Syracuse SkyChiefs

Baseball and Mets are important symbols of the great city of New York. The team is one of the two Major League Baseball franchises in the Big Apple, together with the legendary Yankees. However, this article is about a team from the Minor League and currently a New York Mets triple-A affiliate – Syracuse Mets. As its name suggests, it’s based in Syracuse, NY, and welcomes its rivals at NBT Bank Stadium.

The club was established in 1934, originally with the name Syracuse Chiefs, and changed to SkyChiefs in 1997. It restored the previous nickname in 2007 and became a Mets affiliate in 2018. Currently, the team competes in the East Division of the International League. You can recognize them easily by the blue-orange-white colors and their Scooch mascot. The biggest achievements so far are 8 league and 2 division titles. Stay with us and learn more intriguing details about the former Syracuse SkyChiefs!

Establishment and Affiliations

In 1934, Jersey City Skeeters relocated to Syracuse and renamed, becoming the original Chiefs. They played in the International League until the team was sold at the end of the 1955 season. For those 21 years, Syracuse Chiefs won 5 league titles, 4 second and 6 third places. For the 1956 season, the team moved to Miami and participated as the Marlins. A different Syracuse Chiefs played in Class A Easter League until 1957, then moved to Pennsylvania, and in the next 4 years, the club was off the field. The Chiefs’ rebirth in 1961 when the Montreal Royals franchise moved to Syracuse. Since then, the city has never left again without a baseball team.

However, multiple changes have been made during the years, and the team became an affiliate to a few other major franchises. Perhaps the most successful one was with the New York Yankees from 1967 to 1977. In that stretch of time, the club won a couple of league titles. Before that, it had affiliations with the Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets. The team was also a Toronto Blue Jays triple-A affiliate from 1978 to 2008. The relationship between the two clubs ended in 2008 with the signing of a two-year contract with the Washington Nationals, which was subsequently extended until 2018.

Syracuse SkyChiefs Era

In 1997, as a Blue Jays affiliate, Syracuse Chiefs changed their name to SkyChiefs and kept it for almost 10 years until 2006. For that period, the team was unable to score a title but ended second in the division in season 1998 (Buffalo Bisons 0-3) and third in 1999 and 2001. It’s important to say that 1998 was the year of their relocation from the International League’s East Division to the North Division.

Besides that, the Syracuse Nine enjoyed a new home. The nearly $30 million P&C Stadium has finally opened, becoming only the second ballpark of the team after MacArthur Stadium. The capacity was increased, and the attendance jumped to around 400,000, a rise of almost 100,000. The all-peak was reached in 1999 – 446 thousand and 25 supporters. Sadly, Syracuse SkyChiefs experienced tough financial times after 2005, registering 2 consecutive very bad years, ending 35 successive seasons with operational profit. Perhaps that was the reason for the club to change its name back to Chiefs in 2006 and to become part of the Washington Nationals two years after that.

The New Chiefs Period

For about 10 years, Syracuse Chiefs stabilized their performance in financial and sports aspects. In 2014, they won the division title but lost the semi-final for the League Cup after a 0-3 defeat from Pawtucket. They also managed to record 2 consecutive second places in the North in 2009 and 2010. But despite all that, the financial troubles were not over for the community-owned club.

The Washington Nationals tried to fight that by sending two of their number one picks – Stephen Strasburg in 2010 and Bryce Harper in 2012. They both had a brief stay in Class AAA but still helped the club. Harper played only 21 games for the Chiefs before being called up to the Nationals team. He then became the 2012 National League Rookie of the Year. In 2018, the Chiefs era ended after 84 years, with the team being sold to the New York Mets after a stockholders’ decision.

Syracuse Mets

The Mets had to send their players on a 2,500 miles trip to Las Vegas for years to participate in the Pacific Coast League. The owners have dreamed about a Class AAA team located closer to New York, and in 2019 they officially rebranded Syracuse Chiefs for the new International League season. They ended second in the division in the first year and did not qualify for the finals. In the pandemic 2020, the IL season was canceled, while in 2021, no playoffs were held.

