West Virginia Power

West Virginia Power Founded in 1987 Charleston, West Virginia
Team Logo Cap Insignia
Class-level
Class A (1987–present)
Minor league affiliations
South Atlantic League (1987–present) Northern Division
Major league affiliations
Pittsburgh Pirates (2009–present) Milwaukee Brewers (2005–2008) Toronto Blue Jays (2001–2004) Kansas City Royals (1999–2000) Cincinnati Reds (1990–1998) Chicago Cubs (1988–1989)
Name
West Virginia Power (2005–present) Charleston Alley Cats (1995–2004) Charleston Wheelers (1987–1994)
Ballpark
Appalachian Power Park (2005–present) Watt Powell Park (1987–2004)
Minor league titles
League titles	1990
Division titles	1990, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2007, 2008
Owner(s)/Operated by: Palisades Baseball
Manager: Gary Robinson
General Manager: Joe Payne

This article is about the baseball team, for the electric utility serving southeast West Virginia from 1986-99, see Allegheny Energy.

The West Virginia Power is a minor league baseball team of the South Atlantic League, and is the Class A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Charleston, West Virginia. The team plays their home games at Appalachian Power Park; opened in 2005, the park currently seats 4,500 fans.

Team history

Before current era (1910–83)

The history of professional baseball in Charleston dates back to 1910, and a team known as the Charleston Statesmen of the long-forgotten Class D Virginia Valley League. In 1911, the Statesmen moved to the Class D Mountain State League, and them folded after that year. A new team, the Charleston Senators was formed in 1914 and lasted three seasons in the Class D Ohio State League. In 1931, a new Senators team joined the Class C Mid-Atlantic League as an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. This team lasted until 1943. In 1949, the Senators were reformed as a member of the Class A Central League. In 1952, the city was granted a franchise in the Triple-A American Association. This team was affiliated with first the Chicago White Sox, then the Detroit Tigers, and finally the Washington Senators. In 1958, the Senators won the American Association championship. The franchise ceased operations after the 1960 season.

In 1961, the city had no team, but the Triple-A International League San Juan Marlins, affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals, moved to the city at mid-season due to a hurricane which destroyed their ballpark. The team returned to Puerto Rico after the season. In 1962, the Charleston Indians, affiliated with the Cleveland Indians, moved to the city in the Class A Eastern League, and in 1963 that league was elevated to Double-A. The team folded after the 1964 season.

Baseball returned to the city in 1971 with the Charleston Charlies of the International League. The Charlies played in the International League from 1971-76 as the relocated Columbus Jets franchise (the franchise returned to Columbus in 1977 and were renamed the Columbus Clippers), and from 1977-83 as the former Memphis Blues. They were affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates for their first six seasons, then the Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, and finally the Cleveland Indians. The team won the league championship in 1973 and 1977. The Charlies left for Maine following the 1983 season, and, after several moves, is today located in Moosic, Pennsylvania.

Today the Power sell nostalgic "throwback" merchandise from the Pittsburgh affiliated era of the Charlies, which is generally considered the pinnacle of the baseball in the city. However, neither the Senators, Charlies, nor the Wheelers championships are acknowledged in the park in any way.

Current era (1987–present)

In 1987, the city resumed minor league baseball after a three year absence. The new team was first called the Charleston Wheelers, so named for the city's history of stern- and side-wheeled boats. The Wheelers began as a co-op team, with players from several Major League Baseball franchises including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, and Atlanta Braves.

In 1988, the franchise became the Chicago Cubs' third full-season Class A franchise (the other two being Peoria in the Midwest League and Winston-Salem in the Carolina League). The only two players on that 1988 squad to reach the Major Leagues were SS Alex Arias and C Matt Walbeck.

The Wheelers won the Class A South Atlantic League championship in 1990, the only league title for the franchise. By that point, they had changed affiliation to the Cincinnati Reds.

