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Norfolk Tides Founded in 1961 Norfolk, Virginia
Team Logo Cap Insignia
Class-Level
Triple-A (1969-Present) High-A (1961-1968)
Minor League affiliations
International League South Division Carolina League (1964-1968) South Atlantic League (1961-1963)
Major League affiliations
Baltimore Orioles (2007-Present) New York Mets (1969-2006) St. Louis Cardinals (1962-1968)
Name
Norfolk Tides (1993-Present) Tidewater Tides (1961-1992)
Ballpark
Harbor Park (1993-Present) Met Park (1969-1992) Lawrence Stadium (1961-1968)
Minor League titles
Class titles	1983
League titles	1972, 1975, 1982, 1983, 1985
Division titles
Owner(s)/Operated by: Maryland Baseball Holding, LLC
Manager: Gary Allenson
General Manager: Dave Rosenfield

The Norfolk Tides are a Norfolk, Virginia, minor league baseball team, the AAA farm team for the Baltimore Orioles in the International League. The team was a longtime affiliate of the New York Mets from 1969 to 2006. The team plays their home games at Harbor Park.

Contents 1 Franchise History 2 Titles 3 Alumni 4 Current Roster 4.1 Active Roster 4.2 Coaching Staff 5 External links

The franchise began its history in the South Atlantic League in 1961 as the Tidewater Tides , playing at Lawrence Stadium in Portsmouth. The main newspaper of South Hampton Roads, The Virginian-Pilot, ran a contest to determine the team name. Although the chosen name was "Mariners," the Pilot's editor overruled the contest, deciding he liked the alliteration of "Tidewater Tides."

The Tides spent their first year as an "independent" team with no direct major-league affiliation, but became a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate the following season. However, the South Atlantic League decided to pull out of Virginia in 1963, threatening the future of minor-league baseball in the Hampton Roads area. A local group was able to convince the Carolina League to expand by two teams, one of them being the Tides.

In 1969, the Tides became a Triple-A team when the New York Mets moved their International League franchise from Jacksonville, Florida to Portsmouth. The previous owners of the Tides continued to run the team under the Mets' ownership. Their first year in Triple-A ended with a pennant. At the same time, the Mets and the city of Norfolk cooperated to build the team's next home, Met Park.

The Tides won the Governors' Cup, the International League championship, in 1972, 1975, 1982, 1983, and 1985. They also had the league's best regular-season record in 1987, but lost in the playoffs. In 1992, ground was broken on the club's current home of Harbor Park, and the Tides moved into the new facility in 1993. This period was a time of change in several other ways. First, in 1992, the Mets sold the franchise to a group led by Tampa businessman, Ken Young. At the time the Tides moved into Harbor Park, the team also replaced the "Tidewater" in its name with that of Norfolk, partly for marketing reasons and partly for political considerations, as the city of Norfolk had facilitated the financing and building of Harbor Park. Also in 1993, The Tides introduced their mascot Rip Tide.

The New York Mets did not renew their contract with the Norfolk Tides for the 2007 season, ending a 38-year continuous partnership, the second longest in AAA (the Atlanta-Richmond partnership dates to 1966). The Baltimore Orioles announced their affiliation with the Tides in a press conference on September 25, 2006. [1] The owner of the Tides also owns two other Orioles-affiliated minor-league clubs, the Bowie Baysox and the Frederick Keys. [2]

The Tides have won the Governors' Cup, the championship of the International League, 5 times, and played in the championship series 9 times.

• 1971 - Lost to Rochester
• 1972 - Defeated Louisville
• 1975 - Defeated Syracuse
• 1982 - Defeated Rochester
• 1983 - Defeated Richmond
• 1985 - Defeated Columbus
• 1987 - Lost to Columbus
• 1988 - Lost to Rochester
• 1995 - Lost to Ottawa

•    Jeromy Burnitz
• 44 Lastings Milledge
•    Greg Jeffries
•    Bobby Jones
•    Edgardo Alfonzo
•    Rey Ordonez
•  7 Jose Reyes
• 48 Aaron Heilman
•  4 Lenny Dykstra
• 16 Dwight Gooden
• 42 Butch Huskey
• 44 Jason Isringhausen
• 34 Mike Scott
• 18 Darryl Strawberry
•  1 Mookie Wilson
•  5 David Wright

 

Catchers 22 J.R. House 5 Alberto Castillo 13 Ryan Hubele Infielders 46 Mike Cervenak 23 César Crespo 12 Brandon Fahey 3 Eider Torres 1 Travis Brown Outfielders 36 Val Majewski 21 Luis Montanez 7 Adam Stern 26 Matt Cepicky 10 Tike Redman 9 Sebastien Boucher

Pitching Staff 34 Rob Bell 50 Francis Beltran 38 Cory Doyne 31 Steve Green 27 Jim Hoey 54 Jim Johnson 24 Tim Kester 35 Nick McCurdy 11 Andy Mitchell 47 Victor Moreno 17 Garrett Olson 37 Richard Salazar

Disabled list 40 Paul Shuey 0 Ryan Keefer 43 Hayden Penn

• Gary Allenson - Manager
• Joseph Hogarty - Strength and Conditioning Coach
• Larry McCall - Pitching Coach
• Mark Shires - Trainer
• Dallas Williams - Hitting Coach

• Norfolk Tides web site

v • d • e Baltimore Orioles franchise
AAA	AA	A	Rookie
Norfolk Tides	Bowie Baysox	Frederick Keys Delmarva Shorebirds Aberdeen IronBirds	Bluefield Orioles GCL Orioles VSL Orioles

v • d • e International League
North Division	Buffalo Bisons • Lehigh Valley IronPigs • Pawtucket Red Sox • Rochester Red Wings • Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees • Syracuse Chiefs
South Division	Charlotte Knights • Durham Bulls • Norfolk Tides • Richmond Braves
West Division	Columbus Clippers • Indianapolis Indians • Louisville Bats • Toledo Mud Hens