The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in

Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. ...

, named after nearby

Horseshoe Curve A horseshoe curve is a class of climbing curve in a roadbed which reverses turn direction (inflection) twice on either side of a single tight curve that varies through an angle of about 180 degrees or more. Such curves are more commonly found ...

(but also alluding to the

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of 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 (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. The Curve play in Peoples Natural Gas Field, located in Altoona; it was opened in 1999 and seats 7,210 people.

History

The Altoona Curve franchise began when

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

were both awarded

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

franchises beginning in the 1998 season. The addition of these two teams had a

domino effect A domino effect or chain reaction is the cumulative effect generated when a particular event triggers a chain of similar events. This term is best known as a mechanical effect and is used as an analogy to a falling row of dominoes. It typically ...

through baseball with the expansion of not only the major leagues, but throughout Minor League Baseball as well. With this expansion, AA baseball received two new teams to begin play in the 1999 season. The

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving ...

were already an established minor-league team with outstanding short-season attendance, and were quickly awarded one of the new franchises. The second spot in the new, larger Eastern League looked to be headed to

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

, but city native Bob Lozinak, developer Tate DeWeese, businessman Mark Thomas and a group of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

lawmakers rallied to get the final spot, making a formal presentation to league officials on October 5, 1997. The proposal received unanimous support and Altoona won the other franchise. Groundbreaking on Blair County Ballpark took place on March 7, 1998, and the franchise was formally awarded in April. In June of that year, the "Curve" nickname was selected over several other proposals, including Lake Monsters, Ridge Runners, and the Altoona Fish. The name was inspired by nearby

, with many of the logos inspired by the former

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

which housed their maintenance facility in Altoona. The next step for the start of the Altoona Curve was to find a major league affiliate. The Erie SeaWolves had already had several successful seasons in the Pirates' organization, as a short-season single-A affiliate. In the end, however, the Pirates chose Altoona for their AA affiliate. The Altoona Curve began their first season on the road at the

Reading Phillies Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

on April 9, 1999. Their first game was suspended by rain and completed the next day as part of a doubleheader. That first game was a 6–2 loss, but the Curve scored their first-ever victory in the second game, beating Reading 6–4. A few days later, on April 15, the Curve christened Blair County Ballpark by defeating the Bowie Baysox 6–1 in front of a crowd of 6,171. On April 2, 2002, Lozinak and DeWeese sold the franchise to a collective headed by Pittsburgh attorney Chuck Greenberg. Among the partners in the collective are

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

running back

Jerome Bettis Jerome Abram Bettis Sr. (born February 16, 1972) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nicknamed "the Bus" for his large size and runn ...

and NHL star

Mario Lemieux Mario Lemieux (; ; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played parts of 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins between 1984 and 2006, and he assumed ownership of the f ...

. The first season under new ownership was the most successful to date, performance-wise as well as economically. During August of that year, the Pirates signed on for another four-year development agreement through the 2006 season. During the 2003 season, the Curve made the Eastern League playoffs for the first time, and followed that up with two more appearances in 2004 and 2005. Their performance on the field has led to increased numbers in the stands, and the Curve increased attendance for five consecutive years before dipping by just a few thousand in 2005. Following the 2004 season,

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Todd Parnell was honored as the Eastern League Executive of the Year, and the franchise won the

Larry MacPhail Award The Larry MacPhail Award was presented annually from 1966 to 2019 by Minor League Baseball to recognize "a club that demonstrates outstanding and creative marketing and promotional efforts within its community, its ballpark (including non-game da ...

for the best promotional effort (on and off the field) in all of Minor League Baseball. On April 2, 2006, their fourth anniversary as owners, Greenberg and his group announced an additional four-year extension on the development agreement with the Pirates, keeping the Curve's affiliation intact through at least the 2010 season. The Curve hosted the Eastern League All-Star Game at Blair County Ballpark on July 12, 2006, before a standing-room-only crowd of 9,308. On December 2, 2008, Chuck Greenberg sold the Altoona Curve back to original owner and Altoona native Bob Lozinak. On May 23, 2009, the Altoona Curve and Pittsburgh Pirates renewed their development agreement, which now runs through the 2014 season. On September 18, 2010, the Curve defeated the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the Doub ...

to clinch the franchise's first ever Eastern League Championship. The Curve won the series three games to one. Later that month, it was announced that the Pirates would not be bringing back Altoona manager Matt Walbeck for the following season. In 2016, four Curve players were picked for the Eastern League All-Star Game— Tyler Eppler, Edwin Espinal,

Jared Lakind Jared Talor Lakind (born March 9, 1992) is an American-Israeli professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He also plays for Team Israel. In high school, Lakind played first base, outfield, and pitcher, and in his senior year in 2010 was ...

