The Florence Y'alls are a

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

team based within the

Greater Cincinnati The Cincinnati metropolitan area and also known as the Cincinnati Tri-State area, or Greater Cincinnati) is a metropolitan area centered on Cincinnati and including surrounding counties in the U.S. states of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. The area ...

region in the city of

Florence, Kentucky Florence is a home rule-class city in Boone County, Kentucky, United States. Florence is the second largest city located in Northern Kentucky, after Covington, and part of the Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan Area. The population was 31,946 at ...

. The Y'alls are a member of the West Division of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

, an independent baseball league. Since 2004, they have played their home games at Thomas More Stadium, which is located near Interstates 71 and 75. The Y'alls franchise has won three Frontier League championships. However, these titles came when the team existed as the Erie Sailors (1994), Johnstown Steal (1995), and Johnstown Johnnies (2000). The franchise is currently tied with the Rockford RiverHawks (including years as Portsmouth and Springfield), the

Schaumburg Boomers The Schaumburg Boomers are a professional baseball team based in Schaumburg, Illinois that began play in the independent Frontier League in 2012. The team plays its home games at Wintrust Field. The Boomers replaced the now defunct Schaumburg Fly ...

, and the

River City Rascals The River City Rascals were a professional baseball team based in O'Fallon, Missouri, in the United States. The Rascals were a member of the West Division of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From the 1999 ...

(including years as Zanesville) for the most league championships with each franchise winning three.

History

The team began in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

, as the

Erie Sailors The Erie Sailors was the primary name of several minor league baseball teams that played in Erie, Pennsylvania between 1906 and 1994. Pre-1930s Several unrelated teams used the Erie Sailors name in the Interstate League (1906–1907, 1913, 19 ...

in 1994, before moving to Point Stadium in

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, whi ...

, in 1995, where it was first known as the Johnstown Steal then the Johnstown Johnnies beginning in 1998. The team won two Frontier League championships in their time in Johnstown, one in 1995 as the Steal and one in 2000 as the Johnnies. The team was sold after the 2002 season and moved to Florence, where it became known as the Freedom.

2003

The Freedom played their 2003 home games at Foundation Field in Hamilton, Ohio, about north of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, while the ownership group was building a new stadium (Champion Window Field) in Florence. The team was managed by former major leaguer

Tom Browning Thomas Leo Browning (April 28, 1960 – December 19, 2022) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1984 to 1995, spending almost his entire career with the Cincinnati Reds. In his rookie season in 1985, B ...

. The Freedom finished in last place, setting a then-league record with 61 losses, but featured future major leaguer

Chris Jakubauskas Christopher James Jakubauskas (born December 22, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Baltimore Orioles. College career Jakubauskas ...

, who would go 4-9 (5.11 ERA) for the Freedom. The team averaged fewer than 500 fans per game in attendance.

2004

In 2004, the Freedom opened Champion Window Field in Florence. The park opened on June 18, with the Freedom losing to the

Washington Wild Things The Washington Wild Things are a professional baseball team based in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The Wild Things are a member of the Frontier League, an independent baseball league which, as of 2020, is an official Partner Le ...

10–6 before a crowd of 4,453 fans. On July 7, after a poor start to the season, manager

was fired. Pete Rose Jr., took over for one game, but quit after making a decision to continue his playing career. Mike Easler was then hired and finished the season. The Freedom ended the season with a 31–65 record, finishing in last place for the second consecutive year.

Ownership scandal

In July 2004, shortly after the opening of Champion Window Field, contractors began filing liens against the Freedom, accusing the team of not paying for work done on the stadium. Eventually, 33 liens totaling US$4.7 million were filed. In August,

Fifth Third Bank Fifth Third Bank (5/3 Bank), the principal subsidiary of Fifth Third Bancorp is an American bank holding company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Fifth Third is one of the largest consumer banks in the Midwestern United States, Fifth Third ...

sued team part-owner Chuck Hildebrant for failing to repay multiple loans taken out to finance the stadium construction. As part of the lawsuit, it was revealed that Hildebrant had used of land that he did not own as collateral for the loans, and that he had given the bank a forged document as proof of ownership. Hildebrant was later the subject of a federal white collar crime investigation and sentenced to prison in October 2005. The team was sold in November 2004 to a new ownership group led by Clint Brown, who was not associated with Hildebrant's ownership group.

2005–06

In 2005, former

Chillicothe Paints The Chillicothe Paints are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chillicothe, Ohio, in the United States. The team is a member of the summer collegiate Prospect League. The Paints previously played in the professional independent Frontier Lea ...

manager Jamie Keefe was signed as the team's new manager. Keefe led the Freedom to their first winning record (53–42). The team finished tied for second place in the Frontier League's East Division, missing out on the playoffs by a tiebreaker. Three Freedom players hit more than 20

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s in 2005—

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Mike Galloway (24),

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

Kyle Geswein (24), and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Trevor Hall (23). closer Ted Rowe tied for the league lead in saves with 17. In 2006, the Freedom had a losing record of 38–50, finishing fifth in the Frontier League East Division.

2007

In 2007, the Freedom again had a sub-.500 record, going 42–54 for the season. This placed the team third in the East Division. Outfielder Reggie Watson led the league in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.357) and steals (20), while also winning the Home Run Derby at the 2007 Frontier League All-Star Game, hosted by Florence. Outfielder Ryan Basham earned the Frontier League Rookie of the Year award, hitting .298 with 17 home runs on the season.

