The West Haven A's were an American

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 played in the Double-A Eastern League from 1972 to 1982. They were located in

West Haven, Connecticut West Haven is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located on the coast of Long Island Sound. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, South Central Connecticut Planning Region. At the 2 ...

, and played their home games at Quigley Stadium. From 1972 to 1979, the team was known as the West Haven Yankees after their

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

affiliate, the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. They became an affiliate of the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

in 1980 and changed their name to the West Haven Whitecaps for that season before becoming the West Haven A's through their final two years of play.

History

New York Yankees (1972–1979)

From 1972 to 1979, the team was affiliated with and named for the

. During that eight-year period, West Haven — managed by future Major League skippers

Bobby Cox Robert Joe Cox (born May 21, 1941) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Cox played for the New York Yankees and managed the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays. He is a member of ...

, Doc Edwards, Mike Ferraro, and Stump Merrill — won four Eastern League championships and compiled a regular-season win–loss record of 611–496 (.552). In 1975,

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Dave Bergman was selected for the Eastern League Most Valuable Player Award. Edwards (1973), Ferraro (1977), and Merrill (1979) each won the Eastern League Manager of the Year Award.

Notable Yankees alumni

* Steve Balboni * Jim Beattie * Dave Bergman * Ron Davis * Mike Fischlin * Damaso Garcia *

Ron Guidry Ronald Ames Guidry (; born August 28, 1950), nicknamed "Louisiana Lightning" and "Gator", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Guidry was also the pitch ...

* Mike Heath * LaMarr Hoyt * Garth Iorg *

Mickey Klutts Gene Ellis "Mickey" Klutts (born September 20, 1954) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1976 to 1983 with the New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, and Toronto Blue Jays. An inf ...

* Joe Lefebvre * Willie McGee * Scott McGregor * Doc Medich * Jerry Narron * Domingo Ramos * Dave Righetti * Buck Showalter * Charlie Spikes *

Pat Tabler Patrick Sean Tabler (born February 2, 1958) is an American former Major League Baseball player. After retiring from professional baseball, he became a color analyst for the Toronto Blue Jays on the Canadian sports television networks TSN and S ...

* Willie Upshaw * Otto Velez

Oakland Athletics (1980–1982)

The Yankees entered into a deal with a new Double-A team, the

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

of the Southern League, after the 1979 season. The West Haven franchise relocated to

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest List of municipalities in Massachusetts, municipality in Massachusetts, United States, and the largest city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line ...

, and became the Lynn Sailors. Concurrently, the

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

, franchise moved to West Haven in time for the 1980 season, bringing their affiliation with the

, and renaming the team the West Haven Whitecaps. The franchise changed its name again in 1981, this time to the West Haven A's. The last West Haven team, managed by

Bob Didier Robert Daniel Didier (born February 16, 1949) is an American former catcher in Major League Baseball who played for three different teams from 1969 through 1974. Listed at , , he was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed. He entered the majors ...

, won the team's fifth and final Eastern League title, defeating the Lynn Sailors in the finals.Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, eds., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd ed.'' Durham, NC:

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

, 2007, p. 600 In 1983, the franchise moved to

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, becoming the Albany A's.A's, Angels Play to Curfew Before 9,211 in Heritage Park Debut
by Bill Palmer at news.google.com, URL accessed July 2, 2010
Archived
07-02-10

Notable alumni

Keith Atherton Keith Rowe Atherton (born February 19, 1959), is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily in relief, from –. Atherton played for the Oakland Athletics (–), Minnesota Twins (–), ...

Mike Gallego Michael Anthony Gallego (born October 31, 1960) is an Americans, American former professional baseball player and current Coach (baseball), coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an infielder from 1985 to 1997, most notably as a membe ...

Donnie Hill Donald Earl Hill (born November 12, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player who played nine seasons for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, and Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball. Hill moved from ...

* Bill Krueger * Steve Ontiveros *

Tony Phillips Keith Anthony Phillips (April 25, 1959 – February 17, 2016) was an American professional baseball utility player who had an 18-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1982 to 1999. He played regularly at second base, but also had signifi ...

Season-by-season results

References

;Specific ;General * {{s-end Defunct Eastern League (1938–present) teams

Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one ...

West Haven, Connecticut Professional baseball teams in Connecticut New York Yankees minor league affiliates Oakland Athletics minor league affiliates Baseball teams in the New York metropolitan area 1982 disestablishments in Connecticut Baseball teams established in 1972 Baseball teams disestablished in 1982 Defunct baseball teams in Connecticut