The Paintsville Yankees was the primary moniker of the minor league baseball team located in Paintsville, Kentucky from 1978 to 1984.
| Paintsville Yankees | |
|---|---|
| Minor league affiliations | |
| Class | Rookie |
| League | Appalachian League |
| Major league affiliations | |
| Previous teams |
|
| Minor league titles | |
| League titles (4) |
|
| Team data | |
| Name |
|
| Ballpark | Paul G. Fyffe Field |
History
editAlso known as the Paintsville Brewers (1983–1984) and Paintsville Highlanders (1979), the Paintsville team was affiliated with the New York Yankees (1979–1982) and Milwaukee Brewers (1983–1984) as members of the Rookie level Appalachian League.[1]
In the team's short history, they were Appalachian League champions from 1979 to 1981 and 1983. They came in second in 1982 and 1984. The franchise moved to Montana for the 1985 season.[2]
Notably, Jim Morris, subject of the Disney Movie "The Rookie" made his professional debut for Paintsville in 1983. Major League All-Stars José Rijo, Ron Hansen and Dan Plesac are Paintsville alumni.
When asked about his impressions of playing in Paintsville, Morris commented: “I thought it was fantastic, it was up in the mountains. Jenny Wiley State Park was right there, which was awesome. Being from Texas, you get scrub oaks and pecan trees, but you guys had all the hills and valleys and lakes … it was incredible. We had a good time there.”[3]
The ballpark
editThe Paintsville teams played their home games at Johnson Central High School's Paul G. Fyffe Field, which was demolished in 2007. Paul Fyffe owned and marketed the minor league teams.[4][3]
Managers
edit- Ronald Mihal (1978)
- Bill Livesey (1979)
- Mike Easom (1980–1981)
- Mike Notaro (1982)
- Tom Gamboa (1983)
- Ron Hansen (1984)
Notable alumni
edit- Mike Birkbeck (1983)
- Chris Bosio (1983)
- Glenn Braggs (1983)
- Jim Corsi (1982)
- Orestes Destrade (1981)
- Pete Filson (1979)
- Greg Gagne (1979)
- Ron Hansen(MGR, 1984) 2x MLB All-Star; 1960 AL Rookie of the Year
- Kevin Hickey (1978)
- Bill Lindsey (1981)
- Jim Morris (1983) Movie "The Rookie"
- Otis Nixon (1979)
- Ed Olwine (1980)
- Jeff Parrett (1983)
- Dan Pasqua (1982)
- Dan Plesac (1983) 3x MLB All-Star
- Eric Plunk (1982)
- José Rijo (1982) MLB All-Star; 1990 World Series MVP
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Paintsville, Kentucky Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Minor league baseball in Paintsville and Pikeville? Here's why it didn't last long. | Lexington Herald Leader". Archived from the original on 2020-02-19.
- ^ a b "Only the memories remain: A flashback to minor league baseball's heyday in Eastern Kentucky | Lexington Herald Leader". Archived from the original on 2020-04-01.
- ^ "Paul G. Fyffe Field - Paintsville Kentucky - Former Home of the Kentucky Rifles / Paintsville Yankees". www.digitalballparks.com. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
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