Thetford Mines Pirates
Double-A Eastern League champions in 1974.
The Thetford Mines Pirates were a Canadian minor league baseball franchise that represented Thetford Mines, Quebec, in the Double-A Eastern League in 1974–75. The club played at le Stade Bellevue. After two winning but non-playoff seasons as the Sherbrooke Pirates, the team moved 104 km (65 miles) north to Thetford Mines for the 1974 season as an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Led by league All-Star catcher and Most Valuable Player Ken Macha, the future MLB manager, Thetford Mines won the Eastern League championship that year, defeating the Bristol Red Sox in the semi-finals and the Pittsfield Rangers in the finals.
Quick Facts
- City
- Thetford Mines, Quebec
- Class level
- Double-A
- League
- Eastern League
- Majorleague
- Pittsburgh Pirates (1974); Milwaukee Brewers (1975)
- Nickname
- Thetford Mines Pirates (1974); Thetford Mines Miners (1975)
- Ballpark
- le Stade Bellevue
Facts from the source article.
Background
The 1974 season was a short but bright flash for Thetford Mines baseball. The Pirates, fresh from Sherbrooke, made the playoffs and swept through the competition. Ken Macha, the team's catcher, was named league MVP and an All-Star, carrying the club to a championship. But the stands told a different story: the club drew almost 50,000 fans less than they had in Sherbrooke during the 1973 season. That drop convinced the MLB Pirates to switch their Double-A affiliate to the Shreveport Captains of the Texas League for 1975. The Milwaukee Brewers replaced them in Thetford Mines for 1975, renaming the team the Miners. That club finished in seventh place, 22½ games out of a playoff spot, and drew only 16,000 fans all year. The franchise was moved to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, for 1976.
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