The Syracuse Chiefs are a minor league baseball team based in Syracuse, New York. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. Their home stadium is Alliance Bank Stadium (formerly known as P&C Stadium) located north of downtown Syracuse.

Syracuse has been represented in professional baseball since 1877, when the Syracuse Stars competed in the League Alliance, an early minor league. Syracuse fielded two major league versions of the Stars, in the 1879 National League and the 1890 American Association. Apart from those seasons, however, the Stars were members of high minor leagues such as the Eastern League (forerunner to the International) and the New York State League through 1917. From 1918-27, they competed in the International League and were an early farm team of the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1928 the IL franchise moved to Montreal and became the Montreal Royals. The Stars moved down one classification to the New York-Penn League for 1½ seasons before moving to Utica, New York.

Bryce Aron Max Harper (born October 16, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder with the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball. Harper was selected by the Nationals with the first overall pick in the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft. He stands at 6 feet 3 inches and weighs 225 lbs.

Harper won the 2010 Golden Spikes Award, awarded annually to the best amateur baseball player. Going into the 2012 season, baseball prospect-watchers, including Baseball America, MLB.com, and Baseball Prospectus routinely ranked Harper as a top #3 prospect. He made his MLB debut with the Nationals on April 28, 2012.

Harper earned his General Educational Development after his sophomore year at Las Vegas High School in December 2009, making him eligible for the June 2010 amateur draft in order to begin his professional baseball career earlier. For the 2010 college season, 17-year-old Harper enrolled at the College of Southern Nevada of the Scenic West Athletic Conference (SWAC) in National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). An advantage for Harper in his eventual transition to his professional career was that the SWAC, like MLB, uses wooden bats in conference play. In 66 games, he hit 31 home runs, 98 RBI, hitting .443/.526/.987 (AVG/OBP/SLG). His 31 home runs shattered the school's previous record of 12. He was named the 2010 SWAC Player of the Year. The next day, in a doubleheader, he went 2-for-5 with a three-run double in the first game, and in the second game went 6-for-6 with 4 home runs, a triple, and a double.