in October 2018.

History

Syracuse Chiefs

Establishment (1934-1957)

The Syracuse Chiefs baseball team was established in 1934, when the Jersey City Skeeters moved to Syracuse and were renamed the Chiefs. The team played in the International League through 1955. They won five Governors' Cup championships during this stretch, including back-to-back championships in 1942 and 1943. The team was then sold and moved to Miami as the Marlins for the 1956 campaign. Another team known as the Syracuse Chiefs competed in the Class A Eastern League in 1956 and 1957, but moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 1957. The Chiefs played at MacArthur Stadium from 1934 to 1996, moving to new then-P&C Stadium in 1997.

Restart and multiple affiliations (1961-1978)

Syracuse was without professional baseball from 1957 until 1961, when the Montreal Royals franchise was abandoned by its owners and relocated to Syracuse as the top affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, becoming the Syracuse Chiefs. After which, the team had affiliations with the New York Mets and Washington Senators, the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees. Baseball has been played in Syracuse without interruption since the rebirth of the Chiefs in 1961.

Toronto Blue Jays (1978-2008)

From 1978 to 2008, the Chiefs were the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The three-decade Toronto–Syracuse affiliation is the longest of the 11 major league affiliations the team has had since 1936. While the Chiefs reached three Governors Cup finals during this time, many of the players who helped lead the Blue Jays to consecutive World Series titles in 1992 and 1993 passed through Syracuse. In 1994, outfielder Shawn Green hit.344 for the Chiefs, winning the International League batting title and the International League Rookie of the Year Award. The team was renamed the SkyChiefs in 1997 before reverting to simply "Chiefs" in December 2006.

Washington Nationals (2008-2018)