, and

Harold Ramírez Harold Andrés Ramírez Lemus (born September 6, 1994) is a Colombian professional baseball outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Miami Marlins and Cleveland Indians. Career Pitts ...

. In conjunction with

's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Curve were organized into the

Double-A Northeast AA, Aa, Double A, or Double-A may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''America's Army'', a 2002 computer game published by the U.S. Army * '' Ancient Anguish'', a computer game in existence since 1992 * Aa!, a J-Pop musical group * Do ...

. In 2022, the Double-A Northeast became known as the Eastern League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization.

No-hitters

On April 23, 2002,

Adrian Burnside Adrian Mark Burnside (born 15 March 1977) is an Australian former baseball player born in Alice Springs. He was a member of the Australian Olympic baseball team, which achieved a silver medal in the Baseball at the 2004 Summer Olympics, baseba ...

, Neal McDade and Chris Spurling combined for the first

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

in Altoona Curve history. Burnside pitched the first five innings, McDade pitched the next three and Spurling pitched the ninth inning to complete the no-hitter. On July 25, 2013, Ethan Hollingsworth, Jason Townsend, Jhonathan Ramos and

Ryan Beckman Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elect ...

combined for the second

in Altoona Curve history. Hollingsworth pitched the first four innings, Townsend pitched the next three, Ramos pitched the eighth inning and Beckman pitched the ninth to complete the no-hitter.

Season records

(Place listed is finish in Southern Division from 1999–2009 and finish in Western Division from 2010–2020) *1999: 67–73 (6th), manager Marty Brown *2000: 74–68 (4th), manager Marty Brown *2001: 63–79 (5th), manager

Dale Sveum Dale Curtis Sveum ( ; born November 23, 1963) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager. He most recently served as the bench coach for the Kansas City Royals. As a player, Sveum saw action in 12 major league seasons bet ...

*2002: 72–69 (4th), manager Dale Sveum *2003: 78–63 (2nd), manager Dale Sveum *2004: 85–56 (1st), manager Tony Beasley *2005: 77–65 (2nd), manager Tony Beasley *2006: 75–64 (2nd), manager

Tim Leiper Timothy Joseph Leiper (born July 19, 1966) is an American professional baseball coach (baseball), coach and former manager (baseball), manager. He was the first-base coach of the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball from 2014 until 2018. L ...

*2007: 73–68 (3rd), manager Tim Leiper *2008: 65–77 (5th), manager Tim Leiper *2009: 62–80 (6th), manager Matt Walbeck *2010: 82–60 (1st), manager Matt Walbeck *2011: 64–77 (6th), manager

P. J. Forbes Patrick Joseph Forbes (born September 22, 1967) is an American former professional baseball infielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2001 for the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies. He was later a minor league ba ...

*2012: 72–70 (3rd), manager P. J. Forbes *2013: 63–79 (6th), manager Carlos García *2014: 61–81 (5th), manager Carlos García *2015: 74–68 (2nd), manager Tom Prince *2016: 76–64 (2nd), manager

Joey Cora José Manuel Cora Amaro (born May 14, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball player with an 11-year career in MLB spanning the years 1987 and 1989–1998 and current third base coach for the New York Mets. He played for the San Diego Padres of t ...

*2017: 74–66 (1st), manager Michael Ryan *2018: 78–60 (1st), manager Michael Ryan *2019: 69–71 (4th), manager Michael Ryan *2020: Season canceled due to

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 identif ...

*2021: 58-59 (5th), manager Miguel Perez *2022: 71-66 (3rd), manager Miguel Perez

Playoff appearances

*2003 season: Lost to

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...

3–1 in Southern Division Championship Series. *2004 season: Defeated

Erie 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 a ...

3–0 in Southern Division Championship Series; lost to

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

3–0 in Eastern League Championship Series. *2005 season: Lost to

3–2 in Southern Division Championship Series. *2006 season: Lost to

3–2 in Southern Division Championship Series. *2010 season: Defeated

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

3–1 in Western Division Championship Series; defeated Trenton 3–1 in Eastern League Championship Series. *2015 season: Lost to Bowie 3–1 in Western Division Championship Series. *2016 season: Lost to

3–1 in Western Division Championship Series. *2017 season: Defeated Bowie 3–0 in Western Division Championship Series; defeated Trenton 3–0 in Eastern League Championship Series. *2018 season: Lost to

3–1 in Western Division Championship Series.

Roster

References

External links

*
Photographs of Blair County Ballpark, home of the Altoona Curve – ''Rochester Area Ballparks''
{{Altoona, Pennsylvania Baseball teams established in 1998 Eastern League (1938–present) teams Professional baseball teams in Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates Altoona, Pennsylvania Double-A Northeast teams