Brooklyn Cyclones

Brooklyn Cyclones
Founded in 1986
Brooklyn, New York
Team logoCap insignia
Class-level
Current Short-Season A (1986–present)
Minor league affiliations
League New York–Penn League (1986–present)
Division McNamara Division
Major league affiliations
Current New York Mets (2001–present)
Previous Toronto Blue Jays (1986–2000)
Minor league titles
League titles (2)
  • 1986
  • 2001
Division titles (8)
  • 1986
  • 1993
  • 1996
  • 2001
  • 2003
  • 2004
  • 2007
  • 2010
Team data
Nickname Brooklyn Cyclones (2001–present)
Previous names
Colors Navy, Light Blue, Red and Yellow
Ballpark MCU Park (2001–present)
Previous parks
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
 Sterling Equities
Manager Tom Gamboa
General Manager Steve Cohen

The Brooklyn Cyclones are a minor league baseball team based in Brooklyn, New York that plays in the Short-Season A classification New York–Penn League, affiliated with the New York Mets. The Cyclones play at MCU Park just off the Coney Island boardwalk in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.

In its entire franchise history, the team has won seven division titles. As the Brooklyn Cyclones, the team has won 5 division titles, made the playoffs eight times and in 2001, the Cyclones were declared co-league champions with the Williamsport Crosscutters, being forced to prematurely end their championship series due to the September 11 attacks, despite the Cyclones leading the series one game to none.

History

The Cyclones began as the St. Catharines, Ontario-based St. Catharines Blue Jays (later St. Catharines Stompers) in 1986 as a team in the New York–Penn League. They were named for their parent club, the Toronto Blue Jays. In 1995, the team was sold by the city of Toronto to a group of local investors which included former Toronto catcher Ernie Whitt.

In 1999, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani announced a deal that would bring two minor league baseball teams to the boroughs outside Manhattan. New ballparks would be constructed for the Staten Island Yankees and the Cyclones. Prior to the 2000 season, the team was bought and moved to Queens, New York, becoming known as the Queens Kings. The club played its 2000 season at St. John's University in Jamaica, New York, in the borough of Queens, remaining a Blue Jays affiliate for one last season.

A "name-the-team" contest was held to determine a new name for the franchise. The winning selection, Cyclones, refers to the famous Coney Island Cyclone roller coaster at nearby Astroland amusement park on Coney Island. The team's new park, which was then called KeySpan Park, was completed in time for the 2001 season. Brooklyn had been without professional baseball since the Brooklyn Dodgers left Ebbets Field for Los Angeles, California in 1958. After approximately three weeks of play, additional seats had to be added to the stadium to accommodate fans.

The Cyclones managed by Edgar Alfonzo played well in their opening season with the best record in the league, 52–24 where the led the NY Penn-League with a 2.35 team ERA. They defeated the Staten Island Yankees in a classic NYPL opening playoff round. The deciding game won by the Cyclones 4 to 1 featured trickery by Catcher Brett Kay who faked giving up on a play only to receive a laser throw from John Toner to tag out a runner at the plate. advancing to the championship series against the Williamsport Crosscutters. The Cyclones traveled to Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, winning the series opener on September 10, 2001 by a score of 8-4. The potential championship clincher was scheduled for September 11 in Brooklyn. However, due to the September 11 attacks, all minor league baseball playoffs were canceled. The Cyclones and Crosscutters were declared co-champions.

The 2002 season was filled with inconsistent play and questionable pitching decisions by manager Howard Johnson leading to a .500 season. Scott Kazmir pitched to a 0.50 ERA in five starts and had 34 strikeouts in only 18 innings pitched.

In 2003, the Cyclones managed by Tim Teufel won the McNamara division title with brilliant pitching led by starters, soon to be Major Leaguers, Matt Lindstrom and Brian Bannister and by relievers Robert Paulk and Carlos Muñiz. Despite a drop in run production, the Cyclones pitching staff willed their way into the playoffs, beating the Oneonta Tigers 2 games to 1 only to lose in the NYPL Championship to the Williamsport Crosscutters 2 games to none.

