Princeton Pirates

• Location: Princeton, WV
• League: Appalachian League 1988-1989
• Affiliation: Pittsburgh Pirates 1988-1989
• Ballpark:

The first professional baseball team from Princeton, WV was the Princeton Pirates. The club, an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, began play in the Appalachian League in 1988. Under manager Jim Thrift they went 33-37, third in the five-team northern division and drew 31,275 fans (4th in the 10-team league). The Pirates had no All-Stars and the only player to lead in a positive statistic was OF Greg Sims (.270/~.427/.353, a league-high 39 steals). Pirates first-round draft pick Austin Manahan played short and was a bust (.181/~.262/.313, 102 strikeouts in 227 AB, .858 fielding).

Princeton was 32-37 in 1989 but finished second in a weak division. They again were fourth in attendance (33,754). Julio Garcia managed the team, which had an All-Star at 2B in Bruce Schreiber (.348/~.407/.513, third in the Appy in average and tied for the lead with 8 triples). Manahan (.233/~.293/.342, 24 Ks in 73 AB) returned and improved a bit while the new #1 pick Willie Greene also played shortstop and did far better, hitting .324/~.366/.471).

The team became an independent club in 1990 and was renamed the Princeton Patriots.

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1988	33-37	6th (t)	Jim Thrift
1989	32-37	6th	Julio Garcia

Sources: 1989 and 1990 Baseball Almanacs, 1989 Baseball Guide