The Bristol Pirates were a Minor League Baseball team in Bristol, Virginia, United States. They were a Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League.
The team played home games at DeVault Memorial Stadium. Opened in 1969, Devault Memorial Stadium held 2,000 fans. The team was previously affiliated with the Detroit Tigers, and a previous manager was retired Tigers manager Jim Leyland. They were a farm team of the Chicago White Sox from 1995 to 2013 as the Bristol White Sox.
The team was operated by a non-profit organization, Bristol Baseball, Incorporated (BBI). BBI had no full-time paid staff, instead relying on a volunteer board and general manager to keep and promote professional baseball in Bristol.
The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic before ultimately being cancelled on June 30. In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was reorganized as a collegiate summer baseball league, and the Pirates were replaced by a new franchise, the Bristol State Liners, in the revamped league designed for rising college freshmen and sophomores.
Season-by-season records Bristol Tigers (Appalachian League)Year Record Win % Finish* Manager Playoffs1969 34-34 .500 3rd South Bill Lajoie none 1970 26-31 .464 5th AL Al Lakeman none 1971 31-35 .470 3rd South Jim Leyland none 1972 40-28 .588 1st AL Joe Lewis League ChampsNo playoffs 1973 24-45 .348 7th AL Joe Lewis none 1974 52-17 .754 1st North Joe Lewis League ChampsNo playoffs1975 37-31 .544 3rd South Joe Lewis none 1976 35-32 .522 2nd South Joe Lewis none 1977 43-26 .614 2nd AL Joe Lewis League ChampsNo playoffs1978 35-34 .507 3rd AL Joe Lewis none 1979 19-50 .275 6th AL Joe Lewis none 1980 36-33 .522 2nd AL Tom Kotchman none 1981 29-41 .414 5th AL Joe Lewis none 1982 28-36 .438 3rd South Boots Day none 1983 34-38 .472 3rd AL Boots Day none 1984 37-33 .529 2nd South Hal Dyer none 1985 44-25 .638 1st AL Tom Burgess League ChampsNo playoffs 1986 35-34 .507 3rd South Tom Gamboa 1987 20-49 .290 4th South Rick Magnante 1988 46-27 .630 2nd South Rick Magnante Lost 1 game playoff 1989 28-39 .418 5th South Rubén Amaro, Sr. 1990 22-46 .324 10th AL Ken Cunningham 1991 22-44 .333 5th South Juan Lopez 1992 33-35 .485 3rd South Mark Wagner 1993 28-39 .418 4th South Ruben Amaro, Sr. 1994 27-36 .429 4th South Kevin Bradshaw Bristol White Sox (Appalachian League)1995 28-39 .418 4th South Chris Cron 1996 17-51 .450 4th South Nick Capra 1997 30-38 .441 4th West Nick Capra 1998 42-24 .636 1st West Nick Capra League Champs 1999 45-24 .652 2nd West Gary Pellant 2000 34-33 .507 4th South R.J. Reynolds 2001 38-26 .594 2nd South John Orton 2002 43-25 .632 1st South Nick Leyva League Champs 2003 33-33 .500 6th AL Jerry Hairston, Sr. 2004 27-38 .415 5th West Jerry Hairston, Sr. 2005 30-36 .455 2nd West Jerry Hairston, Sr. 2006 22-42 .344 5th West Nick Leyva 2007 25-43 .368 4th West Bobby Thigpen 2008 34-30 .531 3rd West Bobby Thigpen 2009 27-39 .409 4th West Ryan Newman 2010 32-36 .471 3rd West Ryan Newman 2011 24-44 .353 5th West Pete Rose Jr. 2012 19-46 .292 5th West Pete Rose Jr. 2013 20-45 .308 5th West Mike Gellinger Bristol Pirates (Appalachian League)2014 22-46 .324 5th West Edgar Varela 2015 29-36 .446 4th West Edgar Varela 2016 25-43 .368 5th West Kory DeHaan 2017 17-49 .258 5th West Miguel Perez
Playoffs 2019: Lost to Johnson City 2–1 in semifinals. 2002: Defeated Bluefield 2–1 to win championship. 1998: Defeated Princeton 2–0 to win championship.
Notable alumni
Chris Carter (2005) Frank Catalanotto (1992-1993) Tony Clark (1990) MLB All-Star Juan Encarnacion (1994) Mark Fidrych (1974) 2 x MLB All-Star; 1976 AL ERA Leader; 1976 AL Rookie of the Year Travis Fryman (1987) 5 x MLB All-Star Freddy Garcia (2009) 2 x MLB All-Star; 2001 AL ERA Leader Gio Gonzalez (2004) 2 x MLB All-Star Jerry Hairston Sr. (2004, MGR) Chris Hoiles (1986) Carlos Lee (1995) Jose Lima (1990) MLB All-Star Jerry Manual (1972) Lance Parrish (1974) 8 x MLB All-Star Jon Rauch (1999) Vern Ruhle (1972) Bobby Thigpen (2007-2008, MGR) MLB All-Star Justin Thompson (1991) MLB All-Star Alan Trammell (1976) 6 x MLB All-Star; 1984 World Series Most Valuable Player; 2018 Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame Tom Veryzer (1971) Lou Whitaker (1975) 5 x MLB All-Star; 1978 AL Rookie of the Year
References
External links
Statistics from Baseball-Reference