The New Britain Rock Cats were a

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team that competed in the Eastern League. 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

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) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

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

New Britain, Connecticut New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol ...

. The team moved to Dunkin' Donuts Park in nearby

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

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 Ro ...

History

The franchise's timeline can be traced back to

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the most populous 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. Pittsfi ...

, 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 United States census, 2020 census, making the city the fourth-largest in the state. Pawtucket borders Providence, Rhode Island, Prov ...

in 1970, and spent three years in the Ocean State. When the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

became a Triple-A team in 1973, the Red Sox moved their Double-A franchise to

Bristol, Connecticut Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, southwest-west of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is also 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City. The ...

. Known as the Bristol Red Sox, the team played at

Muzzy Field Muzzy Field is a stadium in Bristol, Connecticut adjacent to Rockwell Park. In 1912, it was given to the Public Welfare Association in the city of Bristol by Commissioner Adrian Muzzy in memory of his two sons, for the express purpose of amateur ...

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 supported the idea of moving to

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

, because it was closer to their fan base and closer to the

Western Massachusetts Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as "western Mass," is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and univ ...

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 D ...

in the capital city of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, which was actually farther away from the fan base. For the 1995 season, Buzas, who owned the

Salt Lake Buzz In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as ro ...

(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 Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, 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 numbe ...

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 List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, 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 Dunkin' Donuts Park. 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 (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

'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 Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two e ...

) 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. Hunter currently serves as Special Assistant to Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian. He played in Major League ...

(1996–98) * Corey Koskie (1997) *

David Ortiz David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican Americans, Dominican-American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1997 ...

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

Michael Cuddyer Michael Brent Cuddyer (; born March 27, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, and New York Mets. He batted and threw right ...

(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 (baseball), slider. In his career, R ...

(2000–01) * Justin Morneau (2001–03 and 2015) *

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. Regarded as one of the greatest contact h ...

(2003) * Pat Neshek (2003–05) * Francisco Liriano (2004–05) *

Denard Span Keiunta Denard Span (born February 27, 1984) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mar ...

(2005–06) * Danny Valencia (2008) * Yangervis Solarte (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.''

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 clubs and 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