The Rochester Red Wings are a Triple-A team based in Rochester, New York. The team plays in the International League and are a minor league baseball affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major-league club. The Red Wings play in Frontier Field, located in downtown Rochester.

The Red Wings were an affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals for 32 years (1929–1960), then spent 42 years (1961–2002) as a farm club of the Baltimore Orioles before moving on to the Twins in 2003. The franchise played from 1929 through 1996 at Silver Stadium before moving to Frontier Field in 1997. Beginning on on April 18, 1981, the Red Wings, along with the Pawtucket Red Sox, set the record for the longest professional baseball game ever played (33 innings).

Baseball in Rochester dates back to 1877 with the "Rochesters" of the International Association, and Rochester has had a franchise in the league now known as the International League as early as 1885. The current franchise has been playing in Rochester since 1899, when the team was known as the Rochester Broncos and won the league championship in its inaugural season.

According to Rochester sports historian Douglas Brei, only six franchises in the history of North American professional sports have been playing in the same city and same league continuously and uninterrupted since the 19th century: the Rochester Red Wings, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Louis Cardinals. He also reports that, along with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, the Red Wings are one of only two franchises in North American professional sports to have captured a league championship^[1] in every decade of the 20th century.

Franchise history[link]

Early history (1899–1928)[link]

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Cardinals era (1929–1960)[link]

The Red Wings became the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1929. Aside from the affiliation, the Cardinals also owned the Wings and their stadium, then known as Red Wing Stadium. The early years of the Cardinals and Red Wings saw the Red Wings very much a power house, not unlike their parent club. The team was managed by Billy Southworth (who split time managing the team in 1929 with Bill McKechnie),and from 1929–1931, the team won the International League championship. In a true statement of how dominant a team they were, they won 103 games in 1929, 105 games in 1930, and 101 games in 1931.^[2] The team would remain competitive for many years, with 1935 and 1937 being the only years that they lost more games then they won. The return of Billy Southworth in 1939 brought another league championship to Rochester.^[2]

Lean times were ahead for Rochester, with the 1940s finding the Red Wings on the bottom half of the standings. Even former famed pitcher Burleigh Grimes couldn't change the team's fortunes. He lasted a little more than a season and a half when he was replaced by Benny Borgmann.^[2] The team would capture three more league championships in the Cardinals era, those coming in 1952, 1955, and 1956.^[2] In the fall of 1956, the Cardinals ceased to operate the Red Wings and put both the team and the stadium up for sale. In response, Morrie Silver, a Rochester businessman, formed Rochester Community Baseball, Inc. (RCB) and spearheaded a drive to sell shares in RCB to raise money to buy the Red Wings and Red Wing Stadium to ensure that the franchise would remain in Rochester. The attempt was successful as RCB purchased both entities from the Cardinals on February 27, 1957, in an event that was dubbed the "72 Day Miracle". RCB, composed of fans of the team as shareholders, continues to own and operate the club to this day, making the Red Wings one of a very few current American professional sports franchises that are publicly owned. The Green Bay Packers of the National Football League are the most notable example of this distinction.

After the sale, the Wings remained St. Louis' affiliate until 1960, when the Red Wings moved on to become the top farm club of the Baltimore Orioles.

Orioles era (1961–2002)[link]

After two straight fourth place finishes, and early exits from the playoffs, the Red Wings dismissed Clyde King, a hold over from the Cardinals era, as manager of the team, and named Darrell Johnson in his place. Johnson never managed a finish better than fourth during his tenure, however, in 1964, with an 82-72 record, Johnson's Red Wings managed to win yet another championship.^[2] He was replaced by Earl Weaver, who showed great promise as a manager. After two seasons, Weaver was brought up to manage the Baltimore Orioles, and he was replaced by Billy DeMars, who lasted one season before being replaced by Cal Ripken Sr. After two seasons, Ripken was replaced by Joe Altobelli. From 1971-1976, the Red Wings never missed the playoffs, capturing two more league titles in the process in 1971 and 1974.^[2] Altobelli returned to the Red Wings after his retirement from the coaching ranks, and remains with the team as part of the radio broadcasting team.

1978 was a terrible season for the Red Wings, as the club had three managers, Ken Boyer, Al Widmar, and Frank Robinson. The team finished 68-72. Robinson was replaced by Doc Edwards, who managed to get the team to the playoffs in 1980, but could not manage a league title. Edwards was soon gone, a replaced by Lance Nicholls, who in turn, was replaced by former Tidewater Tides manager Frank Verdi.^[2] The team did horrible under Verdi, and was mainly stocked with cast off former major leaguers, career minor league players, and very few prospects. The only bonafide major league prospect on the team during this lean period was Larry Sheets, who was mainly a journeyman hitter during his career.