On September 20, 2008, the Chiefs signed a two-year affiliation agreement with the Washington Nationals, ending their relationship with the Blue Jays. That first season, the players wore a decal on their uniforms with the letters "HB" to commemorate Harold Berman, former member of the team's board of directors, who died after the 2007 season. In 2009, the Chiefs wore a decal on their uniforms with the letters "HM" to commemorate Hy Miller, former state assemblyman and former member of the team's board of directors, who died after the 2008 season.
In 2010, the Chiefs celebrated their 50th season of community-owned baseball, wearing 1961 jerseys for every Thursday home game. The team brought back radio announcers from the past, such as Dan Hoard and Syracuse University alumnus Sean McDonough. They had a 76–67 win–loss record, with pitching prospect Stephen Strasburg winning two games and losing one in five appearances.
In 2011, the Chiefs, wore throwback jerseys for every Thursday home game to commemorate the 35th anniversary of their last International League Governors' Cup championship team. The Chiefs added four alternate jerseys to their rotation for the season: one for Latin American Day, a second for Jackie Robinson Day, a third for national holidays such as Independence Day and Memorial Day, and a fourth for Breast Cancer Awareness Night. The team played the Pawtucket Red Sox on August 20 at Fenway Park as part of a doubleheader in conjunction with the sixth annual Futures at Fenway event, featuring games involving Boston Red Sox minor league teams. The Chiefs, behind starter Brad Meyers, defeated the PawSox 3–1 before more than 29,000 fans. At Alliance Bank Stadium the Chiefs added a "Home Plate Club" to the stadium: premium seating in the first four rows behind home plate, with waitstaff for merchandise, food and drinks.
On May 14, Chiefs DH Michael Aubrey went four for four, hitting four home runs in an 11–0 victory over the Durham Bulls and becoming the second player in team history to hit four home runs in a game; Gene Locklear was the first, on July 14, 1977. On August 27, Stephen Strasburg pitched his only rehab game for the Chiefs, against the Rochester Red Wings. Giving up two hits in the sixth inning, he received no decision in Syracuse's 4–3 win. It did, however, clinch the Chiefs' third Thruway Cup victory; the team's other wins were in 1999 and 2010. The club's record for the season was 66–74, 14 games out of first place and fourth place in the six-team North Division.
On April 5, 2012, the Chiefs opened at home against the Rochester Red Wings. Top draft pick Bryce Harper, later that month promoted to the Nationals, made the opening-day roster. Randy Knorr did not return for a second season as manager, and Tony Beasley was promoted from the Harrisburg Senators. The Chiefs played all 16 of their games against the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees at the now renamed Alliance Bank Stadium due to stadium renovations at the Yankees' ballpark in Moosic, Pennsylvania. On May 7, the Chiefs unveiled a new high-definition video board in left field, replacing the board which had been in place since the stadium's 1997 opening.
The 2013 season, with manager Tony Beasley in his second season with the team, began on April 4 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs; the Chiefs' home opener was eight days later against the IronPigs. On Throwback Thursdays, the team wore jerseys from 1983 to 1996.
On September 30, 2013, it was announced that 16-year general manager John Simone and any family members associated with the team, including assistant GM Mike Vounitas, were fired. On October 8, former Auburn Doubledays general manager Jason Smorol became the Chiefs' GM, with Jason Horbal as his assistant. It was the first time since 1970 that someone not named Simone was general manager of Syracuse; John Simone had taken over the job from his father, Anthony Simone, in 1997.
The Chiefs opened their 2014 season on April 3 with a loss at home to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and finished the season with the best record in the International League, clinching a playoff spot for the first time since 1998 and the first IL North Division title since 1989. NBT Bank Stadium hosted its first ever playoff game on September 5, 2014, a 7–6 loss to the Pawtucket Red Sox which capped off a 3–0 first round series sweep for the Red Sox. The season featured an aggressive promotional campaign, including Social Media Monday, Two-for-One Tickets on Tuesday, Winning Wednesday, Dollar Thursday, Fireworks Friday, Giveaway Saturday, and Family Sunday. The Chiefs sold out the outfield wall, the dugouts, and the field tarp, earning $500,000 in advertising.
The 2015 season saw the Chiefs finish in fourth place in the six-team IL North Division with a record of 66–78. The Chiefs' early season struggles, including an 11-game losing streak extending from May to June, hurt the Chiefs too much to rebound despite going 39–26 after July 1 including an 11-game win streak in mid-July. Billy Gardner Jr. managed the team in his second season with the team. Stephen Strasburg went 1–1 with the Chiefs in two rehab starts. In the two games, Strasburg pitched innings with an ERA of 4.66. The team's best pitcher by record was Bruce Billings who went 8–5 in 27 games. The best pitcher by ERA with more than 25 innings pitched was Evan Meek who had an ERA of 2.15 in 30 games, with a record of 2–4. The Chiefs player with the most hits in 2016 was Darin Mastroianni with 114. Trea Turner, with an average of.314 in 188 at bats, including 3 home runs, 7 doubles, and 15 RBI, lead the team with the best average among those with over 100 at bats was.
The Chiefs experienced another last-place finish in the North Division in 2016 with a record of 61–82, their worst record since the 1997 season. Billy Garnder Jr. managed his third season with the team. Players such as Ryan Zimmerman and Jose Lobaton rehabbed for the Chiefs that season. Syracuse also had three all–stars that season, which included Trea Turner, Brian Goodwin, and Rafael Martin. Matt Skole also won a Gold Glove for his fielding performance at first base. The Chiefs players with the most hits in 2016 were Matt Skole and Brian Goodwin with 122 hits. Goodwin also had the highest batting average:.280 in 119 at bats, including 14 home runs, 25 doubles, and 68 RBI. The team's best pitcher by record was A.J. Cole who went 8–8 in 22 games. Sean Burnett had the team's lowest ERA among those with at least 25 innings pitched with a 2.27 mark in 40 games and a record of 0–3.
Syracuse's 2017 record of 59–87 placed them at the bottom of the division standings for the third year in a row, their worst record since 1966. Billy Gardner, Jr. managed his fourth season with the team. Trea Turner and Jayson Werth rehabbed for the Chiefs that season. Brandon Snyder led the team with 110 hits, while Irving Falu has the best batting average. The team's best pitcher by record was Austin Adams who went 6–2 in 44 games coming out of the bullpen. The best pitcher by ERA with more than 25 innings pitched was Wander Suero who had an ERA of 1.70 in 36 games, with a record of 3–1.

