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Bluefield Ridge Runners
Bluefield Ridge Runners
Information
League	Appalachian League
Location	Bluefield, West Virginia
Ballpark	Bowen Field at Peters Park
Founded	2021
Colors	Black, blue, light blue, white;
Ownership	Bluefield Baseball Club
General Manager	Rocky Malamisura
Manager	Joe Oliver
Website	www.milb.com/bluefield

The Bluefield Ridge Runners are a summer collegiate baseball team of the Appalachian League. They are located in Bluefield, West Virginia, and play their home games at Bowen Field at Peters Park.

History

Previous Bluefield teams

Professional baseball was first played in Bluefield, West Virginia, in 1937 by the Bluefield Grays. They were affiliated with six different Major League Baseball teams and also played as an independent club for a few seasons. As the Bluefield Orioles, they were affiliated with the Baltimore Orioles, but the team ended their affiliation with Bluefield and the Appalachian League at the end of the 2010 season.^[1]^[2] Bluefield's 53-season affiliation with the Orioles, which lasted from 1958 to 2010, had been the oldest continuous affiliation with the same major league franchise in Minor League Baseball.^[2] The Bluefield Blue Jays became an affiliate organization with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2011.^[3]

Collegiate summer team

In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball beginning with the 2021 season, the Appalachian League was reorganized as a collegiate summer baseball league, and the Bluefield Blue Jays were replaced by a new franchise in the revamped league designed for rising college freshmen and sophomores.^[4] The new team became known as the Bluefield Ridge Runners.^[5] The moniker is in reference to the city's railroading heritage. Their namesake has been a local tourist attraction since 1964. The Ridge Runner passenger train traverses a loop throughout Lottio Park beyond the right field wall at Bowen Field, the team's home ballpark.^[5]^[6]

References

^ "Orioles leaving Bluefield". Bluefield Daily Telegraph. August 28, 2010. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Orioles out of Bluefield". Orioles Insider: Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 29, 2010.
^ "MORNING UPDATE: Blue Jays fly into Bluefield to replace the Orioles". bdtonline.com. September 7, 2010. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
^ "MLB, USA Baseball Announce New Format for Appalachian League". Major League Baseball. September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Bluefield Baseball Club announces Ridge Runners name". Major League Baseball. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
^ "The Ridge Runner Train". City of Bluefield, West Virginia. Retrieved February 18, 2021.