The Princeton Rays were a

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team in

Princeton, West Virginia Princeton is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 5,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Bluefield micropolitan area. History Early history Princeton was ...

, operating as an Advanced Rookie-level team in the

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

. The team was affiliated with several

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) franchises, primarily the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

History

The Princeton franchise began play in the Appalachian League in 1988 and was first affiliated with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

for two seasons. The team was next a cooperative for the 1990 season, known as the Princeton Patriots, and was then affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds from 1991 to 1996. The team's final affiliation was with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays from 1997 to 2020. After being known as the Princeton Devil Rays during the 1997–2008 seasons, the team announced on December 2, 2008, that they would update their name, logo, colors, and uniforms as their parent club had done the previous year. Through completion of the 2012 season, the franchise had seen 57 former players move on to play in

, including: Brandon Backe, Rocco Baldelli, Carl Crawford, Jonny Gomes,

Josh Hamilton Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 2007 to 2015, most prominently as a member of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers teams ...

, Seth McClung, Pokey Reese, Matt Moore, Wade Davis, Desmond Jennings, Jeremy Hellickson, Jason Hammel, and Jared Sandberg. NFL quarterback Doug Johnson and NBA referee David Guthrie also played professional baseball for Princeton teams, in 1997 and 1995, respectively. The team was operated on a not-for-profit basis. The Princeton Rays played their home games at H. P. Hunnicutt Field, which originally opened in 1988 (and was completely rebuilt in 2000 on the same site) and held 1,950 fans. The team played an annual 68-game schedule that traditionally extended from mid-June through the end of August. The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

before ultimately being cancelled on June 30. In conjunction with a reorganization of Minor League Baseball beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was converted to a collegiate summer baseball league intended for rising college freshmen and sophomores. In the revamped league, the Rays were replaced by the Princeton WhistlePigs.

Playoffs

*1994: Defeated Johnson City 2–1 to win championship. *1998: Lost to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

2–0 in finals. *2014: Lost to Danville 2–0 in semifinals. *2015: Defeated Pulaski 2–1 in semifinals; lost to Greeneville 2–1 in finals. *2016: Lost to Burlington 2–1 in semifinals. *2018: Defeated Bluefield 2–1 in semifinals; lost to Elizabethton 2–0 in finals.

Notable alumni

* Alex Cobb (2006) * Carl Crawford (1999) 4 x MLB All-Star * Wade Davis (2004) 3 x MLB All-Star * Chad Fox (1992) * Jonny Gomes (2001) *

(1999) 5 x MLB All-Star; 2010 AL Batting Title; 2010 AL Most Valuable Player * Jason Hammel (1992) * Jeremy Hellickson (2005) * Kevin Kiermaier (2010) * Matt Moore (2007–2008) MLB All-Star * Pokey Reese (1991) 2 x Gold Glove * John Stearns (1994, MGR) 4 x MLB All-Star

References

{{reflist 1988 establishments in West Virginia 2020 disestablishments in West Virginia Baseball teams disestablished in 2020 Baseball teams established in 1988 Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates Defunct Appalachian League teams Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates Sports in Princeton, West Virginia Professional baseball teams in West Virginia Tampa Bay Rays minor league affiliates