The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team in the MLB Draft League, based in Trenton, New Jersey. They play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, they were a Double-A team in the Eastern League, affiliated with the Detroit Tigers (1994), Boston Red Sox (1995–2002), and New York Yankees (2003–2020). Following Major League Baseball's minor league reorganization, they joined the MLB Draft League as an unaffiliated team in 2021.
From 1994 to 2020, the team was a member of Minor League Baseball, participating in the Double-A Eastern League until Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minors following the 2020 season. Immediately prior to this, the Thunder were the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees and had been since 2003.
History As a member of Minor League Baseball/Eastern League Trenton Thunder Baseball was established in 1994 with the relocation of the London Tigers from London, Ontario to Trenton, New Jersey, the London Tigers played at historic Labatt Park and served as a Detroit Tigers affiliate. The London Tigers were previously based at East Field Stadium in Glens Falls, New York under the names Glens Falls White Sox (1980–1985) as a Chicago White Sox affiliate and Glens Falls Tigers (1986–1988) as a Detroit Tigers affiliate. The Tigers affiliation moved with the relocation from London to Trenton but it lasted for one season only before switching affiliations to the Boston Red Sox in 1995.
On June 4, 1994, Phil Stidham became the first Thunder alumnus to play in the major leagues, for the Detroit Tigers, giving up six runs on six hits, including two home runs, as part of a 21–7 romp by the Minnesota Twins. As a Red Sox affiliate, the club recorded three first-place finishes, but was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round each time. In 2003, the Thunder became the Yankees affiliate, and the Portland Sea Dogs became the new Red Sox affiliate. The switch reflected both teams' fanbases, as Central New Jersey is home to many Yankees fans, while Maine is home to many Red Sox fans.
In , the Thunder became the first team in Minor League Baseball history to draw over 400,000 fans for 12 consecutive seasons at the Double-A level or below. Through 13 seasons, over 5.4 million people had attended a Thunder game.
Surpassing the previous mark of 8,729, set while Derek Jeter was on a rehab stint with the team, the Thunder set a new single-game attendance record on May 23, 2007, when 9,134 fans attended, to watch Roger Clemens make his second minor-league start, as he worked toward a return to the Yankees. On Sunday, July 3, 2011, a paid attendance of 9,212 set a new record, as Derek Jeter returned once again, for a rehab start.
On September 15, 2007, the Thunder defeated the Akron Aeros to win their first Eastern League Championship Series in team history. Trenton defended its league title with 5–1 win over the Aeros on September 14, 2008. The Thunder lost to the Altoona Curve in the 2010 Eastern League Championship Series.
In 2013, the Minor League Baseball website named the Trenton Thunder the Minor League team of the year. Trenton also took home two other awards which included "Promo of the Year" for the Retirement Party for team bat dog Chase That Golden Thunder. The 13-year-old Golden Retriever retired this year and in his final game the team included a bobble head give away in honor of the long time mascot. The third award was for "Mascot of the Year" which included an online four minute which garnered the most hits of any other team's mascot video.
As a member of the MLB Draft League On November 7, 2020, the Yankees announced that they would end their affiliation with the Thunder organization in favor of the previously independent Somerset Patriots, located in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey. The Thunder organization was offered the Patriots' spot in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Instead, they became members of the newly created MLB Draft League, which serves as a showcase for draft-eligible prospects.
The Thunder organization won the first MLB Draft League title in 2021.
Triple-A Buffalo Bisons In April 2021, it was announced that the Thunder organization would host the Buffalo Bisons, the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. “After 27 years serving as the Double-A home of the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, and New York Yankees, we are excited to welcome the highest level of Minor League Baseball to New Jersey,” said Jeff Hurley, Thunder GM & COO. “We look forward to working with the Bisons, Blue Jays, and Major League Baseball to make this a successful season start.” The Blue Jays began the 2021 MLB season by calling their spring training facilities in Dunedin, Florida, as a result of COVID-19 restrictions in Canada. Toronto had played the coronavirus-shortened 60-game 2020 season in Buffalo. According to the Bisons, the move to Trenton allowed the club to complete a joint renovation project to prepare Buffalo’s Sahlen Field for major-league regular-season games. Buffalo expects the upgrades will “far exceed the new required Major League Baseball Player Development League facility standards, making Sahlen Field one of the premier locations for player training and performance amenities in Minor League Baseball.”
At the Bisons home games in Trenton, the Bisons wore the Trenton Thunder uniforms and were referred to as Trenton Thunder while the Thunder MLB Draft League team was referred to as Draft League Thunder by the Thunder organization; the Bisons were still referred to as the Buffalo Bisons on the road and the Thunder MLB Draft League team was referred to as Trenton Thunder on the road. The Bisons played the season through July in Trenton and moved back to Buffalo for August. On September 4, 2023, Team President Jeff Hurley stated that the team's goal is to be affiliated again with a major league organization.
