The Long Island Ducks are an American professional baseball team based in Central Islip, . They are a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Since the 2000 season, the Ducks have played their home games at Citibank Park, formerly known as EAB Park. The "Ducks" name refers to Long Island's duck-farming heritage, which is further represented by the Big Duck ferrocement. The Big Duck is in Suffolk County, in which Central Islip is also located. [1] The Ducks currently own the independent league baseball single-season attendance record of 443,142 fans. They reached this total in the summer of 2001, surpassing the previous record of 436,361 fans which the team had also set in 2000. The Ducks reached the 3 million mark in attendance in September 2006. Bud Harrelson, a 1971 Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner, is a part-owner of the Ducks. He was the first manager of the team following a stint as the New York Mets manager.

LONG ISLAND DUCKS TICKETS EVENT DATE AVAILABILITY York Revolution vs. Long Island Ducks Tickets 5/16 May 16, 2024 Thu, 11:00 AM Southern Maryland Blue Crabs vs. Long Island Ducks Tickets 5/17 May 17, 2024 Fri, 7:05 PM Southern Maryland Blue Crabs vs. Long Island Ducks Tickets 5/18 May 18, 2024 Sat, 7:05 PM Southern Maryland Blue Crabs vs. Long Island Ducks Tickets 5/19 May 19, 2024 Sun, 7:05 PM Staten Island FerryHawks vs. Long Island Ducks Tickets 5/21 May 21, 2024 Tue, 6:30 PM

History

Residents of Long Island anticipated the arrival of professional baseball for many years, until the Ducks' inaugural 2000 season. The New York Mets and the New York Yankees own the territorial rights to keep an affiliated team, Major or Minor League, from moving within 75 miles of their respective ballparks. The last attempt by any team to move to Long Island was made by the Albany-Colonie Yankees. The Albany-Colonie team hoped to reestablish themselves in Suffolk County, home to the Ducks, but the Mets prevented the move. The Yankees later moved to Norwich, Connecticut, becoming the Connecticut Defenders. ^[2] Baseball fans on Long Island enthusiastically support the Ducks and have led the Atlantic League's attendance since its beginning. Despite their success at the gate, the Ducks did not field a championship team until the 2004 season, when they defeated the Camden Riversharks in a three-game sweep to capture the Atlantic League Championship Series.

In 2005, a controversial former MLB player John Rocker signed with the Ducks in an attempt to revive his career. He asked New Yorkers to "bury the hatchet," claiming his willingness to play on Long Island proved he had matured since his controversial comments. Rocker was poorly received by the fans and ended up pitching with an 0-2 record and an ERA of 6.50.

On August 14, 2007, the Ducks appeared in national headlines in the United States after former Major League player José Offerman assaulted opposing players of the Bridgeport Bluefish. In his second at-bat with Bluefish pitcher, Matt Beech, Offerman was hit by a pitch. He retaliated by hitting Beech's hands with a bat, as well as striking catcher John Nathans in the head. Nathans was taken out of the stadium on a stretcher, and Offerman was arrested and taken into custody. ^[3]

On Monday November 10, the Ducks announced that Gary Carter would be the new manager for the 2009 season.

Go Green

The Long Island Ducks have implemented an environmental conservation program called Go Green . The program includes the placement of solar panels on the roof of Citibank Park to power the luxury suite level, the placing of "Ricky Recycle" receptacles throughout the ballpark for each home game so fans can recycle their bottles and cans, the enrollment in an electricity reduction program called Operation Save New York, and the participation in Nike, Inc.'s "Reuse a Shoe" program, in which sneakers are collected at Citibank Park to be recycled and used for materials to create new playing surfaces and sports equipment. ^[4]

Logos and uniforms

The official colors of the Long Island Ducks are black, green, and orange. The primary logo features the "Ducks" wordmark in orange with black outline. The wordmark begins with a stylized, cartoon duck head in the form of a capital, cursive "D." The secondary logo is the webbed foot of a duck in orange with black outline.

The Ducks wear caps produced by The Game Headwear and uniforms by Rawlings. The home caps are black throughout with the cap logo centered on the front. The cap logo is the stylized, cartoon duck head. The away caps are green with the duck head cap logo. The batting helmets are green with the webbed-foot logo.

The home jersey is white with black pinstripes with the "Ducks" wordmark centered across the front. The numbering on the jersey is primarily in green with white outline and black drop shadow. The away jerseys are grey with the "Long Island" cursive wordmark centered across in green with white and orange outline. The numbering is in green with white outline and orange drop shadow. The alternate is a sleeveless, green jersey with the "Ducks" wordmark centered across the chest. The numbers are in orange with white drop shadow.

Season-by-season records

Long Island Ducks - 2004 to 2008 [5]'''
Season	W - L Record	Winning Percentage	Finish	Playoffs
2004	65-61	.516	3rd in North Division	5-1 (won championship)
2005	66-74	.471	1st in North Division	1-2 (lost division final)
2006	73-53	.579	2nd in North Division	0-2 (lost division final)
2007	72-54	.571	1st in North Division	0-2 (lost division final)
2008	71-69	.507	1st in Liberty Division	0-2 (lost division final)
Totals (2000-2008)	623-553	.530
Playoffs	6-9	.

• 1 Atlantic League Championship (2004)

Ferry Cup

The Long Island Ducks contend with the Bridgeport Bluefish over the Ferry Cup, which is sponsored by the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company. The two teams border on the Long Island Sound, and many fans of both teams regularly cross it to support them. The current Bluefish/Ducks rivalry record is 85-83, in favor of Bridgeport. ^[6]

Radio

All of the Long Island Ducks games are broadcast on WNYG-1440 and 107.1 FM WLIR. Chris King, David Weiss, and Mike Solano serve as the team's official broadcasters.

Mascot

The Long Island Ducks' official mascot is an anthropomorphic duck named QuackerJack. He wears the Ducks' full home uniform with green and white sneakers. He debuted on March 18, 2000 at Citibank Park. ^[7] His name alludes to a popular baseball game food produced by the Cracker Jack brand, and the quacking sound of a duck.

Current roster

Pitchers 46 Troy Cate 23 Jake Dittler 29 Ron Flores 31 Brad Halsey 40 Mike Hrynio 28 B.J. Lamura 19 Randy Leek 14 Julio Mañón 27 Jason Norderum 17 Robert Paulk 33 Bill Simas 35 Joe Valentine

Catchers 41 John Pachot 34 Robert Sandora Infielders 15 Matt Cavagnaro 25 Ron Davenport 12 Dennis Donovan 21 Juan Francia 16 Ray Navarrete 13 Alex Prieto  5 Victor Rodriguez Outfielders 20 Lew Ford  2 Estee Harris 24 Johnny Hernandez 44 Preston Wilson

Manager  8 Gary Carter Coaches 39 Dave LaPoint Pitching Coach  3 Bud Harrelson Third Base Coach 10 Kevin Baez Infield Coach