The 2004 season brought the most complete Cyclones team ever. Managed by Tony Tijerina, three batters hit over .300 and five starting pitchers made their starts in rotation for the last 55 games of the season except one game. The Cyclones won the McNamara division title only to lose to the Tri-City ValleyCats in controversial fashion. With the series tied, the Cyclones were leading 3-0 in the 3rd inning when the games was held up and eventually cancelled by rain, which wiped out the score. After another rainout, Game 3 was played from the beginning where the Cyclones lost the deciding game 7-1. A new rule was placed by the NY-Penn League that any games suspended because of rain, if a team or teams have scored runs in the game, the suspended game will be picked from the inning when the game was called.

The 2005 season managed by Mookie Wilson was hampered by inconsistent relief pitching that hampered games in the later innings despite a good offense. The Cyclones finished third and missed the playoffs. On August 23, 2005, The Cyclones and KeySpan Park hosted the first-ever New York–Penn League All-Star Game, which was won by the National League-affiliated team 5–4. Also that year, the Cyclones became a major partner of Brooklyn's High School of Sports Management, a small school located down the block from MCU Park on West 19th Street and Mermaid Ave.

The 2006 season managed by George Greer mirrored the team name. A 7-game losing streak to start the season was followed by a 10-game winning streak which led the streaky Cyclones to the NYPL Playoffs in a dramatic extra-inning victory against the Vermont Lake Monsters in the final game of the season. The Cyclones would lose to the SI Yanks in the NYPL opening playoff round 2 games to none. On July 20, 2006, the Cyclones and the Oneonta Tigers took part in the longest game in the history of the New York–Penn League, a 26-inning marathon that the Cyclones lost, 6–1. The game took 6 hours and 40 minutes to complete. The Cyclones scored their lone run in the first inning; Oneonta tied the game in the fourth and then did not score again until they scored five runs in the top of the 26th inning. Cyclones manager George Greer was ejected from the contest in the first inning for arguing an umpire's call on a force play at second base.[1]

The 2007 season managed by Edgardo Alfonzo had the second most successful season in team history with a 49–25 record. With a consistent offense, great pitching and the best defense in the league, the Cyclones powered their way to winning its fourth McNamara division title and sweeping the SI Yankees in two straight games in the NYPL opening playoff round. Game One produced the best road win in team history when the Cyclones beat the SI Yanks, 8–4. However, the Cyclones went on to getting swept in disappointing fashion by the Auburn Doubledays for the NYPL Championship. After giving up a leadoff home run to shortstop Matt Bouchard, current Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Brett Cecil pitched one hit ball in 7 innings as the Doubledays won the game 4-1. On September 7, 2007, during the final regular season game (a 5–4 victory over the Lowell Spinners), the Cyclones set an all-time single-game attendance record of 10,073—2,573 more than the stadium's seating capacity in 2001. That season, the team won its fourth McNamara division title.

The 2008 season managed again by Edgar Alfonzo was marred by a poor start but recovered with a torrid finish at 45–30, narrowly missing the playoffs after losing the final game of the season to the Aberdeen Ironbirds 5-3 in extra innings. The team produced Major Leaguers and current New York Mets Ike Davis and Jenrry Mejía. But the team was marred with an inconsistent offense with less than average results with runners in scoring position.

On August 23, 2009, Cyclones pitcher Brandon Moore threw a 7-inning no-hitter in the first game of a doubleheader against the Aberdeen IronBirds, 5–0, at Ripken Stadium. Moore walked three and hit one batter, with only one IronBird reaching second base. This came seven years to the day Miguel Pinango threw a nine-inning one-hitter for the Cyclones, pitching 8 ⅔ innings of no-hit ball.

On February 4, 2010, the team announced that the new name of their home would be called Municipal Credit Union (MCU) Park. (From 2001 to 2009 the stadium was known as KeySpan Park.) In addition to the naming rights, MCU and the Cyclones entered into a comprehensive 11-year marketing partnership that launches the Cyclones’ 10th season in Brooklyn. The partner agreement is scheduled to last until 2020.

