Erie SeaWolves
- Location: Erie, PA
- League: New York-Penn League 1995-1998; Eastern League 1999-2019; Double-A Northeast 2021; Eastern League 2022-
- Affiliation: Pittsburgh Pirates 1995-1998; Anaheim Angels 1999-2000; Detroit Tigers 2001-present
- Ballpark: UPMC Park
Team History[edit]
The Erie SeaWolves, formerly of the Eastern League and briefly in Double-A Northeast, were once among the teams MLB planned to eliminate in its 2021 Minor League Reorganization. The Detroit Tigers farmhands play their home games at UPMC Park in Erie, PA.
After appearing on the leaked lists of teams to be downsized in MLB's 2021 Minor League Reorganization, they survived because the Tigers wanted to keep them, because their stadium had recently finished an already funded $12 million renovation, and because the recently sold New York Mets unexpectedly kept the Binghamton Rumble Ponies in a league that needs an even number of teams.
"SeaWolves" started as a salute to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who parented the first club to play in The Uht - a short-season New York-Pennsylvania League team. The brand quickly became so synonymous with Erie baseball that it remained through later changes of affiliations including the 1999 Anaheim Angels Double-A expansion franchise that is now with the Tigers. That expansion marked Erie's return to the Eastern League and simultaneously sent its NYPL franchise to Niles, OH, as the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
The 2017 SeaWolves celebrated a 2016 EL title they didn't win, and similar political fun-making, on Alternative Facts Night.
The 2022 team's season was historic but had a jarring end. Making it to the EL Championship Series for the first time ever, they split the first two games with the Somerset Patriots - setting up a one-game showdown for the title. Playing at home, the Pats scored nine times in the first inning and, behind a two-pitcher combined no-hitter, vaporized the 'Wolves, 15-0.
They play Copa de la Diversión Hispanic engagement campaign games as Piñatas de Erie (a piñata is a candy-filled container that is broken open during a celebration).
Year-by-Year Record[edit]
Related Sites[edit]
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