Rochester Baseball Historical Society

07/22/2026

https://rbj.net/2026/07/22/ernie-clement-shows-gratitude-on-baseball-diamond-beyond-on-sports/?fbclid=IwdGRjcATNlARwZG9mBWZkaWQWULDgI4jJnutObIJ3541rUyxy-a9CWmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR7VAitAdor_DEVSX8MBxrQDXCf5E4jpRZryxWOp_OgF8MS9YaFpF7PMpPtrZQ_aem_8_jXBrE77m0auUTjdNYaHA

Commentary: Ernie Clement is smiling broadly at his locker following the Toronto Blue Jays’ 1-0 victory at the Rogers Centre Saturday evening.

07/11/2026

This tradition goes back to the early days of baseball when managers/coaches were also players. Baseball hangs on to traditions like no other sport.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

06/30/2026

DANNY CLYBURN, LEO GÓMEZ TO
BE INDUCTED INTO THE RED WINGS HALL OF FAME
Pair of Former Sluggers to be Honored in Pre-Game Induction Ceremony on August 1

ROCHESTER, NY—The Rochester Red Wings announced today that a pair of former players have been elected to the club’s Hall of Fame. DANNY CLYBURN and LEO GÓMEZ will become the 110th and 111th members of the Red Wings Hall of Fame when they are inducted on Saturday, August 1, at ESL Ballpark prior to the Red Wings' 6:45 p.m. game vs. Syracuse.

DANNY CLYBURN:

This outfielder spent two seasons with the Red Wings from 1997-98 and quickly became one of the most productive offensive players in the International League. In 1997, Clyburn hit .300 with 33 doubles, five triples, 20 home runs, 76 RBI, 91 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases in 137 games. His performance earned him a September call-up to Baltimore, where he made his Major League debut on September 15, 1997.

Clyburn returned to Rochester in 1998 and continued to be a key contributor in the Red Wings lineup, batting .286 with 14 home runs and 54 RBI in 109 games. Across his two seasons in Rochester, he hit .295 with 47 doubles, 34 home runs, 130 RBI, and 149 runs scored. He went on to play parts of three Major League seasons with the Orioles and Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

LEO GÓMEZ:

This third baseman played parts of three seasons with the Red Wings from 1990-91 and again in 1993. Gómez enjoyed one of the finest offensive seasons in franchise history in 1990, hitting .277 with 26 home runs, 26 doubles, 97 RBI, 97 runs scored, and 89 walks in 127 games. He led the International League in both runs scored and RBI while earning International League All-Star honors. His standout campaign earned him a September call-up to Baltimore, where he made his Major League debut on September 17, 1990.

Gómez returned to Rochester in 1991 before becoming Baltimore’s everyday third baseman and later made a brief return to the Red Wings in 1993. Over parts of seven Major League seasons with the Orioles and Cubs, he appeared in 559 games, collecting 79 home runs and 259 RBI. Following his Major League career, Gómez spent six seasons playing professionally in Japan with the Chunichi Dragons.

Rochester Red Wings Hall of Famer, President, CEO, & COO NAOMI SILVER said, "We are incredibly proud to welcome Leo Gómez and Danny Clyburn into the Red Wings Hall of Fame. Both players left their mark on generations of Red Wings fans and played significant roles in some memorable chapters of Red Wings baseball. Their accomplishments on the field and the impact they had on our franchise make them truly deserving of this honor, and we look forward to celebrating their induction with our fans on August 1."

“We look forward to inducting Leo Gomez and Danny Clyburn into the Red Wings Hall of Fame, as both were pivotal in bringing the Governors’ Cup back to the Flower City in 1990 and 1997, respectively,” said 2025 Red Wings Hall of Fame inductee and Red Wings General Manager DAN MASON.

The induction ceremony will commence at 6:15 p.m. on the field in the area located behind home plate. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m., and fans are encouraged to take their seats prior to the start of the ceremony.

The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a special Hall of Fame reversible jersey courtesy of IT Insights and Nissan. One side of the jersey replicates the uniform worn by Danny Clyburn during his time in Rochester, while the reverse side features the jersey worn by Leo Gómez during his Red Wings career.

Fans will be able to commemorate the remarkable careers of Gómez and Clyburn by visiting the Red Wings Hall of Fame plaques located on the first base side of the ESL Ballpark concourse.

