New York-Penn League Road Trips! First up: Connecticut Tigers

This is the first post in a series on road trips for New York-Penn League fans. The season doesn't open until June 19, so there is plenty of time to plan a trip to watch some minor league baseball.

First up is the Connecticut Tigers, affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.

 Location: Norwich, Connecticut is known as 'The Rose of New England’. 

Stadium: Dodd Stadium; opened 1995; 6,270 capacity

Game Times: Mon-Sat 7:05pm, Sun 4:05pm

2017 Home Schedule: June 19, 20 - Tri-City; June 21, 22, 23 - Aberdeen; June 28, 29, 30 - Tri-City; July 4, 5, 6 - Vermont; July 11, 12, 13 - Williamsport; July 20, 21, 22 - Brooklyn; July 27, 28, 29 - Vermont; July 30, 31, August 1 - Lowell; August 5, 6, 7 - Staten Island; August 11, 12, 13 - Batavia; August 22, 23, 24 - Tri-City; August 25, 26, 27 - Hudson Valley; September 3, 4, 5 - Brooklyn


Promotions: To be announced. Fireworks every Friday home game, plus June 19 and July 4.

Ticket Information: http://www.milb.com/tickets/tickets.jsp?sid=t571

Lodging and Dining: http://www.ctvisit.com/listings/norwich-tourism 

Things to Do: http://www.norwichct.org/index.aspx?NID=9

Team website: cttigers.com

Follow on Twitter: @thecttigers

Broadcast Information: WICH AM 1310; online streaming at cttigers.com

Photo Credits: City-Data.com, MiLB.com, CBS Connecticut

Connecticut Tigers Manager and Coaches for 2017 Season

Manager: Gerald Laird takes the reins as manager for the 2017 season. Laird was drafted by the Oakland A’s in the 2nd round of the 1998 draft and made his major league debut with the Texas Rangers in 2003. He played parts of 13 seasons with Rangers, Tigers, Cardinals, Braves and retired from the Diamondbacks in 2015. Laird appeared in 2 games for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican Baseball League in 2016.

Pitching Coach: Ace Adams returns for his second season as pitching coach with the Tigers. He has over 30 years of coaching experience at the professional and collegiate level. Professionally, he has coached for the Montreal, Boston, St. Louis, and Houston organizations. He was a college assistant at the University of Michigan, Brandeis University, Harvard University, and Dartmouth College. This is his third time coaching in the New York-Penn League (Lowell Spinners, 2003 and Batavia Muckdogs, 2010-11).


Hitting Coach: Rafael Martinez enters his 12th season as a coach in the Detroit organization as the new hitting coach at Connecticut. He was the manager of the Dominican Summer League Tigers during the 2011-15 seasons and the Gulf Coast Tigers in 2016.

Athletic Trainer: Jarad Branski served as athletic trainer with the Gulf Coast League Tigers during the 2015-16 seasons.

Strength & Conditioning Coach: Edwin Ortiz has served as strength & conditioning coach with Indios de Mayaguez in Puerto Rico's Liga de Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente since 2013 and held the same position with the Rookie League Gulf Coast Tigers in 2016.

Photo Credits: The Majors Sports Network, Getty Images, MiLB.com

The Stedler Report is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball or the New-York-Penn League.

Connecticut Tigers 2016 Recap

The Connecticut Tigers finished the 2016 season in second place in the Stedler Division, six games behind the Lowell Spinners and 3.5 games out of in the Wild Card Race. They set a season attendance record with 82,488 fans passing through the turnstiles at Dodd Stadium.

Manager Mike Rabelo became the winningest manager in Connecticut Tigers history, and has 118 wins in three seasons as the Tigers manager. On October 20, 2016, Rabelo was selected as manager of the West Michigan Whitecaps.

For complete 2016 statistics, click here.

2016 Record: 41-35

Attendance: 82,488 over 36 home dates; 2,291 average per game

Prospects to watch: There are several 2016 CT Tigers to follow. Here are a few...

Austin Athmann: catcher, selected in the 14th round in 2016; attended University of Minnesota; 6’2”,210; .276/.338/.393 in 40 games for CT Tigers; selected to NYPL All Star game.

 Cole Bauml: outfielder, selected in the 10th round of the 2015 draft; attended Northern Kentucky; 6’3”, 205; played in the Gulf Coast (Rookie) League in 2015; .270/.328/.379 in 64 games for CT Tigers in 2016. Selected to the 2016 NYPL All Star game.

 

Ryan Castellanos: pitcher, selected in the 25th round of the 2015 draft; attended Nova Southeastern; 6’3”, 215; pitched in 8 games for the CT Tigers in 2015 and also saw action in the Gulf Coast League and Florida State League (Lakeland) in 2015; set team record 8 wins in 14 games for CT Tigers in 2016 and was assigned to the Western Michigan Whitecaps in the Midwest League. 

Kyle Funkhouser: pitcher, selected in the 4th round of the 2016 draft; attended Louisville; 6’2’, 220; 2.65 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in 37.1 innings for CT Tigers in 2016. 

 Joey Havrilak: outfielder, selected in the 18th round of the 2015 draft; attended Akron; 6”1”, 195; briefly with the Gulf Coast League Tigers before playing in 52 games (.213/.290/.346) for the CT Tigers in 2015; selected for the 2016 NYPL All-Star and played in 45 games for the CT Tigers (.270/.376/.411) and was assigned to the West Michigan in the Midwest League, playing in 25 games with the Whitecaps (.267/.345/.360). 

Josh Lester: 3rd base; selected in the 13th round of 2015 draft; attended Missouri; 6’3”, 216; played in 6 games for the Gulf Coast Tigers before being assigned to the CT Tigers (49 games, .204/.294/.292) and saw action in 5 games with the West Michigan Whitecaps. Tied team record for doubles (19) in 60 games with CT Tigers (.293/.365/.432) before finishing the 2016 season with the West Michigan Whitecaps. 

   

Blaise Salter: 1st base; selected in the 31st round of the 2015 draft; attended Michigan State; 6’5”, 245; played 36 games (.293/.336/.414) for the Gulf Coast Tigers (Rookie League) in 2015; selected to the 2016 NYPL All-Star game, playing in 60 games (.263/.300/.356) with the CT Tigers. Grandson of Detroit Tigers great, Bill Freehan.

Stadium information: Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium, opened 1995, capacity 6,270. For ticket information click here.

Team History: The Tigers have played in Norwich, Connecticut since 2010, after the Oneonta Tigers relocated. They have played at Dodd Stadium, which was vacated when the  Connecticut Defenders of the AA Eastern League moved to Richmond, Virginia after the 2009 season to become the Flying Squirrels.

2017 Draft: Affiliate Detroit Tigers pick 20th in the June draft.

Opening Day 2017: Open at home vs. Tri-City Valley Cats on June 19. Complete 2017 schedule, click here.

Photo Credits: MiLB.com

The Stedler Report is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball or the New-York-Penn League.