In late 1993, the Wheelers were purchased from then-owner Dennis Bastien by a conglomerate of owners. The team changed its name to the Charleston Alley Cats in 1995 and switched colors from blue and white, with green trim, to grey and red, with black trim. The team was purchased in 2001 by Tom Dickson and Sherrie Myers. In 1995, the team changed affiliation to the Kansas City Royals, again in 2001 to the Toronto Blue Jays, to the Milwaukee Brewers after the 2004 season, before joining the Pirates in 2009. Prior to the 2005 season, they adopted their current West Virginia Power name. To quote the team's announcement following their decision to change the team name:

"West Virginia is and will continue to be recognized as one of the leading energy providers for the country. The energy production from coal, natural gas, and hydro-electric sources, combined with the fact that Charleston serves as the center for the state's political and economic powers led us to the name of the team. We felt it was extremely important that the name reflect the entire region and are excited about the tremendous marketing opportunities that will go along with the name."

The Power won the 2007 SAL Northern Division title, but lost in the league championship series to the Columbus Catfish in three-straight games.

Logos

• 

  Alley Cats primary, 1995 to 2004

• 

  Power's former primary, 2005 to 2008

• 

  Secondary, a homage to the Pirates and the former Charlies

Season-by-season record

Charleston Wheelers (South Atlantic League)
Year	Regular Season			Post-season
	Record	Win %	Finish*	Record	Win %	Result
1987	66–73	.475	7th	—	—	—
1988	51–86	.372	11th	—	—	—
1989	58–76	.433	10th	—	—	—
1990	77–66	.538	??	5–0	1.000	Won North Division Championship vs Fayetteville Generals, 2–0 Won SAL Championship vs Savannah Cardinals, 3–0
1991	92–50	.648	1st	0–3	.000	Lost SAL Championship vs Columbia Mets, 0–3
1992	77–64	.546	3nd	2–3	.400	Won North Division Championship vs Spartanburg Phillies, 2–0 Lost SAL Championship vs Myrtle Beach Hurricanes, 0–3
1993	76–64	.543	4th	—	—	—
1994	65–75	.464	8th	—	—	—
Sub-Totals	562–554	.504	—	7–6	.636	1 SAL Championships
Charleston AlleyCats (South Atlantic League)
Year	Regular Season			Post-season
	Record	Win %	Finish*	Record	Win %	Result
1995	77–65	.542	6th	—	—	—
1996	58–84	.408	12th	—	—	—
1997	76–62	.551	2nd	3–2	.600	Won Quarterfinal vs Cape Fear Crocs, 2–0 Lost Semifinal vs Delmarva Shorebirds, 1–2
1998	44–96	.314	14th	—	—	—
1999	61–80	.433	13th	—	—	—
2000	53–80	.398	14th	—	—	—
2001	51–87	.370	16th	—	—	—
2002	61–79	.436	15th	—	—	—
2003	57–76	.429	12th	—	—	—
2004	84–56	.600	3rd	0–2	.000	Lost North Division Championship vs Capital City Bombers, 0–2
Sub-Totals	622–765	.448	—	3–4	.429	0 SAL Championships
West Virginia Power (South Atlantic League)
Year	Regular Season			Post-season
	Record	Win %	Finish*	Record	Win %	Result
2005	60–78	.435	6th	—	—	—
2006	74–62	.544	3rd	—	—	—
2007	82–54	.603	3rd	2–4	.333	Won Northern Division Championship vs Hickory Crawdads, 2–1 Lost SAL Championship vs Columbus Catfish, 0–3
2008	77–62	.554	6th	3–3	.500	Won Northern Division Championship vs Lake County Captains, 3–0 Lost SAL Championship vs Augusta GreenJackets, 0–3
2009	67–70	.489	4th	—	—	—
2010	65–74	.468	10th	—	—	—
2011	69–69	.500	8th	—	—	—
Sub-Totals	491–469	.511	—	5–7	.417	0 SAL Championships
Totals	1,747–1,857	.485	—	15–17	.469	1 League Championship
Note: * Finish denotes their position in the overall league standings.

