The Norwich Sea Unicorns are a baseball team located in
Norwich, Connecticut. From 2010 to 2020, they were members of
Minor League Baseball's
New York–Penn League
The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...
(NYPL) as the
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 ...
affiliate of the
Detroit Tigers. They play their home games at
Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium. They were previously known as the Connecticut Tigers from 2010 to 2019. With
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), ...
's reorganization of the minor leagues after the 2020 season, Norwich was not selected to continue in affiliated baseball. Starting with the 2021 season, Norwich plays in the
Futures Collegiate Baseball League
The Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) is an eight-team collegiate summer baseball league. It has four franchises in Massachusetts, two in Connecticut, and one each in New Hampshire and Vermont.
Format
The Futures League is a wood-bat ...
.
History
On January 27, 2010,
Oneonta, New York Mayor
Dick Miller announced in a press release that the
Oneonta Tigers
The Oneonta Tigers were a minor league baseball team located in Oneonta, New York. They were members of the New York–Penn League. The Tigers were the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, and played their home games ...
would be leaving the city for
Norwich, Connecticut, after the 2009 season. Beginning play in 2010, the Connecticut Tigers played their games in the newly renovated
Dodd Stadium, which had been vacated by the
Connecticut Defenders
The Connecticut Defenders were a Minor League Baseball team based in Norwich, Connecticut. The team, which played in the Eastern League, was the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major-league club from 2003 until following the 2009 ...
of the
Eastern League who had left for
Richmond, Virginia, to become the
Richmond Flying Squirrels
The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. The ...
simultaneous to the Tigers' arrival.
In 2011, the Connecticut Tigers saw a 23% increase in total attendance and 20% increase in average attendance over 2010 numbers. The 20% increase in average attendance was the fourth largest increase in all of Minor League Baseball.
The Connecticut Tigers name was only expected to be used for the 2010 season with a name-the-team contest expected to be held after the season to decide a permanent name. The team decided to keep the name, however, citing positive feedback from fans owing to the connection to the major league
Detroit Tigers, the team's
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), ...
affiliate. Connecticut held on to the Tigers moniker through the end of the 2019 season. That season, the team renewed its long-term lease with the city of Norwich, and, as a result, announced a change to the team name, which would include the Norwich name and a nickname to be chosen following a fan submission contest. The five finalists from the contest were "Norwich Golden Roses", "Norwich Mill Mules", "Norwich Narwals", "Norwich Salty Dogs", and "Norwich Sea Unicorns". Ultimately, the team settled on becoming the Norwich Sea Unicorns.
The start of the 2020 season was postponed 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 ...
before being cancelled on June 30.
After the cancelled 2020 minor league season,
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), ...
took direct control of
Minor League Baseball and discontinued short-season play. The Sea Unicorns were not selected to continue in affiliated baseball. The team joined the
Futures Collegiate Baseball League
The Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) is an eight-team collegiate summer baseball league. It has four franchises in Massachusetts, two in Connecticut, and one each in New Hampshire and Vermont.
Format
The Futures League is a wood-bat ...
(FCBL), a collegiate summer league in New England, for 2021.
Playoffs
*2014: Lost to
Tri-City 2–0 in semifinals
Roster
See also
*
Professional baseball in Connecticut
References
External links
Official websiteLeague press release announcing the move to NorwichMiLB.com writeup about the Tigers' 26-inning gameBox score from the 26-inning game
{{Connecticut Sports
Baseball teams established in 2010
Professional baseball teams in Connecticut
Detroit Tigers minor league affiliates
Norwich, Connecticut
New York–Penn League teams
2010 establishments in Connecticut