Syracuse Mets

The chief operating officer of the New York Mets, Jeff Wilpon, joined Governor Andrew Cuomo and Joanie Mahoney, Onondaga County Executive, at NBT Bank Stadium on October 11, 2017, to announce that the Mets would purchase the Chiefs from the Community Baseball Club of Central New York in early 2018. Under the deal, the Chiefs' affiliation with the Washington Nationals continued through the end of the 2018 season, with the Chiefs becoming the Mets' Triple-A affiliate beginning with the 2019 season. The team was rebranded as the Syracuse Mets, adopting the New York Mets' blue, orange, and white color scheme along with new logos and uniforms on October 16, 2018.
The Syracuse Mets started their 2019 inaugural season with one of the most experienced rosters in the minor leagues. Of the 25 players on the roster, 21 of them had previously played in the majors. They had combined for 7,006 total games. The Opening Day roster consisted of veteran outfielders Carlos Gómez and Rajai Davis, former Syracuse Chief Danny Espinosa, catcher René Rivera, and star outfielder Tim Tebow. The Mets played their first game on April 4, against the Pawtucket Red Sox in front of an Opening Day home crowd of 8,823 fans. Syracuse took a 3–2 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning, but Pawtucket tied the game in the top of the eighth. The PawSox scored three more runs in the top of the tenth, defeating the home team, 6–3. The Mets' first win came in game one of a doubleheader on April 6 in which they defeated Pawtucket, 6–3 in 7 innings.
In that same first Mets win, with one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, Dilson Herrera hit the Syracuse Mets first home run.
On May 31, 2019, Travis Taijeron hit the first cycle in Syracuse Mets history in a 13-4 win over the PawSox. It was the first in franchise history since 1987. Rubén Tejada also hit for the cycle on June 19, 2019 against the Charlotte Knights. Despite his efforts, the Mets lost 9-7.
On June 11, 2019, Robinson Cano, Brandon Nimmo, and Justin Wilson were assigned to Syracuse on rehab assignments. Nimmo played one more set of rehab games from August 20 to August 31, while Jeff McNeil only played in one inning and had one at-bat on a rehab assignment on August 22 due to the game being rain-shortened.
At the 2019 All-star break, the Mets were 42-47, good for 5th place in the IL North Division. After August 7, they made up 6.5 games in the standings to put themselves in a share of the division lead with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders after sweeping a doubleheader versus the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on August 26. They also had a winning season for the first time since 2014. Syracuse went into the final weekend of the 2019 season tied with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the division lead. Both teams split both of their respective series' to stay tied for the division lead. The two teams played a one-game tie breaker in order to decide who would win the division, and ultimately make the playoffs. The Mets would lose the one-game tiebreaker by a score of 14-13. Syracuse had led 13-6 going into the bottom of the eighth inning, but Scranton/Wilkes-Barre would come back and score eight runs in the bottom half of the inning to eventually win the game, effectively eliminating the Mets from qualifying for the playoffs.
The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roster

Corporate structure

New York Mets

In October 2017, the New York Mets, headed by Jeff Wilpon, agreed to purchase the Chiefs for approximately $18 million pending approval by team shareholders. A vote was held on November 17, 2017, in which 88 percent of shareholders voted in favor of selling the team, thus meeting the required two-thirds vote needed for approval. The Mets organization assumed ownership in early 2018.

Community Baseball Club, Inc.

Prior to the Mets' purchase, the franchise was owned by the Community Baseball Club of Central New York, Inc., "a community-owned club, controlled by a board of directors," acting on behalf of approximately 4,000 shareholders, who together held 15,857 shares from 1961 to 2017.
According to Dick Ryan, a former club chairman of the board and treasurer, a majority of the Community Baseball Club shares were "owned by people who own one or two shares." Shares in the club were first sold in 1961, at a price of $10 each; as of 2011, shares had a resale value of approximately $126, but were not publicly traded. A provision in the Chief's certificate of corporation stated that "no one may vote more than 500 shares." This provision was intended to make it difficult for the club to be sold and moved to another location, as happened earlier in its history.

