The Thetford Mines Pirates and the Thetford Mines Miners (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''les Pirates (Mineurs) de Thetford Mines'') were the names of a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

minor league baseball franchise that represented

Thetford Mines Thetford Mines ( Canada 2021 Census population 26,072) is a city in south-central Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of Les Appalaches Regional County Municipality. The city is located in the Appalachian Mountains, 141 miles northeast of Montreal an ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, in the Double-A Eastern League in 1974–75. The club played at le Stade Bellevue.Digital Ballparks.com
/ref> After two winning but non-playoff teams as the

Sherbrooke Pirates The Sherbrooke Pirates (French: ''les Pirates de Sherbrooke'') was the name of a Canadian minor league baseball franchise in the Double-A Eastern League representing Sherbrooke, Québec, that existed from 1972–73. Affiliated with the namesake ...

, the team moved to

, located 104 km (65 miles) to the north, for the 1974 season as an affiliate of the namesake

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 ...

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), ...

. Led by league All-Star

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

and

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

Ken Macha Kenneth Edward Macha (; born September 29, 1950) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and manager. He managed the Oakland Athletics from 2003–2006, including American League Western Division championships in both his first and final s ...

, the future MLB

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

, Thetford Mines made the playoffs and defeated the

Bristol Red Sox The Bristol Red Sox baseball club was an American minor league baseball franchise. Based in Bristol, Connecticut, it was the Double-A Eastern League farm system affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for ten seasons (1973–82) and played at Muzzy Fi ...

in the semi-finals and the

Pittsfield Rangers Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

in the finals to win the Eastern League championship. But the club drew almost 50,000 fans less than they had in Sherbrooke during the 1973 season.Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, eds., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition.'' Durham, NC:

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

, 2007, pp. 566, 570 As a result, the MLB Pirates switched their Double-A affiliate to the

Shreveport Captains The Shreveport Captains (1971–2000) and Shreveport Swamp Dragons (2001–02) were a professional minor-league baseball team based in Shreveport, Louisiana. They were affiliated with the California Angels (1971–72), Milwaukee Brewers (1973–74 ...

of the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

for 1975. They were replaced in Thetford Mines by the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

for 1975. But the renamed "Miners" finished in seventh place, 22½ games out of a playoff spot, and drew only 16,000 fans all year. The franchise was moved to

Williamsport, Pennsylvania Williamsport is a city in, and the county seat of, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. It recorded a population of 27,754 at the 2020 Census. It is the principal city of the Williamsport Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a popula ...

, for 1976.

Season-by-season

Notable alumni

Tony Armas Antonio Rafael Armas Machado (born July 2, 1953) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1976 to 1989. He is the father of pitcher Tony Armas Jr. and the older brother of ...

Jim Gantner James Elmer Gantner (born January 5, 1953) is a former Major League Baseball player who spent his entire career with the Milwaukee Brewers (1976–92). Background Gantner grew up in Eden, Wisconsin, and attended Campbellsport High School in nearb ...

* Mike Jackson *

Omar Moreno ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...

Willie Randolph William Larry Randolph (born July 6, 1954) is an American former professional baseball second baseman, coach, and manager. During an 18-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB), he played from 1975 to 1992 for six different teams, most notabl ...

* Craig Reynolds *

Lenn Sakata Lenn Haruki Sakata (born June 8, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as a utility player from 1977 to 1987 and was a member of the Baltimore Orioles 1983 World Series Championship tea ...

References

External links

Baseball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thetford Mines Pirates Baseball teams in Quebec Defunct baseball teams in Canada Defunct Eastern League (1938–present) teams Milwaukee Brewers minor league affiliates Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates Sport in Thetford Mines 1974 establishments in Quebec 1975 disestablishments in Quebec Baseball teams established in 1974 Baseball teams disestablished in 1975