The first Syracuse Mets campaign was so successful mainly because of the experienced roster. The team boasted 21 players out of 25 with experience in Major League Baseball. It’s enough to mention only Tim Tebow (cult-star outfielder), Rene Rivera (catcher), and the veterans Rajai Davis and Carlos Gomez. The team defeated 6-3 Pawtucket Red Sox in their home at the start of the season. Syracuse Mets registered 75-65 before the last game ending on top of the division, together with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. The tie-breaker match between the New York Yankees affiliate and the Mets finished 13-14 the debutant failed to reach the playoffs.

After the COVID-19 lockdown, the IL season was initially postponed and later canceled. The Mets were organized in a 20-team AAA East for 2021, and in 2022, the regional circuit was recognized with the former name International League. Unfortunately, it was not a good year as the team scored a 50-75 record, finishing 5th. However, playoffs were not held anyway! So far, the 2022 season isn’t very good either. The Mets started with 4 losses and 1 win against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, and 2 games were postponed. As of the middle of June, the record 22-37 is more comparable to the 2021 performance rather than in the Mets’ debut season.

Governors’ Cup Titles

The team from Syracuse played 17 times in the International League championship series. They have a record of 8 titles and 9 defeats! They lost to the Montreal Royals in 1946 (4-3), 1948 (4-0), and 1951 (4-3). In 1964, three years after the team’s re-launch, they lost the cup to the Rochester Red Wings after 1-4. Syracuse Chiefs lost another title from the same team in 1974, this time with 3-4. The Norfolk Tides, former Tidewater, defeated the Chiefs in 1975 as well after a tense 4-3 match. The last crush for the team in the series was against the Richmond Braves in 1994. The game was aired on ESPN and ended 0-3.

However, fans of the team are much more thrilled about the successful attempts, and here are all 8 victories in the history of the former Syracuse SkyChiefs:

• 1935 – Montreal Royals (4-2)
• 1942 – Jersey City Giants (4-2)
• 1943 – Toronto Maple Leafs (4-1)
• 1947 – Buffalo Bisons (4-1)
• 1954 – Montreal Royals (4-2)
• 1969 – Columbus Clippers (4-1)
• 1970 – Columbus Clippers (4-1)
• 1976 – Richmond Braves (4-1).

We also have to mention the Junior World Series title from 1970 against the Omaha Royals (4-1). Syracuse Chiefs participated 5 times in that competition but was defeated in 1942, 1943, 1947, and 1954.

All-Time Record Standings

The Syracuse baseball team has an all-time record of 12,054 official games played up to date. It has won almost half of them (.479) – 5778! Numbers are not as impressive as with other Minor League baseball teams but are still above the average. This is the club’s record only for the games from the regular season, as they have 117 wins and 113 defeats in post-season matches.

It’s hard to say which period of the team was the best, but according to the numbers, it was the first one. In the 1934 – 1955 period, the team registered 1659 wins and 1718 losses, without even mentioning the five International League championship titles. The coefficient during those 21 years was .491, slightly better than .477 and .472 in 1961 to 2018 and the present periods.

Top Players in History

For those 85 long seasons, a lot of players were on the Syracuse Chiefs roster, including a few who managed to leave a significant mark on baseball in general. In the next lines, we’ll present to you our top picks for ballers that have been playing for the Chiefs in their careers:

• Dave Stieb – played for the team in 1979, he is a 7-time MLB All-Star pitcher. His statistics in the Major League are great – 176 wins against 137 losses, an average earn-run coefficient of 3.44, and 1,669 strikeouts. Dave Stieb played for the Toronto Blue Jays (twice) and Chicago White Sox;
• Robinson Cano – second baseman currently playing for the San Diego Padres. So far, he has 2,635 hits and a career batting average of .301. He has scored 335 home runs and is a World Series champion since 2009 with the Yankees. Cano has played for the Seattle Mariners and New York Mets, too. He’s 8-time MLB All-Star and has a ton of other awards;
• Tony Fernandez – played for 8 MLB teams, including 3 times for Toronto Blue Jays. The famous shortstop is a 5-time All-Star, a World Series champion from 1993 (Blue Jays), and a 4-time Gold Glove Award. Fernandez is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. He ended his career in 2001 with a batting average of .288 and 2,276 hits;
• Fred McGriff – the popular first baseman, played for the Chiefs in 1984, 1985, and 1986. He was part of 7 MLB clubs and won the World Series in 1995 with the Atlanta Braves. Fred McGriff is a 5-time All-Star, 3-times Silver Slugger Award, and 2-times Home run leader. His last Major League appearance was with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2004;
• Shawn Green – the right fielder of the Blue Jays, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, and New York Mets, played for Syracuse in 1994. Although he was unable to help them score their 9th championship title, Shawn left a serious mark in MLB, hitting 4 home runs in a single game. He is also a 2-time All-Star, Gold Glove Award, and Silver Slugger Award in 1999;
• Roy Halladay – in 2019 the Blue Jays and Phillies pitcher-on-fire was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame with 85.4% on the first ballot. His impressive career ended with 203 wins (105 losses) and 2,117 strikeouts. Roy pitched a perfect game and a post-season no-hitter, both in 2010. He’s an 8-time All-Star, 2-time winner of the Cy Young and MLB Wins Leader awards, and more;
• David Wells – he won 239 games in MLB with 9 teams, ending his fascinating career in 2007 as part of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is a 3-time All-Star and won the World Series twice – 1992 (Blue Jays) and 1998 (Yankees). He’ll always be remembered as an ALCS MVP of 1998, adding a pitched perfect game during the same year.

