West Virginia Black Bears

West Virginia Black Bears
Founded in 2015
Granville, West Virginia
Team logoCap insignia
Class-level
Current Short-Season A
Minor league affiliations
League New York–Penn League
Division Pinckney Division
Major league affiliations
Current Pittsburgh Pirates (2015–present)
Minor league titles
League titles (1) 2015
Team data
Colors Black, gold, blue, white
                   
Ballpark Monongalia County Ballpark
Owner(s)/
Operator(s)
 Bob Rich, Jr. (Rich Baseball Operations)
Manager Kieran Mattison
General Manager Matt Drayer

The West Virginia Black Bears are a Minor League Baseball team based in Granville, West Virginia. The team began play in the New York–Penn League in 2015 as an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team is owned by Bob Rich, Jr. and plays at Monongalia County Ballpark, which is across the Monongahela River from Morgantown and West Virginia University.

In August 2014, it was announced that the Jamestown Jammers would cease operations and move to Morgantown.[1] On October 22, the team announced that they would be named the "Black Bears" following a fan vote, as the American black bear is the state animal of West Virginia.[2] Other finalists included Black Diamonds, Canaries, Coal Kings, Coal Sox, Energy, Moonshiners, Muskets, Wild Ones, and Wonder.[3]

In January 2015, Wyatt Toregas was named as their inaugural manager.[4] The Black Bears won the New York–Penn League wild card in their inaugural season.[5] The team then defeated the Williamsport Crosscutters and the Staten Island Yankees to win the 2015 New York–Penn League Championship.[6]

Roster

West Virginia Black Bears roster
Players Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 46 Cam Alldred
  • 31 Osvaldo Bido
  • 34 Francis Del Orbe
  • 66 Nicholas Economos
  • 52 Michael Flynn
  • 29 Will Gardner
  • 55 Miguel Hernandez
  • 25 Conner Loeprich
  • 43 Michael LoPresti
  • 28 Alex Manasa
  • 17 Shea Murray
  • -- Alec Rennard
  • -- Argenis Romano
  • 37 Aaron Shortridge
  • 54 Cody Smith
  • 67 Zach Spears
  • 32 Logan Stoelke
  •  2 Ryan Valdes

Catchers

  • 19 Paul Brands
  • 51 Grant Koch

Infielders

  • 48 Mike Gretler
  • 14 Jhoan Herrera
  •  7 Melvin Jimenez
  • 59 Connor Kaiser
  • 44 Zack Kone
  • 39 Luke Mangieri
  • 10 Nick Valaika

Outfielders

Manager

  • -- Kieran Mattison

Coaches


7-day disabled list
* On Pittsburgh Pirates 40-man roster
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporary inactive list
Roster updated August 8, 2018
 Transactions
→ More rosters: MiLB • New York–Penn League
 → Pittsburgh Pirates minor league players

Season-by-season record

West Virginia Black Bears (New York–Penn League)
YearRegular seasonPost-season
RecordWin %FinishRecordWin %ResultMLB
201542-34.5532nd Pinckney Division4-1.800Won Semifinals vs. Williamsport Crosscutters, 2–1
Won Championship vs. Staten Island Yankees, 2-0		Pirates
201638-38.5003rd Pinckney Division——Did not qualify for playoffsPirates
201740-35.5333rd Pinckney Division——Did not qualify for playoffsPirates
201832-44.4215th Pinckney Division——Did not qualify for playoffsPirates
Totals152-146.484—4-1.800

References

  1. ↑ Vingle, Mitch. Morgantown lands NY-Penn League baseball team. Charleston Gazette. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  2. ↑ "New NYPL club to be called the Black Bears: Team also decides to identify primarily with state of West Virginia". MiLB.com (Press release). Rich Baseball Operations. October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  3. ↑ Vote to name new Morgantown team MiLB.com
  4. ↑ Biertempfel, Rob (January 15, 2015). "Pirates Notebook: Assignments Finalized". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  5. ↑ Heneghan, Kelsie (September 7, 2015). "Bears seal NYPL Wild Card in first season". MiLB.com. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  6. ↑ Zimm, Tyler (September 15, 2015). "Black Bears Claim NYPL Championship". West Virginia Black Bears. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
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