Albuquerque Isotopes
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| Albuquerque Isotopes Founded in 2003 Albuquerque, New Mexico |
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| Division titles | 2003 Central Division Champions | ||
| Owner(s)/Operated by: Albuquerque Baseball Club, LLC | |||
| Manager: Dean Treanor | |||
| General Manager: John Traub | |||
The Albuquerque Isotopes are a team in the Pacific Coast League, one of minor league baseball's two AAA leagues, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Albuquerque was previously represented in the PCL by the Albuquerque Dukes, who won several PCL championships in the 1970s and 1980s before relocating to Portland, Oregon as the Portland Beavers in 2001.
The Isotopes began play in 2003 when the Calgary Cannons relocated to New Mexico. The "'Topes" are currently the top minor league affiliate of the National League's Florida Marlins.
After the Dukes relocated, the city of Albuquerque demolished most of the team's home, the Albuquerque Sports Stadium, but kept the playing field intact. The city then built a completely new, state-of-the-art stadium around the existing field. The new venue opened in 2003 as Isotopes Park. One of the major features of Albuquerque Sports Stadium was its drive-in area, where fans could sit in their cars past the left-field fence and watch the games. The renovation of the stadium originally included keeping the drive-in area, but Isotopes management decided to close it due to security concerns and has converted it into a play area for children. Isotopes Park also features a hill in center field, similar to the one in the Houston Astros' stadium, Minute Maid Park. Since its opening, Isotopes Park has routinely been ranked among the top five minor league ballparks in the nation. Albuquerque fans seem to agree, as the team has set attendance records in the last two years.
The Isotopes' mascot is Orbit, a big fuzzy electron.
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[edit] Name origins
The fictional Springfield Isotopes from the long running TV series The Simpsons were the influence for the new name of the team. In the episode "Hungry Hungry Homer", Homer Simpson attempts to thwart the team's plan to move to Albuquerque. Subsequently, when an Albuquerque Tribune online survey helped the team decide its new name, "Isotopes" received 67 percent of the 120,000 votes.[1]
Though team president Ken Young admitted that the name came from the series,[2] he said at the name's unveiling that "We picked it because over the past year it has become a popular name, and it does have something to do with Albuquerque."[3] In the three months after the team's name was announced in September 2002, before the team ever took the field, the team sold more merchandise than the city's previous team, the Dukes, sold in any single season,[4] and led minor-league baseball in merchandising revenue in 2003.[5] The team said they were able to tell when episodes featuring the Springfield Isotopes would air in different markets based on clusters of orders from different viewing areas.[4] The team has no working agreements with FOX or The Simpsons.[6]
The "Isotopes" name is semi-appropriate, since New Mexico has a number of well-known scientific/military facilities dealing with nuclear technology, such as Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP), as well as hosting the first nuclear weapons test, the Trinity test.
[edit] Current roster
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Albuquerque Isotopes roster
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Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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[edit] References
- ^ "Doh! Go Isotopes!", Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Hearst Corporation, 2003-05-13, p. C8. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
- ^ Latta, Dennis. "Team President Throws Isotopes Name Into Play", Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque Publishing Company, 2002-09-05, p. A1. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
- ^ Oakey, Steve. "To Attract Homer, Isotopes Need to Have Duff on Draft", The San Diego Union-Tribune, Copley Press, 2002-09-12, p. D2. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
- ^ a b Latta, Dennis. "Isotopes Hit a Leadoff Homer at Cash Register", Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque Publishing Company, 2002-12-15, p. D1. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
- ^ Ruiz, Don. "In Search of Elusive Huntington Tapes", The News Tribune, The McClatchy Company, 2004-08-01, p. C08. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
- ^ Latta, Dennis. "'Topes, Simpsons Aren't in the Mix", Albuquerque Journal, Albuquerque Publishing Company, 2003-02-01, p. D8. Retrieved on 2007-06-11.
[edit] External links
- Albuquerque Isotopes web site
- Albuquerque Isotopes fan web site
- Albuquerque Isotopes Roster, Splits, and Situational Stats
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| AAA | AA | A | Rookie |
| Albuquerque Isotopes | Carolina Mudcats |
Jupiter Hammerheads Greensboro Grasshoppers Jamestown Jammers |
Gulf Coast Marlins VSL Marlins |
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