The Watertown Pirates were a Short-Season Class-A minor league baseball team located in

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by th ...

. The team played in the

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 ...

from 1983 to 1998. They played their home games at the

Duffy Fairgrounds The Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds is a multi-purpose facility in Watertown, New York, spanning 67 acres. The stadium capacity is 3,500. It contains the longest-running fair in the United States, The Jefferson County Fair, and was named after Alex ...

Ball Park. From 1983 until 1988 the club was affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Some notable Pirates, players from this era are

Tim Wakefield Timothy Stephen Wakefield (born August 2, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Wakefield began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but is most remembered for his 17-yea ...

Jay Buhner Jay Campbell Buhner (born August 13, 1964), nicknamed "Bone", is an American former professional baseball right fielder. At and , he was among the most recognizable players of his day, noted for his shaved head, thick goatee, and patch of pine ...

, and

Moisés Alou Moisés Rojas-Alou Beltré (; ; born July 3, 1966) is a Dominican-American former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for 17 seasons in the National League. In 1,942 career games, Alou had a batting average of .303 with 2,134 hits, ...

. In 1989 the team became in an affiliate of the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

and were renamed the Watertown Indians. The team relocated to

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and ...

for the 1999 season and became the

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pla ...

Notable alumni

Moises Alou Moises or Moisés is a male name common among people of Iberian origin. It is the Spanish, Portuguese and Tagalog equivalent of the name Moses. ;Places * Doctor Moisés Bertoni, a village in the Caazapá department of Paraguay * Moises Padilla, ...

(1986-1987) 6 x MLB All-Star *

(1983) MLB All-Star * Sean Casey (1995) 3 x MLB All-Star * Felix Fermin (1983) *

Brian Giles Brian Stephen Giles (; born January 20, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. During his career he played for the Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres. The left-handed Giles was a two-time All-Star and had a ...

(1990) 2 x MLB All-Star * Steve Kline (1993) *

Orlando Merced Orlando Luis Merced Villanueva (born November 2, 1966) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder. He played all or parts of 13 seasons in the majors for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1990–1996), Toronto Blue Jays (1997), Minnesota ...

(1986-1987) *

Dave Mlicki David John Mlicki (born June 8, 1968) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). Between 1992 and 2002, he played for the Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, and Houston Astros. Career Aft ...

(1990) * Kelly Stinnett (1990) *

(1988) MLB All-Star; 200 MLB Wins *

John Wehner John Paul Wehner (pronounced "Way-ner") (born June 29, 1967) is an American former utility player in Major League Baseball (MLB) and a current broadcaster for the Pittsburgh Pirates. His nickname is "Rock". Career A Pittsburgh native and graduate ...

(1988)

External links

Baseball Reference
* ttps://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?city=Watertown&state=NY&country=US Listing of minor league baseball teams in Watertown, New York, with rosters and statisticsbr>Last owner biographies
* ttps://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/11/sports/baseball-dreaming-of-baseball-on-staten-i.html?scp=2&sq=%22watertown%20indians%22%20%22staten%20island%20yankees%22&st=cse More on the move to Staten Islandbr>More on Sandlot Sports
Baseball teams established in 1983 Baseball teams disestablished in 1998 Cleveland Guardians minor league affiliates Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates Defunct New York–Penn League teams Defunct baseball teams in New York (state) 1983 establishments in New York (state) 1998 disestablishments in New York (state) Sports teams in Watertown, New York {{NewYork-baseball-team-stub