Management

Officers of the Community Baseball Club of Central New York, Inc., included:
Among those serving on the organization's Board of Directors were Stephen A. Rogers, Chairman, Syracuse Media Group; and Crandall Melvin III, "a software executive from Syracuse and the team's largest single shareholder with 502 shares."
Dutch was a partner in Chiefs First LLC, an investment company established in September 2013, which loaned the Chiefs $500,000 in return for 600 shares and controlled the team's 13-member board.

Finances

The Chiefs operated at a loss from 2006, except for the 2010 season when they ended the season $100,000 in the black. The team lost $973,516 in the 2013 season, on operating expenses of $3.1 million. Under general manager Jason Smorol, their losses were reduced to $241,584 in 2014, and $169,011 in 2015.

Attendance

Top season attendance

NBT Bank Stadium

* Includes playoffs

MacArthur Stadium

* Includes playoffs

Top 40 attendance dates since 1961

  1. May 7, 2010
  2. May 24, 2010
  3. July 17, 1993
  4. May 29, 2010
  5. July 17, 1967
  6. July 25, 1967
  7. August 17, 1995
  8. July 30, 2010
  9. June 28, 1995
  10. July 4, 2015
  11. July 14, 2001
  12. June 28, 2001
  13. August 17, 1999
  14. August 22, 1972
  15. August 16, 1961
  16. August 14, 2009
  17. May 30, 2018
  18. July 11, 1998
  19. July 23, 1994
  20. August 1, 2008
  21. July 13, 2001
  22. April 3, 1997
  23. May 29, 1994
  24. July 4, 2019
  25. July 4, 2014
  26. July 18, 1994
  27. July 11, 1994
  28. August 20, 1994
  29. August 9, 1963
  30. August 30, 1994
  31. July 10, 1995
  32. May 9, 1970
  33. June 25, 2002
  34. June 29, 2000
  35. August 18, 1999
  36. June 22, 1999
  37. July 13, 1970
  38. June 27, 1977
  39. May 5, 2006
  40. July 16, 1981

    Titles and pennants

Syracuse Chiefs

Governors' Cup

The Chiefs won the Governors' Cup 8 times, and played in the championship series 17 times.
The Chiefs won the International League pennant — finishing the regular season with the best record in the league — eight times.

Junior World Series

The Chiefs played in the Junior World Series five times, winning it once, in 1970 against the Omaha Royals, 4–1.

Season standings

Regular season
champions		League
champions		Division
champions		Wild Card
berth

Regular season
champions		League
champions		Division
champions		Wild Card
berth

All-time records

Note: One playoff series is missing from the original Syracuse Chiefs. It will be added to the records when found.

Notable people

Players

No.PlayerNotes
Tex SimoneTeam founder and former GM
9Hank Sauer
42Jackie RobinsonRetired throughout Baseball

Game broadcasts

Locally games are broadcast on the Mets' flagship radio station, WSKO "The Score" 1260 AM, and globally online via SyracuseMets.com. All games are broadcast by Eric Gallanty and Steve Grilli. In addition, all games are broadcast on MiLB.TV, an internet video subscription service. Select games were broadcast live on Spectrum Sports, provided on Spectrum Cable services throughout the Central and Northern New York area until Spectrum ceased operations of its sports channels in the state sometime around 2017. The games on Spectrum Sports were called by Steve Grilli, Syracuse Wall of Fame member and former major leaguer. All games against thruway rivals Rochester or Buffalo were broadcast on Spectrum Sports and fed between the cities, with the host city providing the presentation and announcers.

In popular culture

Writer Ken Levine based the Springfield Isotopes minor league team in The Simpsons episode Dancin' Homer on experiences as an announcer for the Syracuse Chiefs. The episode includes references to former announcer Dan Hoard and owner Anthony "Tex" Simone.
The Chiefs gained national media attention for a promotion planned for 2014's Tattoo Appreciation Night, where anyone who got a tattoo of their "C" logo would receive free tickets to Chiefs games for life.