TRENTON- What a fantastic season it has been for the Trenton Thunder, as they wrap up the regular season over the final two days this Labor Day long weekend. For the first time since the title-winning campaign of 2013, the Thunder fans will get bonus baseball, as Trenton will host Reading for the first two games of the Eastern...
TRENTON- What a fantastic season it has been for the Trenton Thunder, as they wrap up the regular season over the final two days this Labor Day long weekend.
For the first time since the title-winning campaign of 2013, the Thunder fans will get bonus baseball, as Trenton will host Reading for the first two games of the Eastern League Divisional Series Wednesday and Thursday nights at 7 p.m.
But there is more to celebrate, if you are a Yankees fan, as well as one of the Thunder. Already this year, two players that were on the Trenton roster early in the season have made their debuts in the Bronx: Tyler Austin and Jonathan Holder. Vincente Campos, who was with the Thunder for a month, was in the majors with Arizona. Take it back a year, and Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez give the Trenton team even more representation in New York.
It is not just the players that have come through Trenton this year and made the big leagues, though. Have a look at the Scranton Wilkes-Barre roster and one will find 12 of the 25 current RailRiders played with the Thunder in 2016, many with a bright future at the major league level.
At 86-54 coming into Sunday, Trenton will be a minimum 30 games over .500 for the season. The job the Bobby Mitchell and his staff have done with the players deserves to be rewarded with an Eastern League Manager of the Year award. The Thunder do not have three hitters in the middle of the lineup with a combined 99 home runs, like the Reading team they chased valiantly all season.
Trenton manufactures runs, and relies on a strong pitching staff that leads the EL in ERA (3.09), shutouts (14), saves (50), home runs allowed (62), strikeouts (1,215) and WHIP (1.22). The names and faces have changed, but the results have not.
"It has been a remarkable job by everyone," Mitchell said. "It says a lot, when you get complements from other managers about how your team plays. I told them, I have had three managers say it is really fun to watch you guys play. You guys get after it. It is a credit to how hard these guys play, and never quit."
Thunder, Reading preview the main event this weekend
When the season began, there was some cautious optimism about how well the Thunder would perform in 2016. Coming off a 71-71 season in 2015, and a 67-75 year in 2014, there was a good deal of hope about the young crop of players that would head to Trenton this campaign.
Here they are though, ready to battle the Fightin Phils for a trip to the Eastern League Championship Series this week, for chance to win a second EL title in four years. To be 30 games over .500, and battling for a division title until the final weekend, may have been above anyone outside the organization's expectations. Inside? That is a different story.
"We weren't sure, especially with people getting their feet wet in the league," Mitchell said. "You never know what the league is going to be like. I don't think we have exceeded expectations, but we definitely lived up to them. But we still have stuff to finish up."
Thunder fail to keep EL Division hope alive Saturday
How good is the New York Yankees organization right now?
Each team in the chain from Staten Island to Scranton Wilkes-Barre are in the playoffs in their league: Short Season A (Staten Island), A (Charleston), Advanced A (Tampa), Double A (Trenton), and Triple A (Scranton Wilkes-Barre).
Why have the teams been so successful this year? Mitchell thinks it is down to one position.
"I don't think I have been in organizations where the pitching has been so good as this year," Mitchell said. "Every guy that has come up has been good. I was with the Angels for nine years, and there was a lot of talent coming through.
When I was with the Expos, they we really, really good. I was spoiled from a teaching standpoint. They had a lot of first round picks before I got there, and a lot of talent coming through. But it was mostly position players.
But every guy that has come up has contributed, especially the pitchers. You hate to lose guys, especially after they were here all year. But it is all a part of it, and it is good for the players."
Contact Sean Miller at seanmillertrentontimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheProdigalSean