Evansville Otters

Evansville Otters
Team logo Cap insignia
League Frontier League (West Division)
Location Evansville, Indiana
Ballpark Bosse Field
Year founded 1995
League championships 1 (2006)
Division championships 5 (1997, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2006)
Colors Navy Blue, Maroon, White
              
Ownership Bill Bussing
Manager Andy McCauley
Media Evansville Courier & Press
WUEV 91.5 FM
Website www.evansvilleotters.com

The Evansville Otters are a professional baseball team based in Evansville, Indiana. They compete in the West Division of the independent Frontier League. Since their establishment in 1995, the Otters have played at historic Bosse Field, which originally opened in 1915.[1] The Otters are the oldest current team in the Frontier League, but have won just one championship in 2006.

History

When the Otters began play in 1995, they returned baseball to Evansville for the first time in a decade. The city had been without a team since the Evansville Triplets relocated following the 1984 season.

The Otters have been a success on the field and off since their first season of play in Evansville. On the field the Otters have reached the playoffs in 7 seasons, including five Frontier League Championship series, and a Frontier League Championship in 2006.

Off the field, the Otters set numerous league attendance records in their early seasons. The Otters drew 90,000 fans in their first season, more than the entire Frontier League had in its inaugural season two years earlier.[2] The Otters have averaged over 2,500 fans per game since they started playing at Bosse Field in Evansville, most recently setting a 2013 Frontier League best with 3,200 fans per game.

The first Evansville Otters game was played on June 15, 1995. The Otters were awarded the Frontier League Organization of the Year Award in 1997, and the Commissioner's Award of Excellence in 2004. The Otters earned their 689th win, a Frontier League record, on August 18, 2011. The team hosted the largest crowd ever at Bosse Field on July 24, 2013 with an astounding 8,253 fans. The Otters welcomed their 2,000,000th fan to the ballpark on August 18, 2013.

The Otters have promoted over 50 of their players to Major League baseball franchises including two players in 2013 (1B/DH Andrew Clark - New York Yankees, RHP Bryce Morrow - San Diego). Two Otters alums have gone on to careers at the Major League level including George Sherrill, a 2008 MLB All-Star and Oakland Athletic pitcher Andrew Werner.

The success of the Otters in Evansville led to the move of more Frontier League teams to larger cities, many of which have built new ballparks, leading to the increased stability and success of the league in recent years.

On May 27, 2014 the Otters became the first team in the Frontier League to reach 800 wins.[3]

Season-by-season records

Lancaster Scouts (Frontier League)
Year Division W-L PCT Place Postseason
1993West22-33.4003rd
1994West25-39.3912ndWon 1st Round Playoff vs. Chillicothe Paints 2-1.
Lost Frontier League Championship vs. Erie Sailors 2-0.
Total47-72.395
Playoffs2-3.4001 Playoff Appearance. 0 Championships.
Evansville Otters (Frontier League)
199531-38.4496th
1996West34-40.4593rd
1997West46-33.5821stWon 1st Round Playoff vs. Richmond Roosters 2-1.
Lost Frontier League Championship vs. Canton Crocodiles 2-0.
1998West43-36.5443rdLost 1st Round Playoff vs. Springfield Capitals 2-1.
1999West43-41.5121stLost 1st Round Playoff vs. Chillicothe Paints 2-0.
2000West45-38.6162ndWon 1st Round Playoff vs. River City Rascals 2-0.
Lost Frontier League Championship vs. Johnstown Johnnies 3-1.
2001West44-40.5244th
2002West33-51.3936th
2003East51-37.5803rdWon 1st Round Playoff vs. Chillicothe Paints 2-1.
Lost Frontier League Championship vs. Gateway Grizzlies 3-0.
2004East54-42.5622ndWon 1st Round Playoff vs. Washington Wild Things 3-0.
Lost Frontier League Championship vs. Rockford Riverhawks 3-0.
2005East52-43.5474th
2006West46-50.4792ndWon 1st Round Playoff vs. Rockford Riverhawks 3-2.
Won Frontier League Championship vs. Chillicothe Paints 3-0.
2007West34-62.3544th
2008West39-57.4066th
2009West28-66.2986th
2010West35-59.3726th
2011West39-57.406T-5th
2012East45-50.4745th
2013East51-45.5314th
2014East57-37.6062ndLost East Division Wild Card Game vs Washington Wild Things.
2015East48-48 .5004th
Total898-970.481
Playoffs17-20.4598 Playoff Appearances, 1 Championship.

Current roster

Evansville Otters roster
Active (24-man) roster Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 28 Connor Little
  • 43 Edgar Lopez
  • 18 Blake Monar
  • 39 Adam Mott
  • 33 Evan Mott
  • 46 Efraín Nieves
  • 34 Will Oliver
  • 19 Preston Olson
  • 21 Jake Raffaele
  • 13 Brandon Shimo
  • 36 Tyler Vail
  •  6 Trevor Walch
  

Catchers

  • 10 Rodney Daal
  • 17 Jamie Del Valle
  • 32 JD Dorgan
  • 35 Steve Sulcoski

Infielders

  •  5 Josh Allen
  • 25 Nik Balog
  • 31 Jeff Birkofer
  •  0 Nick Bornhauser
  • 29 Shayne Houck
  •  8 Cory Urquhart

Outfielders

  • 24 Jeremy Nowak
  •  9 Ronnie Richardson
  •  4 John Schultz
  • 20 Chris Sweeney
  •  7 Kurt Wertz, Jr.
  

Manager

  • 22 Andy McCauley

Coaches

  •  1 Dalphie Correa (assistant)
  • 12 Boots Day (hitting)
  • 26 Max Peterson (pitching)
  • 10 Rob Watson (assistant)

Disabled list
‡ Inactive list
§ Suspended list

Roster updated May 15, 2015
Transactions

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Bosse Field Facts". Evansville Otters. Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  2. ↑ "Frontier League History". Frontier Professional Baseball. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
  3. ↑ "EVANSVILLE OTTERS FIRST IN FRONTIER LEAGUE HISTORY TO 800 WINS". Frontierleague.com. 2014-05-27. Retrieved 2015-04-25.

External links

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