Newport Gulls

Last updated
Newport Gulls
Newportlogo.png Newport Gulls Cap Logo 2012.PNG
Team logoCap insignia
Information
League NECBL  (Coastal Division)
Location Newport, RI (2001–present)
Cranston, RI (1998–2000)
Ballpark Cardines Field (2001–present)
Founded1998
League championships7 (2001, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2014, 2023)
Post-Season Division championships11 (2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014)
Regular-Season Division championships11 (2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2023)
Former name(s)Newport Gulls (2001–present)
Rhode Island Gulls (1998–2000)
Former league(s)
  • NECBL
    • Eastern Division (2009–2013)
    • Southern Division (2002, 2004–2008)
    • American Division (2001)
Former ballparks Cranston Stadium (1998–2000)
Colors
  Blue
  Orange
  Black
MascotGully & Gully Jr.
OwnershipChuck Paiva, Chris Patsos
Ron Westmoreland, Greg Fater, Mark Horan
ManagerFrank Holbrook
General ManagerChuck Paiva
MediaTom Lima
Website newportgulls.com

The Newport Gulls are a wooden-bat, collegiate summer baseball team based in Newport, Rhode Island. The Newport Gulls Baseball Club is a member of both the New England Collegiate Baseball League and the NECBL's Coastal Division. Since 2001, the Gulls have played at Cardines Field.

Contents

History

An NECBL expansion team, the club was founded in Cranston in 1998. The Gulls have been one of the NECBL's most successful teams since their inception, winning seven Fay Vincent, Sr. Cups as champions of the NECBL, and eleven division titles.

While most teams playing at Cardines average attendance in the dozens or, at most, a few hundred per game, the Newport Gulls, since moving to Newport in 2001, have helped bring the field back to its former glory days of the mid-twentieth century, averaging over 2,300 fans for a regular-season home game. During the 2004 season alone, the Gulls attracted over 50,000 fans through just 26 home games, with sellout crowds in excess of 3,000 people. Following the 2006 season, the Gulls set a team and league record (since surpassed) for regular season home attendance, totaling 42,424 fans after 21 games, along with the league's all-time best win–loss record of 32–10. [1] In 15 seasons in Newport, the Gulls have never failed to win fewer than 25 regular season games.

Gulls in action against the Marthas Vineyard Sharks Cardines Field - view from third base grandstand.jpg
Gulls in action against the Marthas Vineyard Sharks

Newport Gulls games often feature fan participation activities between innings, along with concessions, low ticket prices, and a safe atmosphere. This reputation has only added to their popularity, not only among tourists passing through Newport, but with many Aquidneck Island children and families, as well. The active crowds, historic atmosphere, and competent club management have allowed the Gulls to recruit some of the best college baseball players in the nation, with talent rivaling the Cape Cod League. Since 2001, Cardines Field has hosted the Gulls through 11 regular season division titles, 11 postseason division titles, and 7 league championships, along with other notable awards, such as the RI Governor's Cup, Pell Bridge Series Championship, and Dunkin' Donuts Cup. The Gulls have also begun an annual tradition of playing Team USA in an exhibition around Independence Day every July, in what is often a sellout game. In July 2005, the Gulls hosted the NECBL All-Star Game and Home Run Derby at Cardines, which was a major event for the park, the league, and the City of Newport. The Gulls later hosted the 2010 NECBL All-Star Game, and were scheduled to host the event a third time on July 17, 2016.

Cardines undergoing pregame preparation on a Gulls game night Cardinesfield.jpg
Cardines undergoing pregame preparation on a Gulls game night

The Gulls and the NECBL as a whole have received national attention with the addition of live Internet video webcasts to the normal audio webcast of games, effectively doing so at minimum cost in infrastructure. On opening night of the 2006 NECBL season, the Newport Gulls were the first to implement this new technology, bringing summer collegiate baseball, as well as Cardines Field, into a new era.[ citation needed ] These changes and improvements were implemented under the direction of team Director of Broadcast Operations and Media Relations Nicholas Lima from 2005 to 2015.

The Fighting Gull Thefightinggull.png
The Fighting Gull

This attention is more than welcome for Gulls players, who, as amateur college athletes, hope to be drafted by Major League Baseball teams. The recent surge in recognition and popularity of the Newport Gulls organization throughout the professional baseball world has provided for an increase in the number of Gulls players to be drafted every year. The professionalism and expanse of the Gulls media operations has made it a model summer collegiate teams around the country attempt to emulate, and the Gulls internship program is considered a premier stepping stone for college students seeking a career in sports management.

The Gulls are the most successful franchise in NECBL history, having won the Fay Vincent Sr. Cup in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2012, 2014, and most recently in 2023. The 2012 Gulls were Perfect Game's unofficial national champion, and NECBL's first team to be so honored. [2]

Attendance

The following is a list of Gulls attendance figures at Cardines Field dating back to the 2001 season, when the team began using the facility.

