Prior professional baseball in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area Professional baseball teams first played in the
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (SWB) area of
Pennsylvania in the late 19th century. In
Scranton, the predominant moniker of these teams was the
Scranton Miners, who originated in 1886 as the Scranton Indians, though they were also known as Coal Heavers and Red Sox throughout their history. The Miners' last season was in 1953 as members of the
Eastern League. In
Wilkes-Barre, the
Wilkes-Barre Barons, originally the Coal Barons, who were established in 1886, played their last season in the Eastern League in 1955. Financial problems resulted in the relocation of the franchise to
Johnstown during the 1955 season.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (1989–2006) Over three decades after
Minor League Baseball left the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area, the
Maine Phillies were relocated from
Old Orchard Beach, Maine, to
Lackawanna County in 1989. A group from Scranton, called Northeast Baseball, Inc. (NBI), purchased the team in 1987. The previous owner tried to renege on the sale, but after a lengthy court battle, NBI won control of the franchise and moved forward with its relocation. , formerly Lackawanna County Stadium, since 1989. The Red Barons struggled in their early years, finishing under .500 in their first three seasons. In the playoffs, they defeated the
Pawtucket Red Sox in the semifinals but lost the league championship versus the
Columbus Clippers. The 1999 Northern Division champion Red Barons were eliminated from the playoffs in the semifinals by the
Charlotte Knights. In 2000, the team missed winning the division but qualified for the IL wild card spot. They defeated the
Buffalo Bisons in the semifinals but fell to the
Indianapolis Indians in the championship round. Another wild card berth in 2001 sent SWB back to the playoffs. They won the semifinals over Buffalo, 3–2, and advanced to face the
Louisville RiverBats for the league title. After losing Game One of the series, the postseason came to abrupt end when it was cancelled in the wake of the
September 11 terrorist attacks. Louisville, with a 1–0 series lead, was declared the champion. They made one more postseason appearance as the Red Barons and as a Phillies affiliate in 2006 via a division title win, but the
Rochester Red Wings ended their championship hopes in the semifinals. Following the 2006 season, the Philadelphia Phillies ended their affiliation with the Red Barons and signed a player development contract with the
Ottawa Lynx in anticipation of that team's move to
Allentown's new
Coca-Cola Park as the
Lehigh Valley IronPigs for the 2008 season.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (2007–2012) before a game in 2009 In 2007, the club became the Triple-A affiliate of the
New York Yankees and rebranded as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. In 2008, the Yankees won another division title with an 88–56 record behind manager
Dave Miley. However, negotiations stalled the actual sale for over a year. The sale was finalized on April 26, 2012, with the franchise being sold to SWB Yankees LLC, an ownership entity that was a joint venture between the New York Yankees and Mandalay.
Empire State Yankees The SWB Yankees chose to temporarily relocate their operations for the 2012 season to allow major renovations to PNC Field to be completed in one season, rather than being spread over two to three years. The team based itself in
Rochester, New York, at
Frontier Field, home of Red Wings. They played their entire schedule on the road, often being designated as the home team at an opponent's ballpark. In addition to Frontier Field, the Yankees also played home games at
Dwyer Stadium in
Batavia, New York;
Alliance Bank Stadium in
Syracuse, New York;
Coca-Cola Field in
Buffalo, New York;
Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania; and
McCoy Stadium in
Pawtucket, Rhode Island. The team was known as the
Empire State Yankees in the 2012 season for promotional purposes, though it retained its official SWB Yankees moniker. After missing the playoffs in 2011, the Yankees returned in 2012 by winning the Northern Division title, but they were eliminated by Pawtucket in the semifinals.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (2013–present) In anticipation of their return to the renovated PNC Field in 2013, a name-the-team contest was launched to select a new moniker for the SWB franchise. Among the finalists were "Blast", "Black Diamond Bears", "Fireflies", "
Porcupines", and "Trolley Frogs". The chosen name, "RailRiders", is in reference to
Northeastern Pennsylvania being home to the first
trolley system in the United States. Although RailRiders received the most first-place votes by fans, Porcupines received the most overall fan votes on the ballots ranked one through three. As a result, a porcupine was incorporated in the RailRiders' logos. The 2013 and 2014 RailRiders finished under .500 and did not qualify for the postseason. The RailRiders returned to the playoffs in 2015 with a Northern Division title win, but they were swept out of the semifinals by Indianapolis. After nine seasons, six division titles, and one league championship, the 2015 season was the last for Dave Miley as the team's manager. SWB finished with a league-best 91–52 record and another Northern Division title. They swept Lehigh Valley, 3–0, in the semifinals and won their second Governors' Cup over Gwinnett, 3–1. The IL championship qualified them for the
Triple-A National Championship Game versus the
El Paso Chihuahuas, where they won, 3–1, claiming their second Triple-A championship. The 2017 RailRiders won the division title and defeated Lehigh Valley in the semifinals but lost the IL championship to Durham. The 2018 club made another postseason run via a wild card berth. Like in the previous season, they advanced to the finals by beating Lehigh Valley but again lost in the finals to Durham. The RailRiders finished the 2019 season tied for first place with the
Syracuse Mets, each with a 75–65 record. On September 3, SWB defeated Syracuse in a one-game playoff, 14–13, to win the Northern Division title. They were, however, swept in the playoff semifinals by Durham. The start of the 2020 season was initially postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic before being cancelled altogether. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the RailRiders were organized into the
Triple-A East. No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner. SWB placed third in the league standings with a 68–49 record under manager
Doug Davis, who had been with the club as a coach since 2017. However, 10 games that had been postponed from the start of the season were reinserted into the schedule as a postseason tournament called the Triple-A Final Stretch in which all 30 Triple-A clubs competed for the highest winning percentage. In December 2021, SWB Investors sold their 50% stake in the club to
Diamond Baseball Holdings. In 2022, the Triple-A East became known as the International League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. Davis returned to the club for his second season as manager, leading the team to an 83–67 record, finishing second in the ten-team East Division. ==Season-by-season records==