Holyoke Millers

• Location: Holyoke, MA
• League: Eastern League 1977-1982
• Affiliation: Milwaukee Brewers 1977-1980; California Angels 1981-1982
• Ballpark: Mackenzie Field

• Famous Alumni: Kevin Bass, Doug Jones, Gary Pettis, Steve Lake, Frank DiPino, Mark Bomback, Ed Romero, Dennis Rasmussen, Chuck Porter, Marshall Edwards, Terry Bevington

Team History

The Holyoke Millers were a minor league baseball team located in Holyoke, MA. The team played in the Eastern League. Their home stadium was Mackenzie Field. The Millers played from 1977 to 1982 and were a farm team of the Milwaukee Brewers the first four years and the California Angels the last two years. In 1980, the team won the Eastern League championship.

The nickname 'Millers' was derived from the many textile mills that Holyoke was noted for, especially in the first half of the 20th century.

1981 Holyoke Millers

Tom Kayser, who would go on to serve as president of the Texas League for many years, was general manager and was in his second season as an owner of the Holyoke Millers. Kayser had been with the club since it moved from Pittsfield, MA, where they played one season as the Berkshire Brewers, in 1977. In 1981, Jim Saul was the new manager of the Holyoke Millers replacing Lee Sigman who had left the club to become manager of the Vancouver Canadians of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. Like Sigman, Saul had a long history in baseball having a career as both a player and as manager. Saul was going into his sixth season as a manager when he joined the Millers. Helping Saul with managerial duties were Dave Thomas and Dave Comforti, who were both interns from the University of Massachusetts and completing their course of study in sports management. T.J. Byrne was a trainer for the club in 1981 and came to the Millers from the Pioneer League's Idaho Falls Angels after the 1980 season. As for the 1981 Holyoke Millers roster, behind the plate was Mark Nocciolo who had been with Salinas and Salt Lake in 1980.

Following the 1982 season, the team was moved to Nashua, NH where they played from 1983 to 1986 as the Nashua Angels and Nashua Pirates. In 1987, the franchise moved again, to Harrisburg, PA, where they still exist today as the Harrisburg Senators.

Roster

• 3 Ricky Adams, 2B
• 22 Mike Brown, C/OF
• 18 Chris Clark, OF/1B
• 9 Dennis Gilbert, OF
• 8 Curt Brown, RHP
• 26 Jeff Conner, LHP
• 16 Lonnie Dugger, RHP
• 13 Dave Duran, RHP
• 20 Rick Foley, RHP
• 25 Pat Keedy, 3B
• 24 Darrell Miller, C/OF
• 21 Mark Nocciolo, C
• 17 Les Pearsey, 1B
• 15 Gary Pettis, OF
• 14 Gus Polidor, SS
• 27 Brandt Humphry, RHP
• 5 Bill Mooneyham, RHP
• 23 Perry Morrison, RHP
• 30 Dennis Rasmussen, LHP
• 19 Rick Rommell, RHP
• 1 Ed Rodriguez, INF
• 12 John Yandle, LHP

Note that the 1981 Millers roster had future Major Leaguers Gary Pettis, Dennis Rasmussen, Pat Keedy, Bill Mooneyham, Ricky Adams, Mike Brown and Darrell Miller.

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1977	73-66	4th	Matt Galante
1978	61-76	5th	George Farson
1979	63-76	5th	George Farson	none
1980	78-61	2nd (t)	Lee Sigman	League Champs
1981	68-70	5th	Jim Saul
1982	63-77	6th	Jack Hiatt

Further Reading

• Eric T. Poulin: "Miracle on Beech Street: A History of the Holyoke Millers, 1977-82", Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Volume 50, Number 2 (Fall 2021), pp. 87-94.