![]() He led the team twice in home runs and RBI. Upshaw spent nine of his ten playing seasons in the Majors with the Toronto Blue Jays. He was Bridgeport's first manager from 1998 to 2000, as well as the first base coach for the Cleveland Indians from 2000–2005, and the San Francisco Giants for the 20 seasons. The Bluefish were purchased by Frank Boulton, who is also the owner of the Long Island Ducks and the founder of the Atlantic League.īefore the 2009 season, the Bluefish hired Willie Upshaw, a Major League Baseball alumnus and Fairfield County native, as their bench coach. However, Get Hooked dropped the Bluefish prior to the 2008 season in favor of seeking a new ballpark for the city of Yonkers, New York. Prior to the 2006 season, the franchise was purchased by Get Hooked, LLC, a group of investors from Fairfield County that included McGregor and Foster. Herbert anchored the team through a mayoral scandal and difficult financial circumstances. The original founders of the Bluefish were Mickey Herbert, Jack McGregor, Mary-Jane Foster, and the Bridgeport Waterfront Investors. In many ways, the renaissance of Bridgeport was started by the Bluefish. The success of the Bluefish led to major redevelopment of the South End, including construction of the Arena at Harbor Yard and a multi-use parking garage. The Jenkins Valve plant was demolished to make way for the stadium. The land under The Ballpark at Harbor Yard was purchased by the city of Bridgeport from Donald Trump for $1 and with the forgiveness of back taxes owed on the property. The Bluefish won their first league championship in 1999, and have won the most games in Atlantic League history. Some of the former major-leaguers who have sported Bluefish jerseys include José Offerman, Edgardo Alfonzo, Deivi Cruz, Junior Spivey, Quinton McCracken, Antonio Alfonseca, Willy Mo Pena, Joey Gathright and Mariano Duncan. The Bluefish, and the Atlantic League itself, tend to attract veteran minor leaguers as well as the occasional Major Leaguer at the end of their careers. They lost to Atlantic City (1998), Newark (2002) Lancaster (2006) and to York (2010). The team has been to five Atlantic League Championship Series, and won in 1999 versus the Somerset Patriots. The first game of the Bridgeport Bluefish was May 21, 1998, and the team has had many winning seasons. #Define bluefish professionalProfessional baseball would not be played in Bridgeport for about another half-century, until the arrival of the Bluefish in 1998. ![]() Visiting Major League and Negro League teams often played exhibition games in Bridgeport in the shadow of the city's smokestacks. Bridgeport was the home of Major Leaguer, James "Orator" O'Rourke, who signed the first African-American to play for a professional baseball team in 1895. ![]() Other teams that called the city home were the Victors, Mechanics, Bolts, Americans, and the Bears. The game of baseball was first played in Bridgeport, Connecticut soon after the Civil War ended. ![]()
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