2007 Frontier League All-Star Game

In 2007, Champion Window Field, home of the Freedom, hosted its first Frontier League All-Star Game, with the Freedom's East Division winning 11–3. The Freedom's Reggie Watson had three

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

and was named the game's Most Valuable Player. The game's attendance of 4,483 set a new attendance record for Florence.South pounds North
at archives.record-eagle.com, URL accessed December 31, 2009

12/31/09

2008

In 2008, the team finished with a 47–49 record, missing a playoff spot by four games. For the first time, the Freedom attracted over 100,000 fans to Champion Window Field, with a total of 106,707 fans for the year.

Uniform changes

In early 2008, the Freedom changed their primary colors from red, white, and blue to black, red, and silver.Freedom Introduce New Logo, Colors and Uniforms for 2008
at oursportscentral.com, URL accessed December 31, 2009
Archived
12/31/09

2009

In 2009, the Freedom opened against the Midwest Sliders of Ypsilanti at home on May 20.Sliders Spoil Freedom's Opening Day
at florencefreedom.com, URL accessed December 31, 2009
Archived
12/31/09 Florence opened 2009 with two major changes— FieldTurf instead of a natural

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

surface and a new coaching staff.Freedom Host First Game on New Turf Sunday
at oursportscentral.com, URL accessed December 31, 2009
Archived
12/31/09 Toby Rumfield became the new field manager, and Freedom alumni Greg Stone, the Freedom's all-time hit leader, as hitting coach and Bill Browett as pitching coach.New Coaching Staff At Florence
t frontierleague.com, URL accessed December 31, 2009. 12/31/09

2018

Clint Brown died in January 2018 after 15 years as team president and owner. He was succeeded by his widow, Kim Brown.

2019

Sale of the team to a group of local investors was finalized July 2019. In October 2019, the new owners announced a rebranding of the team for the 2020 season, dropping the name Freedom immediately. The new team name, Florence Y'alls, was announced in January 2020. The team takes its new name from the local Florence Y'all Water Tower.

2020

Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the

canceled their 2020 season and did not play.

2021

The Y'alls successfully returned to the playoffs, capturing their fifth division title. However, they lost the first round to the

3 games to 1.

2022

In March 2022, the Y'alls and Thomas More University partnered to rename the home of the Florence Y'alls Thomas More Stadium. As part of the agreement, the stadium will also become the home of the Thomas More Saints baseball team starting in Spring 2023. Unfortunately, the team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018.

Seasons

Current Roster

Alumni

Below is a list of Y'alls alumni who have gone on to play MLB-affiliated baseball. The alumni are sorted by peak level of baseball in which they have participated after playing for Florence. In total, 20 Y'alls alumni have signed professional contracts after playing for Florence, with five making the major leagues. As of July 3, 2021:

MLB

AAA

AA

A-Advanced

The following Freedom alumni have advanced as far as

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

: Jason Tuttle (Freedom 2003),Jason Tuttle
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed January 1, 2010
Archived
1/1/10 Kevin Rival (2004),Kevin Rival
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed January 1, 2010
Archived
1/1/10 Tim Turner (2004),Tim Turner
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed January 1, 2010
Archived
1/1/10 Mike Galloway (2005),Mike Galloway
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed January 1, 2010
Archived
1/1/10 Heath Castle (2006),Heath Castle
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed January 1, 2010
Archived
1/1/10 Johnny Washington (2008)Johnny Washington
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed January 1, 2010
Archived
1/1/10

A

The following Freedom alumni have advanced as far as Class A: James Morrison (Freedom 2004),James Morrison
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed January 1, 2010
Archived
1/1/10 Steven Pickerell (2005, 2009),Steven Pickerell
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed January 1, 2010
Archived
1/1/10 Joel Posey (2004-5),Joel Posey
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed January 1, 2010
Archived
1/1/10 Conor McGeehan (2006),Conor McGeehan
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed January 1, 2010
Archived
1/1/10 Tyler Evans (2007),Tyler Evans
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed January 1, 2010
Archived
1/1/10 Neall French (2008)Neall French
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed January 1, 2010
Archived
1/1/10

Short Season A

The following Freedom alumni have advanced as far as

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Rookie-Advanced

The following Freedom alumni have advanced as far as Rookie Advanced class: J.D. Foust (Freedom 2004)Justin Foust
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed January 1, 2010
Archived
1/1/10

Rookie

The following Freedom alumni have advanced as far as Rookie Class: Reggie Watson (Freedom 2006-7),Reggie Watson
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed January 1, 2010
Archived
1/1/10 Preston Vancil (Freedom 2010)Preston Vancil
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed January 1, 2010
Archived
5/8/10 *

Records

Below is a list of

individual records set by Y'alls players as of the end of the 2009 season.League Records
at frontierleague.com, URL accessed January 1, 2009
Archived
1/1/10

Individual game

Runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

– 9 by Garth McKinney on August 11, 2008 (three-way tie) * Hits – 6 by Matt Cooksey (2006), Nick Salotti (2007), and Garth McKinney (2008) (seven-way tie) * No-hitter – Preston Vancil on July 26, 2009

Single season

* Games started (pitching) – 22 by Everett Saul in 2009 (three-way tie)

References

External links

*
Freedom page at OurSports Central
{{Defunct Pennsylvania sports teams Frontier League teams Sports teams in Cincinnati Professional baseball teams in Kentucky Boone County, Kentucky Baseball teams established in 2003 2003 establishments in Kentucky