Stadiums and Top Attendance

MacArthur Stadium is a municipal facility opened in 1934 to serve as a home to the Syracuse Chiefs. It was named after and in honor of Gen. Douglas MacArthur in 1942. Its capacity was also increased from the initial 8,416 to 10,006 people. MacArthur Stadium was razed in 1997 in order for the area to be used as a parking lot for the brand new P&C Stadium, later renamed NBT Bank Stadium. The Stadium was also home to the AFL Syracuse Braves in 1934.

NBT Bank Stadium is owned by Onondaga County and has the capacity to accommodate 10,815 spectators. The construction cost was estimated to be more than $28 million according to the bills’ value in 1997. The stadium received its current name in 2013. Originally, it was branded P&C Stadium, and in 2005 rebranded to Alliance Bank Stadium. It was used for a couple of seasons by the soccer Syracuse Salty Dogs, but the contract was terminated because of issues with the owner and the Syracuse Chiefs.

As we already mentioned, the all-time peak of the attendance was reached in 1999 – 446,025 spectators for the season. Statistically, the new stadium was a real booster as the audience increased sharply and only a few times dropped under the maximums registered during the MacArthur Stadium era. Here are the seasons with the highest attendance:

• 1999 – 446,025
• 2001 – 423,405
• 1998 – 420,488
• 2010 – 416,382
• 2002 – 413,566
• 2000 – 402,450
• 1997 – 400,804
• 2009 – 392,518
• 2008 – 392,028
• 2005 – 382,896.

Financial Background and Current Owner

The person who made the acquisition of the Chiefs possible is Jeff Wilpon. He headed the New York Mets organization in 2017 and offered $18 million to the club’s shareholders. The Syracuse Chiefs franchise was owned by the Community Baseball Club of Central New York, Inc. A vote had to be held, and 88% of it went in favor of the buying offer.

The new ownership became official in 2018! An interesting fact is that the first price of the Chiefs shares was $10 in 1961, and it exceeded $130 after 2011, despite the fact they were not publicly traded. The corporate structure was standard, with 13 directors acting on behalf of all shareholders. A total of 15,857 shares were distributed between 4,000 stockholders, the majority of which have owned just a few of the valuable papers. At the time of the Mets’ offer, Robert F. Julian is the Board’s Chairman, William Dutch is the President of the company, and Jason Smorol is acting as a General Manager.

Many people believe that the buying proposal and the strong desire to sell came from the simple fact that the Syracuse Chiefs had very serious financial problems. They were very close to bankruptcy after having been operating at a loss since 2006. The only good season was 2010 when the team registered a profit of approximately $100,000. The team lost almost a million in 2013, which has been reduced significantly by Jason Smorol in the following couple of years. However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a loss of nearly $5 million because of the postponed 2020 and delayed 2021 seasons.

What to Expect

Syracuse still has its baseball place with a convenient parking lot and great accommodation. The new 2022 season started with a refreshed ambition and a new team manager – Kevin Boles. His debut was not the dreamed one after the 5 consecutive losses from the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, but local fans have seen worse. Although the Chiefs are gone for now, the club is more stable than ever, being a desired AAA Class affiliate to the New York Mets. And now, seeing the most serious health crisis of our time loosens its grip, we can’t help but look forward to a brighter future!