About the Rochester Red Wings Hall of Fame:

The Red Wings Hall of Fame, instituted in 1989, pays homage to those who have significantly shaped the history of professional baseball in Rochester. Whether they’ve made their mark on or off the field, these inductees represent the pride and spirit of the Red Wings. The Hall of Fame’s inaugural class, announced on July 26, 1989, included luminaries such as Morrie Silver, Joe Altobelli, and Rip Collins. The Hall of Fame will grow to 111 members with the induction of Gómez and Clyburn.

04/24/2026

THE BATBOY CHRONICLES
David Parlet was a Red Wings batboy during the 1973 season.

Fifty Three years ago to the day on April 23 and 24, 1973, the summer of my life was about to begin as Bat Boy for the Rochester Red Wings. The day before Opening Day at Silver Stadium is an annually “Meet the Wings” for the local press and TV reporters. I was asked to arrive at the Red Wings clubhouse to meet Head Clubhouse Attendant, Jim Knipper and learn of my BB responsibilities and be introduced to the Red Wings players. The first player to come up to me and introduce himself was Player Coach, Ray “Rabbit” Miller. He grabbed a couple gloves and said let’s play some catch. As we were doing so, he was mixing in his whole arsenal of pitches! A couple knuckle balls here and few curveballs there all while asking about me and my family. Between a couple of laughs, he then proceeded to tell me that if I ever had a question or needed anything, that I was to come up to him and just ask. That he had my back, and that if I didn’t ask, he’d figure I didn’t like him. And that was the start of our real cool and summer long relationship.

I was then told to be back at Silver by 4:30 pm and on the bus with the team to the Annual Red Wings Dinner at the Mapledale Party House. As I was sitting on the bus Ray Miller passed by and told me that I had a two drink minimum and that I had a big day ahead of me tomorrow and better be ready.

Opening Day was finally here, but before First Pitch, we had to be at Silver Stadium at 10:00 am and in uniform for the Red Wings Parade and motorcade through downtown Rochester. I was assigned to my own convertible and even had my name posted on the door! It was a cold 50 degrees with a dark overcast sky with biting winds and I was not properly prepared. I had no sleeves to wear beneath my jersey. As the parade proceeded I recall thinking, I have to ask Ray Miller for sleeves! I am going to freeze to death. Just then I hear my name being called out! It was my Mom! She had gone down to Gauss Sporting Goods located on South Ave. and bought me some Sleeves! Thank you Mom!

The Opening Day Game was vs the Richmond Braves. And they were wearing the most colorful uni’s I had ever seen! And our Red Wings… watching, listening and sitting beside them in the dugout was a surreal first time experience. The game, the conversations and overheard comments were everything a baseball nut like myself could have ever imagined. The outcome was in a sense anti climatic, despite the Red Wings being a late 10-9 winner! Wow! What a last 24 hours I have had. School tomorrow… sleep fast David! You have to be at the Stadium tomorrow by 3:30 pm!

04/18/2026

THE BATBOY CHRONICLES
Max Robertson was Red Wings batboy in 1966.

Reminiscing about Red Wings’ Manager Earl Weaver

Earl Weaver loved to argue with umpires. His favorite was Augie Gugliamo.
Earl was 5’5” and
Augie was 5’4”.
Earl loved to argue with Augie because he was the only umpire that he could look down on. One game Earl was arguing with Augie out around second base and Augie kicked him out of the game. After about 10 more minutes of arguing Earl headed for the clubhouse. On his way off the field, he picked up first base out of the ground and carried it with him to the dugout and then into the clubhouse.

It was my job to go get first base.

When I got to his office, there was Earl sitting at his desk with first base in his lap! He was smoking his usual Camal cigarette, and having a cold Genny.
I told him I had to take 1B back to the field. But he told me to wait a few minutes and let Augie stew out there for a while. Haha!!
The fans absolutely ate it up! And Earl knew it!

04/16/2026

THE BATBOY CHRONICLES
​Vito Caricati was a Rochester Red Wings Batboy from 1992-94.

HOW I GOT THERE
In the spring of ’92 I was a junior at AQ, sitting in class and a friend of mine (Joe M.) asked me if I liked baseball, specifically our Red Wings. Of course, I answered yes to both questions and he followed up by asking if I would consider subbing for him that night as a batboy. My answer was along the lines of “…are you serious, uhm YES!!!”

So, he tells me where to go once I arrived at Silver Stadium (“knock on the gray double doors across from the gift shop…”), what time to be there (if I remember correctly, about 3 hours before first pitch) and who to talk to (RW clubhouse manager - Joe Kehoskie). I thought I was too old to be a batboy, so I asked him and he told me no actually, BBs had to be at least 16 yrs. old due to insurance. Of course, I was excited and spent the rest of the day wondering what that night was going to be like.

