Long Island Ducks

The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Ducks played their first season in 2000, two years after the ALPB inaugural season. Since their inception the Ducks' home ballpark has been Fairfield Properties Ballpark, formerly known as Bethpage Ballpark (2010-2020), Suffolk County Sports Park (1999 and 2010), EAB Park (2000–2001), and Citibank Park (2002–2009). The "Ducks" name refers to Long Island's duck-farming heritage (itself represented by the Big Duck ferrocement) and recalls the former Long Island Ducks professional ice hockey team. The team's first manager was Bud Harrelson, a part-owner of the team and a former major league player.

History

The Ducks, the only professional baseball team located on suburban Long Island, in New York State, east of New York City. They began play in 2000, and from 2000 to 2019 won four Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB ) championships. Team owner Frank Boulton expressed his contentment with the Ducks in 2007 to the publication ''Baseball America'', saying, "The Long Island Ducks are the best thing I've ever done in baseball."

A league rivalry developed between the Ducks and the Bridgeport Bluefish, of Bridgeport, Connecticut with the two teams contesting the "Ferry Cup" from 2009 until the latter team's termination in 2017. The Ferry Cup name referred to its sponsor, the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company, (which ran a ferry boat line across the Long Island Sound, between Bridgeport, Connecticut to Port Jefferson on Long Island in New York State), which was frequently utilized by both of the teams and their fans for traveling to each ballpark in the two adjacent states.

Former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and MLB Hall of Fame member Gary Carter managed the Ducks in 2009. Following Carter's death in 2012, the Ducks dedicated the season to his memory and wore a commemorative patch on their uniforms.

Former Major League Baseball players to have played on the Ducks include Dontrelle Willis, Ramon Castro, Ben Broussard, Leo Rosales, Josh Barfield, Bill Hall, Bryant Nelson, Ian Snell, Daniel Murphy, and Lew Ford. Rich Hill played with the Ducks in 2015, prior to his return to the majors in 2016 with the Boston Red Sox of the American League. In 2017, pitcher Éric Gagné attempted a professional baseball comeback with the Ducks; that same year, Nate Freiman, Henderson Alvarez, Quintin Berry, and Tim Melville played with the Ducks and later joined an MLB organization or foreign professional league.

On June 17, 2023, the Ducks became the winningest team in Atlantic League history, clinching their 1,581st win in a victory over the York Revolution of York, Pennsylvania.

Logos and uniforms

The official colors of the Long Island Ducks are black, green, orange, and white. The primary logo features the "Ducks" wordmark in orange with black outline. The wordmark begins with a stylized, cartoon duck head in the form of a capital cursive "D."

Since 2015, OC Sports has been the official on-field headwear of the Atlantic League. The home caps are black with the duck head logo centered on the front. The away caps are black with an orange brim and the duck head logo. Batting helmets are black with the webbed-foot logo.

The Ducks wear uniforms produced by Rawlings. The home jersey is white with black pinstripes with the "Ducks" wordmark centered across the front. The numbering on the jersey is primarily in green with white outline and black drop shadow. The away jerseys are grey with the "Long Island" cursive wordmark centered across in green with white and orange outline. The numbering is in green with white outline and orange drop shadow. The alternate is an orange jersey with the "Ducks" word mark centered across the chest.

Season-by-season records

* 4 Atlantic League Championships (2004, 2012, 2013, 2019)

Radio

All games have been broadcast live on FloSports under the FloBaseball channel, the Atlantic League's media streaming rights partner since 2023. Wednesday and Friday games are also broadcast by Hofstra University students on WRHU/88.7-FM. Michael Polak, Chris King, David Weiss, and Mike Mohr currently serve as the team's official broadcasters.

Mascot

The Long Island Ducks' official mascot is an anthropomorphic duck named QuackerJack. He wears the Ducks' full home white uniform with green and white sneakers. He debuted on March 18, 2000, at then-EAB Park. His name alludes to a popular baseball game food produced by the Cracker Jack brand, and the quacking sound of a duck.

Current roster

Retired numbers

; 4 (Justin Davies): Outfielder and franchise record holder for stolen bases. Retired on June 19, 2015
; 16 (Ray Navarrete): Utility player and franchise record holder for runs, home runs, RBI, and doubles. Retired on August 16, 2015
; 42 (Jackie Robinson): Second baseman. Retired throughout professional baseball on April 15, 1997
; 3 ( Bud Harrelson): Part owner of Long Island Ducks. Retired on August 3, 2018

References

External links

Long Island Ducks official website

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Atlantic League of Professional Baseball teams
Sports in Long Island
Baseball teams in the New York metropolitan area
Baseball teams established in 1998
1998 establishments in New York (state)
Islip (town), New York