Bluefield Ridge Runners
{{short description|Collegiate summer baseball team based in Bluefield, West Virginia}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox baseball team
|name = Bluefield Ridge Runners
|founded = 2021
|city = Bluefield, West Virginia
|ballpark = Bowen Field at Peters Park
|logo = Bluefield Ridge Runners.png
|cap_logo =
|league = Appalachian League
|division =
|former_leagues =
|former_names =
|nicknames =
|retired_numbers =
|colors = Black, blue, light blue, white
{{color box|#000000}} {{color box|#004b8d}} {{color box|#5eb3e4}} {{color box|#FFFFFF}}
|former_ballparks =
|league_champs =
|division_champs =
|owner = Bluefield Baseball Club
| general_manager = Rocky Malamisura
|media =
|website = {{URL|http://www.milb.com/bluefield}}
}}
The Bluefield Ridge Runners are a summer collegiate baseball team of the Appalachian League. They are located in Bluefield, West Virginia, and play their home games at Bowen Field at Peters Park.
History
= Previous Bluefield teams =
Professional baseball was first played in Bluefield, West Virginia, in 1937 by the Bluefield Grays. They were affiliated with six different Major League Baseball teams and also played as an independent club for a few seasons. As the Bluefield Orioles, they were affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles, but the team ended their affiliation with Bluefield and the Appalachian League at the end of the 2010 season.{{cite news|title=Orioles leaving Bluefield|url=http://bdtonline.com/local/x329608842/AFTERNOON-UPDATE-Orioles-leaving-Bluefield|access-date=August 29, 2010|newspaper=Bluefield Daily Telegraph|date=August 28, 2010}}{{cite web|title=Orioles out of Bluefield|url=http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/2010/08/orioles_out_of_bluefield.html|work=Orioles Insider: Baltimore Sun|access-date=August 29, 2010}} Bluefield's 53-season affiliation with the Orioles, which lasted from 1958 to 2010, had been the oldest continuous affiliation with the same major league franchise in Minor League Baseball. The Bluefield Blue Jays became an affiliate organization with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2011.{{cite web|url=http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x797275629/MORNING-UPDATE-Blue-Jays-fly-into-Bluefield-to-replace-the-Orioles|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130117210635/http://bdtonline.com/localsports/x797275629/MORNING-UPDATE-Blue-Jays-fly-into-Bluefield-to-replace-the-Orioles|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 17, 2013|title=MORNING UPDATE: Blue Jays fly into Bluefield to replace the Orioles|work=bdtonline.com|date=September 7, 2010|access-date=April 6, 2018}}
= Collegiate summer team =
In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was reorganized as a collegiate summer baseball league, and the Bluefield Blue Jays were replaced by a new franchise in the revamped league designed for rising college freshmen and sophomores.{{cite web|title=MLB, USA Baseball Announce New Format for Appalachian League|url=https://www.mlb.com/press-release/press-release-mlb-usa-baseball-announce-new-format-for-appalachian-league|website=Major League Baseball|date=September 29, 2020|access-date=September 29, 2020}} The new team became known as the Bluefield Ridge Runners.{{cite web|title=Bluefield Baseball Club announces Ridge Runners name|url=https://www.mlb.com/press-release/bluefield-baseball-club-announces-ridge-runners-name|website=Major League Baseball|date=February 16, 2021|access-date=February 17, 2021}} The moniker is in reference to the city's railroading heritage. Their namesake has been a local tourist attraction since 1964. The Ridge Runner passenger train traverses a loop throughout Lottio Park beyond the right field wall at Bowen Field, the team's home ballpark.{{cite web|title=The Ridge Runner Train|url=https://www.cityofbluefield.com/parksrec/page/ridge-runner-train|website=City of Bluefield, West Virginia|access-date=February 18, 2021}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.milb.com/bluefield}}
- [https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?city=Bluefield&state=WV&country=US Statistics from Baseball-Reference]
{{Appalachian League}}
{{West Virginia Sports}}
Category:2021 establishments in Virginia
Category:Amateur baseball teams in West Virginia
Category:Amateur baseball teams in Virginia
Category:Appalachian League teams
Category:Baseball teams established in 2021
Category:Mercer County, West Virginia