Clearwater Threshers

History

As the Clearwater Phillies

Clearwater city officials approached the Philadelphia Phillies as early as 1981 about locating a Phillies minor league affiliate at Jack Russell Stadium in Clearwater. In July 1982, in a visit to Philadelphia, Clearwater city officials and the president of the Florida State League again asked the Philadelphia Phillies about affiliating with a team to be based in Clearwater. The Amateur Softball Association Clearwater Bombers had long used Jack Russell Stadium during the summer months when the field would be reconfigured for softball. The placement of a minor league baseball team would mean the relocation of the Bombers.

The Florida State League granted the city of Clearwater a franchise on September 26, 1984. The Clearwater Phillies began play in 1985 after the Philadelphia Phillies ended their affiliation with their High Class A minor league team, the Carolina League Peninsula Pilots, based in Hampton, Virginia, and placed their new team at Jack Russell Stadium. The Philadelphia Phillies owned the franchise and named the club the Clearwater Phillies. The Clearwater Phillies played their first game on April 12, 1985, at home, against the Tampa Tarpons.

The club played as the Clearwater Phillies through the 2003 season. The Phillies planned to leave Jack Russell Memorial Stadium after the 2003 season to move into a new ballpark, BayCare Ballpark, adjacent to the Carpenter Complex, the Phillies' minor league training facility. With the move to the new ballpark, the Clearwater Phillies were renamed the "Threshers" and adopted a new team logo and colors.

Rebranding as the Threshers and Spectrum Field

In 2004, the Clearwater Threshers were managed by former Phillies player and Hall of Famer, Mike Schmidt. Greg Legg managed the team in 2005 and 2006. Dave Huppert was the manager in 2007, and Razor Shines in 2008. Ernie Whitt was named the manager for the 2009 season after Shines was promoted to base coach for the New York Mets.

In 2007, the Threshers won the second half in the FSL West Division. They defeated the Sarasota Reds (2–1) in the FSL West Division Playoffs, then defeated the Brevard County Manatees 3 games to 1 in the FSL Championship Series (best-of-five) to win the FSL title. The Threshers were named MiLB.com's Class A Advanced Team of the Year.

A single-game attendance record of 9,090 was set on July 3, 2008.

On July 26, 2009, Pedro Martínez made a rehab start for the Threshers against the St. Lucie Mets at Spectrum Field. Martinez pitched 1 innings before rain caused the game to be canceled, wiping out the official record of his start. Martinez subsequently moved to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs for his next start.

On May 23, 2011, the Threshers gained national attention after playing in a 23-inning game against the Jupiter Hammerheads.

Season-by-season

These statistics are current through the 2018 season.

Full season

Split season

;since 2019

Roster

Notable Clearwater Phillies and Threshers alumni

;Baseball Hall of Fame alumni

• Pedro Martinez (2009) inducted, 2015
• Mike Schmidt (2004, MGR) inducted, 1995
• Jim Thome (2005, 2012) inducted, 2018
• Scott Rolen (1995) Inducted, 2023

;Other notable alumni

• Philippe Aumont
• Ricky Bottalico (1993) MLB All-Star
• Jeff Brantley (2000) MLB All-Star
• Pat Burrell (1998)
• Paul Byrd (2001) MLB All-Star
• Drew Carpenter (2007)
• Carlos Carrasco
• Danny Cox (1991)
• Darren Daulton (1987, 1996) 3× MLB All-Star
• Johnny Estrada (1999) MLB All-Star
• Tom Gordon (2006–2008) 3× MLB All-Star
• Jason Grimsley (1988)
• Cole Hamels (2003-2006, 2014) 4× MLB All-Star; 2008 World Series Most Valuable Player
• J. A. Happ (2006, 2010)
• Von Hayes (1990) MLB All-Star
• Ryan Howard (2003) 3× MLB All-Star; 2005 NL Rookie of the Year; 2006 NL Most Valuable Player
• Kyle Kendrick (2005–2006)
• Scott Kingery (2016)
• Cliff Lee (2014) 4× MLB All-Star; 2008 Cy Young Award
• Mike Lieberthal (1991) 2× MLB All-Star
• Chuck McElroy (1987)
• Scott Mathieson
• Mickey Morandini (1989) MLB All-Star
• Nick Punto (1999)
• Elizardo Ramirez
• Chris Roberson
• Jimmy Rollins (1998, 2008, 2010) 3× MLB All-Star; 2007 NL Most Valuable Player
• Curt Schilling (1996, 2000) 6× MLB All-Star; 2001 World Series Most Valuable Player
• Michael Schwimer
• Carlos Silva (2000)
• Alfredo Simón MLB All-Star
• Chase Utley (2001, 2010–2012) 6× MLB All-Star
• Jayson Werth (2007–2008) MLB All-Star
• Luke Williams
• Mitch Williams (1996) MLB All-Star
• Randy Wolf (2003, 2006) MLB All-Star
• Mike Zagurski

Former coaches and trainers

• Mike Schmidt (manager – 2004) W-L: 55–81
• Greg Legg (manager 2005–2006) W-L: 108–167
• Dave Huppert (manager 2007) W-L: 83–57 / League Champions
• Razor Shines (manager 2008) W-L: 64–76
• Dan Roberts (hitting coach 2004–2005)
• Greg Gross (hitting coach 2006)
• Brad Komminsk (hitting coach 2007)
• Steve Schrenk (pitching coach 2004 and 2007–2008)

References

References

1. (October 25, 2018). "Jason Adams Named Clearwater Threshers GM".
2. Mayo, Jonathan. (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues".
3. (March 16, 2022). "Historical League Names to Return in 2022".
4. Brew, Tom. (1982-09-03). "Minor league team sought for Clearwater". [[St. Petersburg Times]].
5. Brew, Tom. (1984-09-26). "It's time for Bombers to move on". [[St. Petersburg Times]].
6. Henderson, Robert. (1985-04-09). "Clearwater Phillies' debut is right around the corner". [[St. Petersburg Times]].
7. Hill, Benjamin. (2007-10-08). "Threshers came together at right time: Team of the Year award follows end of championship drought". [[MLB.com]].
8. Clearwater Threshers. (2008-07-03). "Phantastic! Threshers walk off in front of record crowd". Clearwater Threshers.
9. Hagan, Paul. (2009-07-27). "Pedro Martínez has rain-shortened start with Phillies' minor leaguers". [[Philadelphia Daily News]].
10. "Minor League game goes 23 innings". [[ESPN]].
11. (2016). "Florida State League 2016 Media Guide & Record Book". Florida State League.
12. Florida State League. (August 29, 2019). "FSL cancels weekend series, 2019 playoffs".
13. (June 30, 2020). "2020 Minor League Baseball season shelved".
14. (September 22, 2023). "Jupiter Hammerheads, Miami Marlins farm team, win 2023 Florida State League baseball championship". [[WPBF]].
15. "Clearwater Threshers". [[Baseball America]].