Delmarva Shorebirds

Delmarva Shorebirds
Founded in 1991 in Sumter, South Carolina Based in Salisbury, Maryland since 1996
Team logo Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class	Single-A (2021–present)
Previous classes	Class A (1991–2020)
League	Carolina League (2021–present)
Division	North Division
Previous leagues	South Atlantic League (1991–2020)
Major league affiliations
Team	Baltimore Orioles (1997–present)
Previous teams	Montreal Expos (1995-1996) Baltimore Orioles (1993-1994) Montreal Expos (1991-1992)
Minor league titles
League titles (2)	1997 2000
Team data
Name	Delmarva Shorebirds
Previous names	Albany Polecats (1992–1995) [1] Sumter Flyers (1991)
Colors	Black, orange, white
Ballpark	Arthur W. Perdue Stadium
Previous parks	Paul Eames Sports Complex (1992-1995) Riley Park (1991)
Owner(s)/ Operator(s)	7th Inning Stretch LP
General manager	Chris Bitters
Manager	Collin Woody
Website	milb.com/delmarva

The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shorebirds were members of the Class A South Atlantic League (SAL) from 1996 to 2020 and the Low-A East in 2021, though this was renamed the Carolina League and reclassified as Single-A in 2022. They won two SAL championships, in 1997 and 2000. Also in 1997, the Shorebirds received Baseball America's Bob Freitas Award for Class A baseball.

History

Frank Perdue's desire for a professional baseball team based in Maryland's Eastern Shore was the driving force in bringing a franchise to Salisbury. Joining the Maryland Baseball Limited Partnership, owners of the Bowie Baysox and Frederick Keys, set the concept in motion. ^[2] By Autumn 1995 Maryland Baseball purchased the Albany Polecats from Richard M. Holtzman, relocated the franchise to Salisbury and renamed it the Delmarva Shorebirds. ^[1] The name "Shorebirds" refers to the marine waterfowl of the Delmarva Peninsula. The team name was chosen by 7-year-old Katie Duffy of Newark, Delaware. ^[3]

The Shorebirds' first-ever game at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium was a 4–2 win over the Columbus RedStixx before a crowd of 5,787 on April 17, 1996. After fulfilling its two-year Player Development Contract with the Montreal Expos, it officially became an affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles on September 26, 1996. ^[2]

The Shorebirds hosted the 2011 South Atlantic League "Strike Out Hunger" All-Star Game on June 21, 2011. ^[4] The Shorebirds partnered with Perdue Farms, the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore and Delmarva's three food banks: Eastern Shore Branch of the Maryland Food Bank, the Food Bank of Delaware, and the Eastern Shore Branch of the Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia; to help "Strike Out Hunger". ^[5] Perdue and the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore donated $20 to the food banks for each strike out by a Shorebirds pitcher during the Shorebirds 2011 season. ^[6]

The Kyle Moore-managed Shorebirds in 2019 clinched their first postseason berth since 2005 by winning the SAL Northern Division first-half title with the minors' best midseason record at 48–21. A franchise-best 90–48 finish made them the 14th SAL team since 1980 to reach 90 wins in a regular season and the first since the Augusta GreenJackets in 2006. ^{[7] [8]} The season ended when the Shorebirds were swept by the Hickory Crawdads in the best-of-three SAL Northern Division Championship Series. ^[9]

A Shorebirds player bats at Segra Stadium in 2025

In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Shorebirds were organized into the Low-A East at the Low-A classification. ^[10] In 2022, the Low-A East became known as the Carolina League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization, and was reclassified as a Single-A circuit. ^[11]

Radio

The Shorebirds can be found on Fox Sports 960 AM, the Shorebirds' Flagship Station since 2005. ^[12] Will DeBoer has been the radio voice of the Shorebirds since 2017 ^[13] but is being replaced for the 2021 season by Sam Jellinek. Mitchell Speltz is the current voice of the Shorebirds. Former announcers include Randy Scott, Bret Lasky and Brendan Gulick.