The Cyclones' main rival are the Staten Island Yankees, a rivalry often called the "Battle of the Boroughs", after the boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island, or the "Battle for the Bridge", after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge which separates the two teams. Only 13 miles (21 km) apart, the two teams have the closest proximity in Minor League Baseball. The two teams generally sell out the games which pit them against each other. A major contribution to this intense rivalry is the fact that both parent teams are also based in New York (the Mets in Queens, and the Yankees in the Bronx). Other regional rivals include the Hudson Valley Renegades and the Tri-City ValleyCats.

Alumni

The first Cyclone to break into the major leagues was infielder Danny Garcia, who made his debut with the New York Mets on September 2, 2003 at Shea Stadium. Scott Kazmir, who played with Brooklyn in 2002, made his major league debut with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2004. Still with the Rays in 2008, Kazmir was tagged with the loss in Game 1 of the 2008 World Series. He is the first former Cyclone to reach the World Series, though Lenny DiNardo, who pitched with the Cyclones in 2001, won a World Series ring with the Boston Red Sox in 2004 while on the Disabled List.

Mike Jacobs, who was a member of the inaugural 2001 Cyclones team, made his Mets debut on August 21, 2005, hitting a three run pinch-hit home run off Washington Nationals pitcher Esteban Loaiza. In 30 games with 100 at bats for the Mets, Jacobs hit 11 home runs and had 23 RBI before being traded to the Florida Marlins after the season.

In April 2006, Brian Bannister became the first Cyclone pitcher to make his debut with the Mets in a game against the Washington Nationals at Shea. The following April, sidearm reliever Joe Smith, who pitched for the Cyclones in 2006, made his major league debut on opening day for the Mets against the St. Louis Cardinals. Smith pitched a scoreless third of an inning in the Mets win. First baseman/outfielder Nick Evans was called up on May 24, 2008 as an injury replacement. Evans, who played with the Cyclones in 2005, had 3 doubles in his first major league game. Ike Davis, who played for the Cyclones in 2008, is now the first baseman for the Oakland Athletics.

As of 2016, the Cyclones had sent 60 players to the Major Leagues. The current Major Leaguers who are former Brooklyn Cyclones are:

Ike Davis

Yearly Results, Managers & Coaches

Year Record Place Playoff Results Manager Pitching Coach Hitting Coach Assistant Coach
2001 52-24 1st Place Defeated Staten Island Yankees (2-1)
Named NYPL Co-Champs with Williamsport Crosscutters
due to 9/11 Attacks		 Edgar Alfonzo Bobby Ojeda Howard Johnson
2002 38-38 4th Place Missed Playoffs Howard Johnson Bobby Ojeda Donovan Mitchell
2003 47-28 1st Place Defeated Oneonta Tigers (2-1)

Lost to Williamsport (2-0)

 Tim Teufel Hector Berrios Roger LaFrançois
2004 43-31 1st Place Lost to Williamsport (2-0) Tony Tijerina Hector Berrios Donovan Mitchell
2005 40-36 3rd Place Missed Playoffs Mookie Wilson Steve Merriman Donovan Mitchell Juan Lopez
2006 41-33 2nd Place

Wild Card Winner

 Lost to Staten Island Yankees (2-1) George Greer Hector Berrios Scott Hunter Juan Lopez
Guadalupe Jabalera
2007 49-25 1st Place Defeated Staten Island Yankees (2-0)

Lost to Auburn Doubledays 2-0

 Edgar Alfonzo Hector Berrios Guadalupe Jabalera
2008 45-30 2nd Place Missed Playoffs Edgar Alfonzo Hector Berrios Guadalupe Jabalera
2009 45-30 2nd Place

Wild Card Winner

 Lost to Mahoning Valley Scrappers (2-1) Pedro Lopez Rick Tomlin Jack Voigt Joel Fuentes
2010 51-24 1st Place Defeated Jamestown Jammers (2-1)

Lost to Tri-City ValleyCats (2-1)