Verdi was fired midway through 1985, leading the Red Wings to a terrible 18-40 record. His replacement, first base coach Mark Wiley, did better, going 40-41 the rest of the season.^[2]

There would be a return to glory, when the Red Wings named John Hart as the new manager. He was able to guod the team into the playoffs during his two year stint, but none resulted in a championship. However, Hart impressed the Orioles, and he was soon off to the majors. His replacement was former New York Yankees catcher Johnny Oates. Oates won the league title in his first year and only year at the helm. His replacement was Greg Biagini. In 1990, Biagini led a loaded Red Wings team, which featured future Red Sox hero Curt Schilling, to the league championship. However, there would be more lean times ahead. The Red Wings went through a series of managers, before again, turning the team over to another former major league catcher. In 1997, Marv Foley led the Wings to another league title.^[2] Red Wing Stadium was renamed Silver Stadium in honor of Morrie Silver on August 19, 1968.

The Rochester Red Wings, along with the Pawtucket Red Sox, hold the record for the longest professional baseball game, lasting a total of 33 innings and 8 hours, 25 minutes over the course of three different days. The game was held at McCoy Stadium, beginning on April 18, 1981. It was suspended just after 4 a.m. the next morning, and Rochester lost 3–2 when the game resumed on June 23.

Rochester won six Governors' Cup titles during their 42-year affiliation with the Orioles, with the last coming in 1997. The team's fortunes began to decline by 1999, though, as the product on the field slipped in quality. By 2002, the last year of the player development agreement between Baltimore and Rochester, the team's record had slipped to a league-worst 55–89. In the off-season, the Red Wings did not extend the agreement with Baltimore; instead, the club signed a new one with the Minnesota Twins to become their Triple-A affiliate.

The last five years of the Orioles affiliation also saw a pair of accomplishments aside from the 1997 title run. In 1997, the Red Wings moved into the new Frontier Field in downtown Rochester after 68 seasons at Silver Stadium on the city's northeast side. Later, during the team's fourth year at the stadium in 2000, the Red Wings played host to the Triple-A All-Star Game.

Twins era (2003–present)[link]

The change in affiliation did not immediately transfer into success on the field. In 2003, the Red Wings finished 68–75 under new manager Phil Roof, good for fifth place in the six-team International League (IL) North Division and 10½ games behind the Ottawa Lynx, the new affiliate of the Orioles. It was the sixth consecutive losing season for Rochester. Beginning in 2004, however, the team began to turn their fortunes around. In both 2004 and 2005, the Red Wings finished in second place in the North Division with records of 73–71 and 75–69, respectively. The turnaround was capped in 2006 when Rochester, now under the leadership of Stan Cliburn, advanced to the International League playoffs as the Wild Card with a record of 79–64. The Red Wings then beat the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons three games to one in the best-of-five semifinal series but lost to the Toledo Mud Hens in five games, three games to two, in the best-of-five Governors' Cup series.

Rochester followed up their run to the 2006 Governors' Cup Finals by posting a winning record in each of the next two seasons, bringing the streak of consecutive winning seasons to five. In 2008, the team went 74–70 after being as far as 13 games under .500 at one point (19–32 on May 25). The streak was snapped in 2009 after the team finished 70–74. On September 21, 2009, the Minnesota Twins announced that they would not renew manager Stan Cliburn's contract for the 2010 season. According to Twins farm director Jim Rantz, the change was made as part of an "overall directional change that is being implemented throughout the minor-league system." ^[3] Former New Britain Rock Cats manager Tom Nieto was Cliburn's replacement.^[4] Nieto was fired at the close of the 2011 season after leading the Red Wings to their first back-to-back 90-loss seasons since 1903-1904.^[5] On November 25, 2011 Gene Glynn was named to manage the team in the 2012 season.^[6]

Titles[link]

The Red Wings have played for the Governors' Cup, the championship of the International League, 21 times, winning 10. Both numbers are IL records.

Current roster[link]

Retired numbers[link]

The Red Wings have retired three numbers, two of which are derived from uniform numbers.

• 26 for Joe Altobelli, often referred to as "Mr. Baseball" in the Rochester area. He played for the Red Wings from 1963 to 1965, coached the team in 1966, and managed the team from 1971 to 1976. As manager, "Alto" led the Red Wings to two Governors' Cup titles. Altobelli also served as the Red Wings' general manager from 1991 to 1994 and was the color commentator for all Red Wing home game broadcasts from 1998 to 2008.^[7]
• 36 for Luke Easter. He played in Rochester from 1959 to his retirement in 1963, during which time he hit 67 home runs.
• 8222 for Morrie Silver. He spearheaded a successful grassroots effort to purchase the Red Wings from the St. Louis Cardinals in 1957 and subsequently served as the team president from 1957 to 1968. The number retired in his honor, 8,222, represents the original number of shareholders of Rochester Community Baseball, Inc.

Altobelli's number 26 and the number 8,222 representing Silver were both retired prior to the final regular season game at Silver Stadium on August 30, 1996. Easter's number 36 was retired by the Red Wings in 2000.

Notable alumni[link]

Awards and honors[link]

In 2008, Naomi Silver, the team's Chief Operating Officer and Board Chairman, was selected Minor League Executive of the Year by Baseball America.^[8]

Notes and references[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rochester Red Wings

• Rochester Red Wings website
• 'r Red Wings
• Photographs of Red Wing / Silver Stadium, former home of the Rochester Red Wings - Rochester Area Ballparks
• Photographs of Frontier Field, current home of the Rochester Red Wings - Rochester Area Ballparks