The New Britain Rock Cats were a minor league baseball team that competed in the

Eastern League Eastern League may refer to: Baseball in the United States ''Most recent leagues listed first'' * Eastern League (1938–present), a minor league established in 1923 and renamed Eastern League in 1938, at the Double-A level * Eastern League (1916� ...

. They were the Double-A affiliate of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

for 12 years, the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

for 20 years and the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

for one. They played their home games at New Britain Stadium in

New Britain, Connecticut New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford. According to 2020 Census, the population of the city is 74,135. Among the southernmost of the communities encompassed wi ...

. The team moved to

Dunkin' Donuts Park Dunkin' Donuts Park is a 6,121-seat baseball park in Hartford, Connecticut. It is the home field of the Hartford Yard Goats of the Eastern League. The stadium has a total capacity of 6,850 people, including standing room, which was reached nume ...

in nearby Hartford before the 2016 season, becoming the

Hartford Yard Goats The Hartford Yard Goats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Yard Goats, which play in the Eastern League, are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team was founded in 2016 when the New Britain ...

History

The franchise's timeline can be traced back to

Pittsfield, Massachusetts 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� ...

, where they were a

Double-A affiliate from 1965 to 1969. The franchise then moved to

Pawtucket, Rhode Island Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 75,604 at the 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence and East Providence to the south, Central Fall ...

in 1970, and spent three years in the Ocean State. When the Pawtucket Red Sox became a Triple-A team in 1973, the Red Sox moved their Double-A franchise to Bristol, Connecticut. Known as the Bristol Red Sox, the team played at

Muzzy Field Muzzy Field is a stadium in Bristol, Connecticut adjacent to Rockwell Park. It has been in use since 1912 for both baseball and football. The brick-faced grandstand, with a capacity of 4,900 people, was built in 1939. It features a ring of tall p ...

for ten seasons from 1973 to 1982. Starting with the 1983 season, owner Joe Buzas moved the team some ten miles east to New Britain. Then known as the New Britain Red Sox, the team played its home games at Beehive Field, which is still standing next to the current stadium. As Beehive Field became outdated and new facilities began to pop up in other cities around the league, Buzas was faced with the choice of staying in New Britain and building a new stadium, versus moving the franchise again. The Red Sox front office, led by

Dan Duquette Dan Duquette (born May 26, 1958) is an American baseball executive. He is the former general manager of the Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox, and Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball. He is also the founder of the Dan Duquette Sports Academy ...

supported the idea of moving 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, th ...

, because it was closer to their fan base and closer to the Western Massachusetts home of Duquette. Ultimately, however, in August 1994, Buzas decided to keep the franchise in New Britain. The Red Sox promptly pulled their affiliation and instead chose to affiliate with 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 ...

in the capital city of

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, which was actually farther away from the fan base. For the 1995 season, Buzas, who owned the Salt Lake Buzz (Minnesota triple A), signed a new development agreement with the Minnesota Twins, an affiliation that lasted until the end of the 2014 season. During the 1995 season (their only season in Beehive Field), the team was known as the Hardware City Rock Cats, a reference to New Britain's nickname "The Hardware City". The current ballpark, New Britain Stadium, opened in 1996. The team name changed to "New Britain" Rock Cats in 1997. Stanley Works continues to be a significant sponsor of the team and ballpark. During 2003 and 2004, the team was involved in several lawsuits over its night game

fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...

displays. A group of residents living near the stadium claimed the noise was disruptive, and the ash and debris damaged their cars and homes. In May 2005, after attending a game, Judge Marshall Berger allowed the shows to continue but ruled they be limited to once monthly and use quieter fireworks. On July 12, 2008, the Rock Cats established a franchise record for single game attendance. The crowd of 8,115 marked the first time the 8,000 mark was surpassed for a game at New Britain Stadium. This record was broken on June 27, 2009, with a crowd of 8,212. On July 10, 2013, the Rock Cats hosted the Eastern League All-Star Game at New Britain Stadium. The event drew 8,633 fans, shattering the previous single game attendance record. The Rock Cats reached the 8,000 mark once again on May 31, 2014 with a crowd of 8,079. The record was ultimately broken on August 28, 2015, when 8,672 fans watched the team's last Friday home game. On June 4, 2014, it was announced that the Rock Cats would move to

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

, in 2016, signing a 25-year lease for a new stadium that would be built. On March 18, 2015, the team announced it would be known as the

beginning in 2016. On June 17, 2014, it was announced that the Hartford Yard Goats new stadium for the 2016 season would be named

. The Rock Cats played their last game at New Britain Stadium on August 30, 2015. On September 16, 2014, the

severed their affiliation ties with the Rock Cats, and the Rock Cats signed a two-year player development deal with the

the next day.

Popular culture

The New Britain Rock Cats were featured in an episode of

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

's ''Mayne Street'' short comedy series. An article about the Rock Cats can be seen below an article about the South Carolina Buzz (the fictional AAA affiliate of the Twins) during a bus scene in '' Major League: Back to the Minors''.

Notable alumni

Torii Hunter Torii Kedar Hunter (; born July 18, 1975) is an American former professional baseball center fielder and right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and Detroit Tigers from 1997 ...

(1996–98) * Corey Koskie (1997) *

David Ortiz David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican-American former designated hitter (DH) and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played in the American League (AL) from 1997 to 2016, primarily wit ...

(1997 and 2001) * Doug Mientkiewicz (1997–98) * A. J. Pierzynski (1998 and 2000) * Michael Cuddyer (2000–01) *

Juan Rincón Juan Manuel Rincón (born January 23, 1979) is a Venezuelan professional baseball coach and former relief pitcher. Rincón bats and throws right-handed. He throws a low 90s fastball and a mid to low 80s slider. In his career, Rincón posted a .20 ...

(2000–01) * Justin Morneau (2001–03) *

Joe Mauer Joseph Patrick Mauer (born April 19, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher and first baseman, who spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Minnesota Twins. A six-time All-Star, Mauer is the onl ...

(2003) * Pat Neshek (2003–05) * Francisco Liriano (2004–05) * Denard Span (2005–06) * Danny Valencia (2008) *

Yangervis Solarte Yangervis Alfredo Solarte (born July 3, 1987) is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League. He made his MLB debut for the New York Yankees on April 2, 2014, and has also played for th ...

(2010–2011) * Miguel Sano (2013) * Danny Santana (2013) * Jorge Polanco (2014) * Trevor Story (2015)

Season records

:¹''2001 League Championship was canceled due to the

9/11 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...

.''

Mascots

Game Mascots: *Rocky the Rock Cat (main mascot) *Rookie the Rock Cat (Rocky's nephew) *Sandy the Lion *Blooper the Walrus *Toner the Advance Copy's Copy Cat Sponsored Inning Mascots: *The Dunkin' Donuts Trio – Coffee, Iced Coffee, and Donut

References

External links

New Britain Rock Cats official siteNew Britain Rock Cats' MiLB PageRock Cats Official Facebook PageUnofficial site for the old Bristol Red Sox club
{{Hartford Yard Goats Hartford Yard Goats Baseball teams established in 1983 Baseball teams disestablished in 2015 Eastern League (1938–present) teams Professional baseball teams in Connecticut Rock Cats Defunct sports teams in Connecticut Colorado Rockies minor league affiliates Minnesota Twins minor league affiliates Boston Red Sox minor league affiliates 1983 establishments in Connecticut 2015 disestablishments in Connecticut Defunct baseball teams in Connecticut