 Wally Backman Rick Tomlin Benny Distefano Joel Fuentes
2011 45-29 2nd Place

Wild Card Winner

 Lost to Staten Island Yankees (2-1) Rich Donnelly Frank Viola Bobby Malek
2012 45-31 2nd Place

Wild Card Winner

 Lost to Hudson Valley Renegades (2-1) Rich Donnelly Marc Valdes Bobby Malek
2013 38-37 2nd Place Missed Playoffs Rich Donnelly Marc Valdes Bobby Malek
2014 42-34 2nd Place Missed Playoffs Tom Gamboa Tom Signore;

Dave LaRoche

 Benny Distefano Edgardo Alfonzo

David Davalillo

2015 33-43 4th Place Missed Playoffs Tom Gamboa Dave LaRoche Yunir Garcia Edgardo Alfonzo
2016 37-39 3rd Place Missed Playoffs Tom Gamboa Billy Bryk Jr. Sean Ratliff Edgardo Alfonzo

NOTES:

Ojeda, Johnson, Teufel, Wilson, and Backman all played on the 1986 World Champion NY Mets. Viola & Edgardo Alfonzo also played for the Mets.

Malek, Garcia, & Ratliff all played for the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Edgar & Edgardo Alfonzo are brothers. Edgardo Alfonzo is officially a NY Mets Ambassador, but also serves as a Cyclones coach. In 2014 he coaches primarily home games & a few road games. In 2015, he did all games.

Tom Signore left the team in July 2014 due to a concussion & was replaced by Dave LaRoche. Signore was named the pitching coach in 2015, but missed the season due to the concussion.

David Davalillo joined the Cyclones late in the 2014 season after the DSL Mets finished their season.

Retired and honored numbers

A total of 10 numbers hang on the press level of MCU Park.

Brooklyn Dodgers: 4: Duke Snider; 14: Joan & Gil Hodges 17: Carl Erskine; 36: Don Newcombe; 42: Jackie Robinson;

Brooklyn Cyclones: 6: Danny Garcia; 19: Brian Bannister; 20: Dillon Gee; 35: Ángel Pagán;

NOTE: A Cyclones player may still wear these numbers, with the exception of 14, & 42. Additionally, no Cyclone may wear 31 (Mike Piazza), 37 (Casey Stengel) or 41 (Tom Seaver) due to the numbers being retired by the Mets.

On August 22, 2011, the Brooklyn Cyclones also honored Pia Toscano, who sang the anthem prior to a game in 2003 by putting a plaque on the press level.

On August 15, 2014, the Cyclones added Joan Hodges, the widow of Gil Hodges, to the ring of Honored Numbers.

Mascots

The Cyclones have two mascots, Sandy the Seagull and Pee-Wee. Sandy, the primary mascot, has been with the team since the inaugural Cyclones season in 2001. Pee-wee was introduced in 2003 as Sandy's adopted son. Sandy is named for Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax, while Pee-Wee was named after Brooklyn Dodgers shortstop Pee Wee Reese. Even though Hurricane Sandy damaged MCU Park and Coney Island, the Cyclones kept the name Sandy on their mascot.

In 2006, the team introduced a new unnamed mascot: a blow-up "ZOOperstars!" type pelican. Despite a contest to name the character, it was never given an official name. The Pelican has not made an appearance since the 2006 season. In 2008, Maverick the Wonder Dog was introduced. He was a real Chocolate Labrador Retriever who was owned by one of the Cyclones staff members. The goal was to have Maverick learn tricks like picking up baseballs and bats. Like the Pelican, Maverick lasted only one season.

A Hot Dog race is held at every game at MCU Park, which is sponsored by Nathan's Famous. The first Nathan's store is located two blocks away from the ballpark. The three hot dogs currently racing are Ketchup, Mustard, and Relish. For many years Relish has become the loveable loser because he either wins very few races or none at all during the season.

On field entertainers

MCs

2001–2003: "Party Marty" Haber, a member of the Cyclones front office.

2003–present: King Henry A local entertainer. In 2013, King Henry became the main on field entertainer.

2007–2010: Jay Moran, who had served as PA Announcer in 2006.

