The Princeton Rays were a Minor League Baseball team in

Princeton, West Virginia Princeton, is a city in and the county seat of Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The city is coined the "Heart of Mercer County" or the "Jewel of the South" in past decades. The population was 6,432 at the 2010 census with approximat ...

, operating as an Advanced Rookie-level team in the

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a 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 wood bats, its season runs from ...

. The team was affiliated with several

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), ...

(MLB) franchises, primarily the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

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 (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

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 The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

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 Brandon Allen Backe (; born April 5, 1978) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Houston Astros during his career, and appeared in the 2005 World Series as a member of the Astros. Origin ...

Rocco Baldelli Rocco Daniel Baldelli (; born September 25, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and coach who is the manager of the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player, Baldelli quickly progressed through the minor ...

Carl Crawford Carl Demonte Crawford (born August 5, 1981), nicknamed "The Perfect Storm", is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. He ba ...

Jonny Gomes Jonathan Johnson Gomes (; born November 22, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and coach. He is the minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He playe ...

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 to , most prominently as a member of the Texas Rangers teams that won two consecutive Americ ...

Seth McClung Michael Seth McClung (born February 7, 1981), nicknamed Big Red, is an American former professional baseball pitcher. In his career, he pitched as a starting pitcher and as a relief pitcher. Career Tampa Bay Devil Rays McClung began the season ...

Pokey Reese Calvin "Pokey" Reese, Jr. (born June 10, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball infielder. Reese played with the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Boston Red Sox. With the Red Sox, he won the 2004 World Series over the St. Louis ...

, Matt Moore, Wade Davis,

Desmond Jennings Desmond Delane Jennings (born October 30, 1986) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays. Early life Jennings was born in Birmingham, Alabama, the secon ...

Jeremy Hellickson Jeremy Robert Hellickson (born April 8, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Baltimore Orioles, and Washington Na ...

Jason Hammel Jason Aaron Hammel (born September 2, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, ...

, and

Jared Sandberg Jared Lawrence Sandberg (born March 2, 1978) is an American professional baseball coach and a former Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman and minor league manager. Sandberg served as the manager for Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas in the PCL f ...

. 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, 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 ...

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 The Princeton WhistlePigs were a summer collegiate baseball team of the Appalachian League. They were located in Princeton, West Virginia, and played their home games at H. P. Hunnicutt Field. "Whistle pig" is an alternate name for a groundhog. ...

Playoffs

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

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

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 Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

2–1 in semifinals. *2018: Defeated Bluefield 2–1 in semifinals; lost to

Elizabethton Elizabethton is a city in, and the county seat of Carter County, Tennessee, United States. Elizabethton is the historical site of the first independent American government (known as the Watauga Association, created in 1772) located west of both th ...

2–0 in finals.

Notable alumni

Alex Cobb Alexander Miller Cobb (born October 7, 1987), nicknamed Swan, is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the fourth round of the 2006 MLB draf ...

(2006) *

(1999) 4 x MLB All-Star * Wade Davis (2004) 3 x MLB All-Star *

Chad Fox Chad Douglas Fox (born September 3, 1970) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Fox played for the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox, Florida Marlins, and the Chicago Cubs. He won the 2003 World Series as a member of the Mar ...

(1992) *

(2001) *

(1999) 5 x MLB All-Star; 2010 AL Batting Title; 2010 AL Most Valuable Player *

(1992) *

(2005) *

Kevin Kiermaier Kevin James Kiermaier (; born April 22, 1990) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2013 to 2022. Kiermaier was part of amat ...

(2010) * Matt Moore (2007–2008) MLB All-Star *

(1991) 2 x Gold Glove *

John Stearns John Hardin Stearns (August 21, 1951 – September 15, 2022), nicknamed "Bad Dude", was an American professional baseball catcher and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets from 1975 to 1984 after playing a single ...

(1994, MGR) 4 x MLB All-Star

References

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