York Revolution

York Revolution
Founded	2007
Ballpark	Sovereign Bank Stadium
Based in	York, PA
Team Colors	navy, brass, silver, red
League	Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
Local Media	York Daily Record The York Dispatch
Team Manager	Mark Mason
Pitching Coach
Coach	Enohel Polanco
Athletic Trainer
General Manager	Matt O'Brien
Owner	York Professional Baseball

The York Revolution is an Atlantic League team based in York, Pennsylvania. In 2007, they began play in the Southern Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball.

The team plays at WellSpan Park in the Arch Street neighborhood (Though they may have played some of their home games at Clipper Magazine Stadium in nearby Lancaster before Sovereign Bank Stadium is complete). Even though the Revolution play in the city of York, the team represents all of York County.

When the Revolution began in 2007, baseball fans in York had waited 38 years for the return of baseball since the York White Roses folded after the 1969 season. In 2006, Yorkers chose the name Revolution over White Roses in a name-the-team contest. The name "Revolution" refers to York’s colonial past, when the Continental Congress met in York and passed the Articles of Confederation during the American Revolutionary War. During the American Revolution, York was one of the first capitals of the United States. Many Yorkers also see the Revolution name to symbolize the city's renaissance efforts. The York Revolution is sometimes given the nickname of the "Revs." The team colors of the Revolution are officially known as Continental navy, brass, silver, and sergeant's red.

History of York Baseball

York White Roses

Before the York Revolution, the city of York has not been the home to any professional baseball team since 1969, when the York Pirates left. The Pirates were previously called the York White Roses and were members of the Keystone Association in 1884; the Eastern League also in 1884; the Pennsylvania State League in 1893; the Tri-State League from 1909 to 1914; the Pennsylvania State League in 1916; and one of the six original teams of the New York-Penn League from 1923 to 1933, where they were unaffiliated until the 1933 season with the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1936; the White Roses played in the Interstate League from 1943 to 1952, spending most of their seasons in this league as an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates until 1950. They were members of the Piedmont League from 1953 to 1955, where they were affiliated with the St. Louis Browns from 1952 to 1953 and the Baltimore Orioles from 1954 to 1955. The White Roses entered the Eastern League, affilitated with the St. Louis Cardinals, in the 1958 season and played there until the end of the 1959 season. The York White Roses returned in 1962 as a member of the Eastern League, as the Johnstown Red Sox moved to York. The Boston Red Sox affiliation lasted only that season. They were affiliated with the Washington Senators from 1963 to 1967. In 1968 and in 1969, the team was renamed as the York Pirates, affiliated with Pittsburgh. They were champions in the 1925 and 1969 seasons.

The York White Roses and the York Pirates played their games at Bob Hoffman Stadium, which was also known as Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The White Roses were fierce rivals with the nearby Lancaster Red Roses. When the new name of Lancaster's team was unveiled to the public a few days before the 1906 season started, it drew heavy criticism from the York White Roses staff. The White Roses manager predicted, in spite, that the Red Roses would be at the bottom of the standings column. The Red Roses went on to win the first game, 9-4, and an even heavier rivalry began. Some sources indicate that the rival teams were named for the opposing factions in England's historic Wars of the Roses.

In 1997, the York White Roses were named the absolute worst team in the history of the Eastern League. For example, their 1967 season was horrible as they won 43 games and lost 95. This season is still lodged in the minds of York baseball fans, as a player by the name of Dick Such, who until recently has denied this, had an ERA of 2.81 but still managed to end up with a record of 0-16. He redeemed himself as the pitching coach of the Minnesota Twins from 1985-2001, where he oversaw two World Series championships in 1987 and 1991. Such then became the pitching coach for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. The York White Roses were considered the worst team because of their record, their horrible attendance, the condition of the playing field, and the team's choice of inferior players. The York Revolution hope to rewrite the city's baseball history, with a better record, better attendance, a state-of-the-art ballpark, and a much better roster.

