The Norfolk Tides are a minor league baseball team. They are the AAA farm team for the New York Mets. They belong to the International League. They are based in Norfolk, Virginia, where they play their home games at Harbor Park .

Franchise History

Norfolk had been without professional baseball since the Tars of the Piedmont League folded on July 13, 1955. The Portsmouth Merrimacs finished that season, but then the league went out of existence.

A South Atlantic League exhibition game was held in Portsmouth at Lawrence Stadium and was followed by study by Joe Ryan and Marshall Fox, who became the first General Manager of the Tides, to bring baseball back to the area. A Tidewater franchise in the South Atlantic League was granted in 1961 to businessman William McDonald of Miami, FL.

The name “Tides” was selected in a contest conducted by The Virginian-Pilot. Mariners was the name of choice, but editor Robert Mason liked the sound and alliteration of Tidewater Tides.

The team operated in the South Atlantic League for two years, first as an independent, the second with a Cardinal working agreement. Granny Hamner, the former Phillie Whiz Kid, became the first manager.

In 1963, the Sally League decided against continuing in Virginia because of travel requirements and the prospect of losing baseball again loomed. However, Dave Rosenfield, assistant general manger in 1962, led a local group to gain admittance to the Carolina League in tandem with a Peninsula franchise.

The Tides operated in the Carolina League for six years under Tidewater Professional Sports, Inc., which was led by the late Richard J. Davis, a former lieutenant governor of Virginia.

In 1969, the New York Mets moved their Triple-A International League franchise from Jacksonville, FL to Tidewater. T.P.S. Inc. continued to run the team, but it was owned by the Mets. That first year in AAA was played in Portsmouth’s Lawrence Stadium and the Tides went on to win the pennant under Clyde McCullough. At the same time, the Mets helped the City of Norfolk finance the construction of 6,200 seat Met Park.

The Tides did quite a bit of winning in Met Park. Governors’ Cup championships were won in 1972, ‘75, ‘82, ‘83 and ‘85. Included in those those years, the Tides competed in the first and last Fall Classic of Minor League Champions, the last Junior World Series and won the first Triple-A World Series in 1983, a fall classic that was not played again until 1998.

1987 was a year for the books under manager Mike Cubbage as the team won the International League pennant, by virtue of having the best record, and several individual team records were set before being upset in the playoffs.

The 1990 and 1991 teams were led by former big league catcher Steve Swisher. He led the team to a pair of second-place finishes in the International League’s West Division.

Former Tide Clint Hurdle managed the Tides in 1992 which turned out to be one of the worst years in team history. Not only did the Tides lose a club record 86 games, but also an entire homestand (8 games) was rained out in mid-August.

All was not bleak in the Tides future, though. Ground was broken on a new state-of-the-art facility in downtown Norfolk in February, 1992. This facility would prove to be the model for all minor league stadiums to be built in the future. The Tides would begin play there in 1993.

Also, in 1992, the Mets agreed to sell the franchise to a group led by Tampa, FL businessman Ken Young. This, coupled with the move to the new ballpark, brought about a great many changes for the Tides. They dropped the Tidewater name in favor of Norfolk to give the team a national geographic presence. Also, the City of Norfolk was quite instrumental in keeping the team in the area by getting the new stadium financed and built.

For a continued history click on Harbor Park.

Please Note: The history of the Norfolk Tides came from the Norfolk Tides Website.

External link

• Norfolk Tides web site