2011: Jason Negron

2012: Dan the Man Pecoraro, a member of the Cyclones front office.

In 2013, Bucky the Buccaneer was introduced. Every time the Brooklyn Cyclones would score a run, this pirate themed mascot would run around the field from one dugout to the next, waving his rally flags in excitement. Bucky was played by a first year intern, Daniel DePasquale. He worked with the Brooklyn Cyclones for 2 seasons.

BEACH BUMS

The original "Cyclones Beach Bums" were a promotional team of men and women who entertained the ballpark from 2003 through 2008, were seen all over the ballpark dancing, interacting with fans, and handing out promotional items. In 2009, the team decided to hire an all women dance team to replace the Beach Bums, but still retaining the Beach Bum name. The dance team is similar to that of the New York Knicks, New York Dragons and New York Islanders.

Public address announcers

2001–2005: Dom Alagia.

2006: Sean Howard for 1 month, replaced by Jay Moran a PA Announcer at St. John's.

2007 – July 2010: David Freeman, who had served as PA Announcer for the Queens Kings. Freeman left to become an MLB Scorer with the Mets & Yankees.

July 2010 – Present: Mark Fratto, the former Director of Athletic Communications for St. John's. Fratto is also the PA Announcer for NYC FC, the Brooklyn Bolts & the Westchester Knicks

August 2013: Siddique "Sid" Farooqi filled in for Fratto, who was with St. John's in Europe. He still fills in when Fratto has other events.

Media

WKRB (90.3 FM) is the official radio station of the Cyclones. It served as radio home for every Cyclones season except 2012. WSOU was named the official radio station of the Cyclones on June 15, 2012 for the 2012 season, following the death of Warner Fusselle. Cyclones games will air occasionally on BCAT & SNY.

2001–2011: Warner Fusselle served as radio voice of the Brooklyn Cyclones from their inception until his death on June 10, 2012, a week prior to the 2012 Cyclones season.

2012: David Rind, Vincent Coughlin and Chris Paizis, who all called Seton Hall baseball, split the broadcasting duties, with Rind serving as the road announcer.

2013: David Greenwald served as the radio voice of the Cyclones for 1 year on WKRB.

2014–present: Stu Johnson. In addition to Brooklyn Cyclones games, Stu also announced Brooklyn Bolts games on WKRB.

Roster

Brooklyn Cyclones roster
Players Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 43 Adam Atkins
  • 16 Dillon Becker
  • -- Matt Blackham
  • 44 Alejandro Castro
  • 18 Gary Cornish
  • 19 Justin Dunn
  • 35 Gregorix Estevez
  • 38 Harol Gonzalez
  • 45 Merandy Gonzalez
  • 47 Taylor Henry
  • 46 Jordan Humphreys
  •  8 Anthony Kay †
  • 48 Gabriel Llanes
  • 17 Austin McGeorge
  • 40 Thomas Szapucki
  • 30 Ty Williams
  • 39 Joseph Zanghi

Catchers

  • 15 Brandon Brosher
  • 33 Dan Rizzie
  •  4 Ali Sanchez

Infielders

  • 27 Peter Alonso
  •  8 Luis Carpio
  •  1 Franklin Correa
  •  5 Anthony Dimino
  • 10 Michael Paez
  •  5 Dionis Paulino
  •  1 Nick Sergakis
  • 11 Blake Tiberi
  •  3 Colby Woodmansee

Outfielders

  •  9 Arnaldo Berrios
  • 23 Gene Cone
  • 21 Jay Jabs
  •  2 Desmond Lindsay
  • 24 Jacob Zanon

Manager

  • Vacant

Coaches

  • 13 Edgardo Alfonzo (bench)
  • 26 Billy Bryk (pitching)
  • 29 Sean Ratliff (hitting)



7-day disabled list
* On New York Mets 40-man roster
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporary inactive list
Roster updated September 1, 2016
Transactions
→ More MiLB rosters
→ New York Mets minor league players

References

  1. ↑ Smith, Daren. "Tigers win longest NYPL game." Minor League Baseball. July 20, 2006. Retrieved on November 14, 2008.

External links

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