I get there, meet Joe K. and the other batboys (Scott and Rich – Rich was Joe M.’s cousin), get in, get a uniform and a locker (which I shared with Scott and was right next to a locker with a name plate that read ALTOBELLI…) and then got a crash course on my duties for the night.

The players took batting and fielding practice (BP) before each game so we had to get the dugout ready for BP as soon as we got there which included filling the Gatorade jugs with ice and water, filling the training room ice container, six white towels to the dugout/bench get the balls to the ump’s room so they could be rubbed (BBs didn’t rub them before the game yet, more on that later…) and anything else that Joe K., coaches, players or the front office needed.

We had to do this for both the home and away teams. The best part was that after we finished our chores we could do whatever we wanted like s**g flyballs with the Wings players, hit in the batting cage (if it wasn’t being used…) get autographs from the Wings or whomever they were playing. By the end of ’92 we had our routines down and the next two years it took very little time to get things ready beforehand.

As it would turn out, my one night of subbing turned into a three-year gig as a batboy at Silver. Joe M. didn’t want to stay on, so he left and I loved it, so I stayed on. I remember then Wings GM Russ Brandon asking me if I was “cool” with staying on for the rest of the year, “uhhh YES please (and thank you)!” Russ was awesome, I got him to come in as a guest speaker for my P.I.G. class project the next year – which was about building a new ballpark in Rochester!

04/15/2026

April 15th is an important date, not only for baseball, but for America. On this date in 1947, Jackie Robinson took the field for the Brooklyn Dodgers, ending racial segregation in professional baseball.

04/09/2026

THE BATBOY CHRONICLES
Former Red Wings’ batboy Max Robertson has just finished his memoir entitled Just Call Me Max. Here is an excerpt.

OPENING DAY 1966
My first game as a Red Wing batboy I’ll never forget this one.

I got to the ballpark about four hours before game time (aboutas long as you wait in line at the airport now.!
I had no idea what to expect .
I went into the clubhouse and Jimmy Dudley, who was the trainer , and his assistant, Allan Sweedler, the clubhouse boy , showed me where my locker was and gave me my uniform .

I was in the corner of the clubhouse with Luke Easter’s locker on one side of me and Joe Altobelli on the other side . I was in pretty good company!

The pants of my uniform were a size 40. I wore a size 32 back then. I spent the rest of the day with one hand on my pants to keep them from falling down.
My jersey had number One on the back.
No names on the back of the jerseys back then.

Al Sweedler was a former batboy, so he showed me the ropes. One of my jobs was to rub up three dozen baseballs with Mississippi Mud. It really was mud from the Mississippi River, and it came in a little coffee can. Herm Starette, one of the coaches , helped me.

Earl Weaver was the manager. He was a fiery., 5 foot 7 guy who went on to manage the Baltimore Orioles to the World Series championship. He’s now in the Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown.
I have a lot of stories about Earl.
I sat next to him in the dugout and we became good friends.

The phone rang in the dugout before the game started. It was the general manager. He was a nasty guy.
Weaver answered the phone and said, “he wants to talk to the batboy?!”
I got on the phone and he told me that any foul that goes on the screen behind home plate, would would get hung up at the bottom of the screen. And he wanted me to run over there right away and get that ball off the screen.
And it happened in the bottom of the first inning.
Steve Demeter, our third baseman was up. Mike Epstein, (no relation to Jeffrey) was in the on deck circle, which was right in front of where I was kneeling.

Mike was 6’4” and 240 pounds of pure muscle. He was swinging two bats in the . They called him “Super Jew” because he was so powerful.

Diameter followed one onto the screen. I jumped up to go get the ball at the bottom of the screen just as Mike was swinging those two bats around. I ducked at the last minute and the bats flew over my head.
I ran to the screen, got the ball and gave it to the umpire, Augie Guglielmo.
 Augie was the only umpire in the international league that was shorter than Earl Weaver. They got into some classic battles.

I ran back to my position behind the on deck circle. As I went by Mike, he grabbed me by the shirt and said
“don’t you ever do that again!”
I learned my lesson.

Years later, Mike Epstein was inducted into the Rochester Red Wing Hall of Fame. We were out of town and couldn’t attend the game. But my friend Scott Pitoniak was covering the game that night, and told the story to Mike about me coming close to losing my head. He vaguely remembered it. It was over 50 years ago!
 Mike had a good laugh and asked Scott for a baseball.
He wrote “Duck!” on it, and said,
“ Give this to Max.”