Home attendance
SeasonGame avg.Season totalLge. rk.
2001 [3] 67611,4914th
2002 [3] 79216,6405th
2003 [3] 1,20021,6044th
2004 [3] 1,79835,9642nd
2005 [3] 1,68733,7593rd
2006 [3] 2,02042,4241st
2007 [3] 2,01042,2251st
2008 [3] 2,10144,1231st
2009 [3] 2,27745,5471st
2010 [3] 2,28445,6831st
2011 [3] 2,14642,9132nd
2012 [3] 2,12638,2751st
2013 [3] 1,93940,7141st
2014 [3] 2,332 [upper-alpha 1] 46,645 [upper-alpha 1] 1st
20152,31546,2901st

Postseason appearances

YearDivision Semi-Finals [upper-alpha 2] Division Finals [upper-alpha 3] NECBL Championship Series
Rhode Island Gulls
2000 Mill City All-Americans W (2–1) Keene Swamp Bats L (1–2)
Newport Gulls
2001 Eastern Tides W (2–1) Keene Swamp Bats W (2–1)
2002 North Adams Steeplecats W (2–1) Danbury Westerners W (2–0) Keene Swamp Bats W (2–0)
2003 Danbury Westerners W (2–1) Torrington Twisters L (0–2)
2004 Torrington Twisters W (2–1) Riverpoint Royals W (2–1) Sanford Mainers L (1–2)
2005 Danbury Westerners W (2–0) North Adams Steeplecats W (2–0) Vermont Mountaineers W (2–0)
2006 Manchester Silkworms W (2–1) Torrington Twisters L (0–2)
2007 North Adams Steeplecats W (2–1) Torrington Twisters W (2–0) Vermont Mountaineers L (0–2)
2008 Manchester Silkworms W (2–0) Pittsfield Dukes W (2–0) Sanford Mainers L (0–2)
2009 New Bedford Bay Sox W (2–0) Sanford Mainers W (2–1) Vermont Mountaineers W (2–1)
2010 Laconia Muskrats W (2–0) North Shore Navigators L (1–2)
2011 Laconia Muskrats L (0–2)
2012 Sanford Mainers W (2–1) New Bedford Bay Sox W (2–0) Danbury Westerners W (2–0)
2013 Sanford Mainers W (2–0) Mystic Schooners W (2–0) Keene Swamp Bats L (1–2)
2014 Ocean State Waves W (2–1) Plymouth Pilgrims W (2–1) Sanford Mainers W (2–0)
2015 Ocean State Waves W (2–1) Mystic Schooners L (0–2)
2016 Danbury Westerners W (2-1) Mystic Schooners L (0-2)
2019 Mystic Schooners W (1-0) Martha's Vineyard Sharks L (2-1)
2022 Sanford Mainers L (0–1)
2023 Ocean State Waves W (2–1) Danbury Westerners W (2–0) Bristol Blues W (2–0)

Notable players

Notable Newport Gulls [4]
YearPlayerMLB TeamUniversity
1999 Jason Szuminski [upper-alpha 4] San Diego Padres MIT
2003 Chris Ianetta [upper-alpha 5] [upper-alpha 6] Los Angeles Angels University of North Carolina
2004 Mitchell Boggs [upper-alpha 5] St. Louis Cardinals University of Georgia
2005 Dan Otero [upper-alpha 5] San Francisco Giants Duke University
2006 Jeff Beliveau Chicago Cubs College of Charleston
2006 Chris Dominguez San Francisco Giants University of Louisville
2007 Adam Wilk Detroit Tigers Long Beach State University
2007 Mike Seander N/A Duke University
2009 Greg Garcia St. Louis Cardinals University of Hawaii
2010 Mark Appel Philadelphia Phillies Stanford University
2010 Chris Taylor Seattle Mariners University of Virginia
2010 Pat Light Boston Red Sox Monmouth University
2011–12 Daniel Wright Cincinnati Reds Arkansas State University
2013 Brett Graves Miami Marlins University of Missouri
2013 Joel McKeithan Cincinnati Reds Vanderbilt University
2014 Tommy Edman St. Louis Cardinals Stanford University
2014 Will Smith Los Angeles Dodgers University of Louisville
2015 James Karinchak Cleveland Guardians Bryant University
2016 Kris Bubic Kansas City Royals Stanford University
2016 Jake Cousins Milwaukee Brewers University of Pennsylvania
2017 JJ Bleday Oakland Athletics Vanderbilt University

Notable games

Notes

  1. 1 2 NECBL Records. [3]
  2. ↑ The NECBL had 3 divisions in 2022, and that season's first playoff round consisted of only a single game.
  3. ↑ The NECBL did not separate into divisions until 2001.
  4. ↑ A Rhode Island Gull.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Member, Newport Gulls Hall of Fame. [4]
  6. ↑ Member, NECBL Hall of Fame. [4]

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References

  1. ↑ NECBL (August 11, 2006). "New England Collegiate Baseball League - Newport (2006)". NECBL . Retrieved July 11, 2012.
  2. ↑ Simpson, Allan (August 20, 2012). "Summer Collegiate Team Rankings". Perfect Game USA. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Lima, Nicholas. Newport Gulls 2014 Media Guide. Newport, RI: Newport Gulls. p. 64.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lima, Nicholas. Newport Gulls 2012 Media Guide. Newport, RI: Newport Gulls. pp. 64–65.
  5. ↑ Synder, Eric (August 3, 2002). "Gulls player shows versatility at key time". The Newport Daily News. Newport, RI: The Edward A. Sherman Publishing Company. pp. B3.
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