Binghamton Rumble Ponies Founded in 1987 Binghamton, New York Based in Binghamton since 1992 |
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Class-level | |||||
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Current | Double-A (1987–present) | ||||
Minor league affiliations | |||||
League | Eastern League (1987–present) | ||||
Division | Eastern Division | ||||
Major league affiliations | |||||
Current | New York Mets (1992–present) | ||||
Previous |
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Minor league titles | |||||
League titles (3) |
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Division titles (3) |
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Team data | |||||
Nickname | Binghamton Rumble Ponies (2017-future) | ||||
Previous names
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Binghamton Mets (1992–2016) Williamsport Bills (1987–1991) |
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Colors | Navy blue, red, silver, white |
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Ballpark |
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Owner(s)/
Operator(s) |
Evans Street Baseball | ||||
Manager | Luis Rojas | ||||
General Manager | Jim Weed |
Binghamton Mets (1992–2016)
The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American minor league baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in NYSEG Stadium, located in Binghamton.
Prior to moving to Binghamton for 1992, the franchise played in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, from 1987 to 1991 as the Williamsport Bills. The team was an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians in 1987 and 1988, and was affiliated with the Seattle Mariners during the 1989 and 1990 seasons before being purchased by the New York Mets in 1991.
The Bills franchise was actually two separate franchises. After the 1988 season, the original owners moved the Bills to Hagerstown, Maryland, while the Eastern League franchise based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, moved back to Williamsport before the 1989 season. It was the latest in a long series of moves for the Pittsfield franchise, which was originally based in Williamsport in 1976 and later moved to Jersey City, New Jersey, from 1977 through 1978 and then Buffalo, New York, from 1979 through 1984.
The current franchise is planning to change the team's name effective for the 2017 season and is committed to staying in Binghamton for the foreseeable future. The team held a name-the-team contest on its website from May 17th to June 1st; the finalists were the Bullheads (for the bullhead catfish abundant in the nearby Susquehanna River), Gobblers (for the rich hunting culture of the area, as well as the turkeys in Binghamton), Rocking Horses (for the Triple Cities' nickname as the "Carousel Capital of The World"), Rumble Ponies (also a carousel tribute), Stud Muffins (for the collections of carousel horses in Binghamton), and Timber Jockeys (for everyone who rides the carousels). On November 3, 2016, the team announced that they would be rebranding as the Binghamton Rumble Ponies and released a new logo.