Roster

Delmarva Shorebirds roster

• v
• t
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Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 40 Chase Allsup 35 Luis Beltrán 38 Denton Biller 19 Deivy Cruz 29 Adrián Delgado 30 Sayer Diederich  6 Carson Dorsey 32 Brandon Downer 45 Andy Fabian 28 Joe Glassey 31 Todd Kniebbe 16 Kenny Leiner 17 Kiefer Lord 22 Esteban Mejía ~ 13 Chipper Menard 18 Keeler Morfe 33 Twine Palmer 24 Jacob Stretch		Catchers 11 Caden Bodine 27 Ike Irish 21 Andrés Nolaya 20 Andrew Tess Infielders  7 Luis Almeyda  1 Wehiwa Aloy  2 Cobb Hightower 26 Joshua Liranzo 14 Brayden Smith 23 Colin Yeaman Outfielders  3 RJ Austin  4 Stiven Martinez  9 Raylin Ramos 10 Braylin Tavera		Manager 34 Collin Woody Coaches 36 Casey Buckley (development) 22 Casey Day (pitching) 12 Christian Poulsen (hitting) 15 Luis Silverio (fundamentals) 60-day injured list -- Eddy Alberto (full season) 23 Adriander Mejía (full season) -- Miguel Mesa -- Trey Nordmann (full season)  2 Steven Ondina -- Alex Ramos -- Miguel Rodríguez 7-day injured list * On Baltimore Orioles 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated August 20, 2025 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB  •  Carolina League → Baltimore Orioles minor league players

Notable alumni

Team Mascot "Sherman the Shorebird"

• Michael Barrett (1996)
• Erik Bedard (2005)
• Mike Bordick (2001) MLB All-Star
• Zach Britton (2008) 2 x MLB All-Star
• Orlando Cabrera (1996)
• Manny Machado (2011)
• Endy Chavez (2012)
• Delino DeShields (1999)
• Mike Guerra (1938)
• Pat Hentgen (2002) 3 x MLB All-Star; 1996 AL Cy Young Award
• Ty Kelly (2010–11)
• Nick Markakis (2004) MLB All-Star
• Stu Miller (1949) 2 x MLB All-Star; 1958 NL ERA Leader
• Brian Roberts (1999, 2012) 2 x MLB All-Star
• Jayson Werth (1998) MLB All-Star
• Scott Williamson (2007) MLB All-Star; 1999 NL rookie of the Year

References

1. Baker, Kent (September 21, 1995). "South Atlantic League will have Delmarva Shorebirds next season; Kirk group buying team, will move it to Salisbury". The Baltimore Sun .
2. Northam, Mitchell (September 13, 2015). "20 Years: The Delmarva Shorebirds". The Daily Times . Retrieved September 2, 2019.
3. "Delmarva Shorebirds celebrate 20th anniversary this season | Nate Sounds Off | Coconut Times OCMD". www.coconuttimes.com. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
4. "2011 All-Star Game". Delmarva Shorebirds. MiLB. October 13, 2010. Archived from the original on April 11, 2011.
5. "Plans Announced to "Strike Out Hunger"". Delmarva Shorebirds. MiLB. February 2, 2011. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012.
6. "Perdue, CFES to Donate $20 Per Strike Out". Delmarva Shorebirds. MiLB. April 13, 2011. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012.
7. Melewski, Steve (June 12, 2019). "Division champs: Delmarva celebrates clinching a playoff berth". Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). Retrieved September 2, 2019.
8. Jellinek, Sam (September 2, 2019). "Shorebirds Rally for 90th Win". MiLB.com . Delmarva Shorebirds. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
9. Jellinek, Sam. "'Birds Season Ends in Sweep to Hickory," Delmarva Shorebirds, Friday, September 6, 2019. Retrieved September 6, 2019
10. Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021). "MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues". Major League Baseball. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
11. "Historical League Names to Return in 2022". Minor League Baseball. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
12. "Shorebirds Renew Partnership with 960 The Sports Animal". www.wboc.com. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
13. Northam, Mitchell (October 21, 2016). "Shorebirds hire new radio voice, front office staff". The Daily Times . Retrieved November 8, 2018.

External links

• Official website