Current roster

West Virginia Power rosterview · talk · edit
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 37 Victor Black 52 Colton Cain 31 Kevin Decker -- Zack Dodson 32 Justin Ennis 12 Zachary Fuesser -- Brandon Holden -- Brent Klinger 34 Porfirio Lopez 38 Eliecer Navarro 48 Brooks Pounders 36 Casey Sadler 39 Trent Stevenson 46 Jameson Taillon 47 Jason Townsend 43 Zack Von Rosenberg 25 Tyler Waldron		Catchers 30 Elias Diaz 49 Kawika Emsley-Pai Infielders 15 Eric Avila  7 Justin Howard 18 Chase Lyles 23 Andrew Maggi  5 Kevin Mort -- Gift Ngoepe Outfielders 22 Dan Grovatt 35 Rogelio Noris 24 Mel Rojas  2 Andy Vasquez 17 Cole White		Manager 45 Gary Robinson Coaches 14 Dave Howard (hitting) 44 Dave Turgeon (pitching)  6 Gerardo Alvarez (coach) 7-day disabled list * On Pittsburgh Pirates 40-man roster ∞ Reserve list § Suspended list ‡ Restricted list # Rehab assignment Roster updated July 9, 2011 Transactions → More rosters

Ballparks

The Alley Cats and their predecessors played in Watt Powell Park in the Kanawha City neighborhood of Charleston. Seating approximately 4,500 fans, Watt Powell Park was bordered by MacCorkle Avenue on the front (north) side, 35th Street on the east, and South Park Road on the west. On the south side of the park, a ridge of hills formed a natural boundary. Fans who would otherwise have had to pay to see the games periodically watched the action from a CSX railroad line hard up against the south wall of the stadium.

The Power now plays its home games in Appalachian Power Park at the east edge of downtown Charleston, a little more than a mile and across the Kanawha River from Watt Powell Park. Most of the financing for the $23 million stadium came from the state and the city, although the ownership team put up approximately $5 million. The city's share came mostly from the sale of Watt Powell Park to the nearby University of Charleston, which immediately sold two-thirds of the land to Charleston Area Medical Center, the region's largest hospital. Originally, the new park was to be completed for the 2004 season, but politically induced delays in securing state funds forced construction to be put off for a year. The new park opened in April 2005.

Notable former players

Ryan Braun

• Jeremy Affeldt (former Alley Cats player)
• Ryan Braun - On May 24, 2007, Braun became the first former West Virginia Power player to get to the majors, and later in the year he won the National League Rookie of the Year Award after leading the league in slugging percentage. The following three years he was an NL All Star.
• Carlos Corporan Got his first major league hit strangely off Cincinnati Reds shortstop Paul Janish.
• Robinzon Díaz (former Alley Cats player)
• Alcides Escobar - He picked up his first hit in his first career at-bat in the same game, a single against Scott Schoeneweis of the New York Mets.
• Yovani Gallardo - The former Power pitcher made his Major League debut on June 18, 2007.
• Mat Gamel - He recorded hist first career hit, a double, on September 7, 2008 off of Chris Young of the San Diego Padres.
• Trevor Hoffman - Major League Baseball all-time save leader. Played for the Wheelers in 1990.
• Hernán Iribarren - Infielder/outfielder who made his debut on April 12, 2008.
• Matt LaPorta
• Jason LaRue (former Alley Cats player)
• Pokey Reese (former Wheelers player)
• Alex Ríos (former Alley Cats player)
• Ángel Salomé - He was called up to the majors for the first time on September 1, 2008, and made his debut two days later with a fly out as a pinch-hitter.
• Joe Thatcher - The left-handed pitcher made his Major League debut for the San Diego Padres on July 26, 2007.
• Dan Wilson (former Wheelers player)

SAL records

• Six Power home runs in one inning versus the Lexington Legends (South Atlantic League record)
• Ten home runs in one game versus the Lexington Legends (Seven home runs by Power, also a SAL record)

External links

• Official West Virginia Power website
• West Virginia Power statistics at The Baseball Cube