West Virginia Black Bears

West Virginia Black Bears
Founded in 2015
Morgantown, 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 Wyatt Toregas
General Manager Matt Drayer

The West Virginia Black Bears are a Minor League Baseball team based in Morgantown, 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 in Granville, a town located across the Monongahela River from Morgantown.

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]

In January 2015, Wyatt Toregas was named as their inaugural manager.[3] The Black Bears won the New York–Penn League wild card in their inaugural season.[4] The team then defeated the Williamsport Crosscutters and the Staten Island Yankees to win the 2015 New York–Penn League Championship.[5]

Roster

West Virginia Black Bears roster
Players Coaches/Other

Pitchers

  • 38 Matt Anderson
  • 24 Danny Beddes
  • 13 Brandon Bingel
  • 59 Luis Escobar
  • 34 Adrian Grullon
  • 58 Neil Kozikowski
  • 12 James Marvel
  • 31 Stephan Meyer
  • 44 Cristian Mota
  • 46 Luis Paula
  • 64 Evan Piechota
  • 32 Dylan Prohoroff
  • 39 Billy Roth
  • -- Jacob Turner
  • 36 Cam Vieaux
  • -- Mike Wallace
  • -- David Whitehead

Catchers

  • 10 Chris Harvey
  • 52 Arden Pabst

Infielders

  • 16 Trae Arbet
  • 25 Albert Baur
  • -- Kelson Brown
  • 28 Will Craig
  •  7 Erik Forgione
  • 23 Nick Long
  • 30 Tyler Leffler
  •  5 Kevin Mahala

Outfielders

  • 18 Matt Diorio
  • 41 Clark Eagan
  • 62 Kevin Krause
  • 55 Ty Moore
  • 37 Hunter Owen
  • 27 Sandy Santos

Manager

Coaches



7-day disabled list
* On Pittsburgh Pirates 40-man roster
# Rehab assignment
∞ Reserve list
‡ Restricted list
§ Suspended list
† Temporary inactive list
Roster updated September 4, 2016
Transactions
→ More MiLB rosters
→ Pittsburgh Pirates minor league players

Season-by-season record

West Virginia Black Bears (New York–Penn League)
Year Regular season Post-season
Record Win % Finish Record Win % Result MLB
2015 42-34 .553 2nd Pinckney Division 4-1 .800 Won Semifinals vs. Williamsport Crosscutters, 2–1
Won Championship vs. Staten Island Yankees, 2-0 		Pirates
2016 38-38 .500 3rd Pinckney Division — — — Pirates
Totals 80-72 .526 — 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. ↑ Biertempfel, Rob (January 15, 2015). "Pirates Notebook: Assignments Finalized". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  4. ↑ Heneghan, Kelsie (September 7, 2015). "Bears seal NYPL Wild Card in first season". MiLB.com. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  5. ↑ Zimm, Tyler (September 15, 2015). "Black Bears Claim NYPL Championship". West Virginia Black Bears. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
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