A Revolution

York spent ten years trying to bring professional baseball back to the city. The process looked promising in 2003, until politics halted the project. The new baseball stadium was to be located at Small Athletic Field, on York City School District property, but the district's board voted negatively as they did not believe the ballpark would be the best use of district money and land. For three years, political and financial discussions continued to delay the time York would have a baseball team again. A new site for the stadium was agreed upon in the Arch Street neighborhood, and this time all the pieces fell into place. Other sites that were considered but did not come to fruition were Hoffman Field and Ohio Blender.

In April of 2006, the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball formally announced an expansion team for the city of York, PA. One of the prominent members of the team's management was Brooks Robinson, who played with the York White Roses and later with the Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977. The entrance to the team's stadium is called Brooks Robinson Plaza in his honor.

"The Oriole Way"

With the Baltimore Orioles being the Major League favorite of many Yorkers, the Revolution signed four former Orioles to its coaching staff in December 2006. Chris Hoiles, who batted .262 in 10 seasons (1989-1998) as a catcher with the Orioles, was signed as the team manager. Tippy Martinez, who pitched for 14 seasons (1974-1988) as a reliever with the New York Yankees, the Orioles, and the Minnesota Twins, was signed as the pitching coach. Ryan Minor, who batted .177 in parts of four seasons (1998-2001) with the Orioles and the Montreal Expos as well as the first Lancaster Barnstormer to hit a home run, was signed as the hitting and infield coach. Al Bumbry, who batted .281 in 14 seasons (1972-1985) with the Orioles and the San Diego Padres, was signed to be the baserunning and outfield coach as well as the "Community Ambassador."

A Monster in the Vault

The York Revolution have the honor of playing at Sovereign Bank Stadium, as the left field wall surpasses the height of the Green Monster at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The Green Monster stands at 37 feet, 2 inches (11.3 m). Sovereign Bank Stadium's left field wall stands 6 inches higher at a height of 37 feet, 8 inches (11.490 96 m).

The market was previously served by: York Pirates of the Eastern League (1884-1969)

Tradition

"War of the Roses": York vs. Lancaster

The south-central Pennsylvania cities of York and Lancaster have a historical rivalry in all sporting events from the high school level to the professional. As both cities are named after the English cities of York and Lancaster, their former baseball teams were named for the opposing sides of the Wars of the Roses. Just as in the English battles, the York White Roses and the Lancaster Red Roses fought intense baseball matches throughout their existence. With the addition of the York Revolution to the Atlantic League, the team continues the White Roses tradition as they battle the Lancaster Barnstormers for lower Susquehanna River supremacy. Not only will the Revolution wear a White Roses commemorative patch on their uniforms, they join the Barnstormers in wearing throwback uniforms for one series a season, the "War of the Roses."

Quick facts

Current uniform colors:

Current logo design: The "Revolution" wordmark colored white in script outlined by a navy blue background. The word "York" is incorporated colored brass with two brass stars. The entire wordmark is outlined in silver. Centered below the wordmark is a patriotic-themed bald eagle in navy blue with red and white detail and silver stars with silver outline. The eagle's left talon includes a baseball.

Current mascot: (2007-present).

Current Broadcasters:

Current Radio Station: WSBA 910 AM

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
2007	58-68	5th	Chris Hoiles
2008	71-69	4th (t)	Chris Hoiles	Lost in 1st round
2009	53-87	5th	Chris Hoiles (33-63) / Sam Snider / Andy Etchebarren
2010	69-71	5th	Andy Etchebarren	League Champs
2011	75-51	2nd	Andy Etchebarren	League Champs
2012	79-61	2nd	Andy Etchebarren	Lost in 1st round
2013	65-75	5th	Mark Mason
2014	78-62	4th	Mark Mason	Lost in 1st round
2015	64-75	6th	Mark Mason
2016	76-64	2nd	Mark Mason	Lost in 1st round
2017	68-72	4th	Mark Mason	League Champs
2018	68-58	3rd	Mark Mason
2019	75-65	2nd	Mark Mason	Lost in 1st round
2020	Season cancelled
2021	56-64	7th	Mark Mason
2022	56-76	7th (t)	Mark Mason
2023	71-54	3rd	Rick Forney
2024			Rick Forney

Retired Numbers

42, Jackie Robinson, retired throughout baseball

External links

• York Revolution
• Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
• Atlantic League blog
• Atlantic League Independent
• York, Pennsylvania