Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees

• Location: Scranton, PA
• League: International League 2007-2011
• Class: AAA 2007-present
• Affiliation: New York Yankees 2007-2011
• Ballpark: PNC Field 2007-2011

Team History

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees began play in 2007 after an affiliation shuffle among several teams at the Triple-A level. After the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons had spent seventeen years as the International League affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, the Phils terminated their player development contract in order to affiliate with the struggling Ottawa Lynx. The plan in motion was completed the next season, when the Lynx relocated to a newly-built facility in Allentown, PA. Meanwhile, the Red Barons joined the New York Yankees - who had just ended their twenty-seven-year affiliation with the Columbus Clippers. The Yankees bought a half-interest in the franchise, with the team renamed the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees - one of only five Triple-A teams that used their parent club's nickname at the time.

In their first year as a New York affiliate, the Yankees posted the best regular season record in the IL and won the North Division by seven games before falling to the Richmond Braves in the first round of the playoffs. Shelley Duncan led the offense with 25 homers and 76 RBIs, and skipper Dave Miley was named IL Manager of the Year. Yankees stars Roger Clemens and Jason Giambi made rehab appearances with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, while major league veterans Andy Phillips, Jose Cruz Jr., Erubiel Durazo, Jim Brower, and Runelvys Hernandez all saw considerable playing time.

After the 2011 season the team announced that it would renovate its home park, PNC Field, during the 2012 season. The team temporarily became a road team, playing as the Empire State Yankees for the 2012 season, and returned to Scranton in 2013. Following an idea first publicly raised late in the 2012 campaign and announced the following November, the team became the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders upon its return.

The franchise history goes from 1919 in Reading, PA, through Albany, NY; Jersey City, NJ; Ottawa, ON; Columbus, OH; Charleston, WV; and a suburb of Portland, ME. Through all of these mutations, the team was always a member of the International League.

Year By Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs	Hitting Coach	Pitching Coach	Infield Coach
2007	84-59	1st	Dave Miley	Lost in 1st round	Butch Wynegar	Dave Eiland	Alvaro Espinoza
2008	88-56	1st (t)	Dave Miley	League Champs	Butch Wynegar	Rafael Chaves	Alvaro Espinoza
2009	81-60	3rd	Dave Miley	Lost League Finals	Butch Wynegar	Scott Aldred	Aaron Ledesma
2010	87-56	2nd	Dave Miley	Lost in 1st round	Butch Wynegar	Scott Aldred	Aaron Ledesma
2011	73-69	7th	Dave Miley		Butch Wynegar	Scott Aldred	Frank Menechino