Season records
Minor League Baseball/Eastern League SeasonAffiliationManagerRecord1994TigersTom Runnells55–85, 5th place South1995Red SoxKen Macha73–69, 1st place South (tie)1996Red SoxKen Macha86–56, 1st place South1997Red SoxDeMarlo Hale71–70, 4th place South1998Red SoxDeMarlo Hale71–70, 3rd place South1999Red SoxDeMarlo Hale92–50, 1st place North2000Red SoxBilly Gardner, Jr.67–75, 5th place North2001Red SoxBilly Gardner, Jr.67–75, 5th place North2002Red SoxRon Johnson63–77, 5th place North (tie)2003YankeesStump Merrill70–71, 4th place North2004YankeesStump Merrill64–78, 6th place North2005YankeesBill Masse74–68, 2nd place North2006YankeesBill Masse80–62, 1st place North2007YankeesTony Franklin83–59, 1st place North2008YankeesTony Franklin86–54, 1st place North2009YankeesTony Franklin69–72, 3rd place North2010YankeesTony Franklin83–59, 1st place East2011YankeesTony Franklin68–73, 4th place East2012YankeesTony Franklin79–63, 1st place East2013YankeesTony Franklin74–67, 2nd place East2014YankeesTony Franklin67–75, 4th place East2015YankeesAl Pedrique71–71, 3rd place East2016YankeesBobby Mitchell87–55, 2nd place East2017YankeesBobby Mitchell92–48, 1st place East2018YankeesJay Bell79–61, 1st place East2019YankeesPatrick Osborn76–62, 2nd place East
MLB Draft League SeasonAffiliationManagerRecord2021NoneJeff Manto30–18–8, 1st place League2022NoneJeff Manto29–43, 5th place League2023NoneJeff Manto39–30, 2nd place League2024NoneAdonis Smith 37-36, 2nd place League2025NoneShawn Chacón37-39. 4th place League
Playoff appearances (Minor League Baseball/Eastern League)
1995 season: Lost to Reading, 3–0 in semifinals 1996 season: Lost to Harrisburg, 3–1 in semifinals 1999 season: Lost to Norwich, 3–2 in semifinals 2005 season: Lost to Portland, 3–2 in semifinals 2006 season: Lost to Portland 3–1 in semifinals 2007 season: Defeated Portland 3–1 in semifinals; defeated Akron 3–1 in championship series. 2008 season: Defeated Portland 3–0 in semifinals; defeated Akron 3–1 in championship series. 2010 season: Defeated New Hampshire 3–0 in semifinals; lost to Altoona 3–1 in championship series. 2012 season: Defeated Reading 3–1 in semifinals; lost to Akron 3–1 in championship series. 2013 season: Defeated Binghamton 3–0 in semifinals; defeated Harrisburg 3–0 in championship series. 2016 season: Defeated Reading 3–1 in semifinals; lost to Akron 3–0 in championship series. 2017 season: Defeated Binghamton 3–1 in semifinals; lost to Altoona 3–0 in championship series. 2018 season: Lost to New Hampshire, 3–0 in semifinals 2019 season: Defeated Reading 3–0 in semifinals; defeated Bowie in the championship series 3–1.
Ballpark
The Thunder have played at Trenton Thunder Ballpark since the team's inception in 1994. The ballpark was previously named Mercer County Waterfront Park from its inaugural season until 2012, when it was renamed Arm & Hammer Park as part of a sponsorship deal with Arm & Hammer that lasted until 2021. Trenton Thunder Ballpark has a capacity of 6,440, the largest for any home ballpark in the MLB Draft League.
Team culture
Mascots
Boomer The Thunder's mascot is a blue "Thunderbird" named Boomer. He wears a Thunder uniform as well as purple and yellow shades. Boomer traditionally takes part in many of the promotions and activities throughout Thunder home games, such as a race around the bases against a young fan. Boomer's likeness has appeared on numerous pieces of merchandise, and he is involved with several programs assisting children in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Cloudman Cloudman is the Thunder's heroic mascot, debuting during the 2015 season. He is a caped crusader who serves the greater good in the community. The Cloudman's Hometown Heroes program debuted in 2015. Fans have the opportunity to nominate local heroes in their community to be honored in the middle of the seventh inning of every home game. Current and former armed forces members, first-responders and individuals who do good in the community are often nominated. Cloudman can be seen all over Trenton Thunder Ballpark during a Thunder game, usually in tandem with Boomer, the Thunder's original mascot. Together Cloudman and Boomer take part in such in-game activities as shooting T-shirts off into the crowd, racing a youngster around the bases for a prize, and competing against one another to pick the loudest section in the stadium on a given night.
Batdogs
Chase "That Golden Thunder" was a Golden Retriever who was part of the Thunder family from late in the 2002 season until his death in 2013. He often served as "batdog" during the first inning at most Thunder home games, retrieving bats and balls and returning them to the Thunder dugout. Later in the game, Chase usually caught frisbees to win a cash prize for a lucky fan. Chase had garnered significant media attention, appearing on FOX, CNN, YES Network, UPN9, WNBC4, and even Japanese television. In 2008, Chase sired a litter of pups. One of the pups was trained to be his successor and was named Home Run Derby (or Derby for short) in a fan poll during the offseason. Another of the pups from that litter was named Ollie, and served as a batdog for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats until September 2016. Chase died July 8, 2013, aged 13. He was diagnosed with cancer in February and had been suffering from arthritis.Famous minor league bat-dog dies, USA Today, July 9, 2013