Danbury Westerners

The Danbury Westerners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Danbury, Connecticut. The team, a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, plays their home games at Rogers Park. The team played its inaugural season in 1995. The Danbury Westerners are the oldest active team in the NECBL. The Westerners compete in the Southern Division in the NECBL.

Danbury Westerners
Information
LeagueNECBL (Western Division)
LocationDanbury, CT (1995-present)
BallparkRogers Park (1995-present)
Year founded1995
League championships1 (2021)
Regular-Season Division championships1 (2002)
Former name(s)Danbury Westerners (1995-present)
Former league(s)
  • NECBL
    • Southern Division (2004-2008, 2014-2021)
    • Western Division (2002, 2009-2013, 2022-Present)
    • National Division (2001)
ColorsBlack, Silver, Red
     
OwnershipJon Pitser (President)
ManagementChris Nathanson (GM)
ManagerConor Farrell
MediaWLAD 800 AM, Bill Guider,
Websitedanburywesterners.com

On August 12, 2021, the Westerners finally won their first NECBL championship as they defeated the North Shore Navigators in two games.[1]

Postseason appearances
Year Wild Card Game* Quarter Finals Semi Finals NECBL Championship Series
Danbury Westerners
1995 Central Mass Collegians L (0-2)
1996 Rhode Island Reds W (2-0) Central Mass Collegians L (1-2)
1997 Torrington Twisters L (0-2)
1998 Middletown Giants L (0-2)
1999 Keene Swamp Bats W (2-1) Middletown Giants L (1-3)
2002 Middletown Giants W (2-0) Newport Gulls L (0-2)
2003 Newport Gulls L (1-2)
2005 Newport Gulls L (0-2)
2010 Bristol Collegiate W (2-1) North Adams SteepleCats W (2-1) North Shore Navigators L (1-2)
2011 Keene Swamp Bats L (1-2)
2012 North Adams SteepleCats W (2-1) Keene Swamp Bats W (2-1) Newport Gulls L (0-2)
2016 Newport Gulls L (1-2)
2021 Newport Gulls W Valley Blue Sox W (2-0) Martha's Vineyard Sharks W (2-1) North Shore Navigators W (2-0)
2023 Vermont Mountaineers W (2-0) Newport Gulls L (0-2)

Alumni in MLB[2]

The Danbury Westerners have had 29 former players make it into the Big Leagues since playing with them. The first being Earl Snyder with Cleveland in 2002.[1] Mark Malaska's #15 is the only number retired by Danbury as he was the first to win a championship, which he did in 2004 with Boston.

Danbury Westerners in MLB.
Year Name MLB Team College MLB Debut
1996 Earl Snyder Cleveland Indians University of Hartford 2002
1996 Matt White Boston Red Sox Clemson University 2003
1996 Pete Zoccolillo Milwaukee Brewers Rutgers University 2003
1997 Steve Stemle Kansas City Royals Western Kentucky University 2005
1998-99 Mark Malaska Tampa Bay Devil Rays University of Akron 2003
2000 Brian Slocum Cleveland Indians Villanova University 2006
2000 Matt DeSalvo New York Yankees Marietta College 2007
2001 Jason Bergmann Washington Nationals Rutgers University 2005
2001 Joe Thatcher San Diego Padres Indiana State University 2007
2002 Jeff Baisley Oakland Athletics University of South Florida 2008
2002 Dusty Hughes Kansas City Royals Delta State University 2008
2002 Jack Egbert Chicago White Sox Rutgers University 2009
2002 Jeff Frazier Detroit Tigers Rutgers University 2010
2003 Jarrett Hoffpauir St. Louis Cardinals University of Southern Mississippi 2009
2003 Joe Martinez San Francisco Giants Boston College 2009
2003 Brian Bogusevic Houston Astros Tulane University 2010
2004 Matt Joyce Detroit Tigers Florida Southern College 2008
2004 Adam Ottavino St. Louis Cardinals Northeastern University 2010
2008 Mike Olt Texas Rangers University of Connecticut 2012
2009 Billy Burns Oakland Athletics Mercer University 2014
2010 Mike Hauschild Texas Rangers University of Dayton 2017
2011 Mike Ford New York Yankees Princeton University 2019
2014 Vimael Machín Oakland Athletics Virginia Commonwealth University 2020
2014 Josh Palacios Toronto Blue Jays San Jacinto College 2021
2016 Josiah Gray Los Angeles Dodgers Le Moyne College 2021
2016 David Villar San Francisco Giants University of South Florida 2022
2016 Coco Montes Colorado Rockies University of South Florida 2023
2017 Brendan White Detroit Tigers Siena College 2023
2019 Emmet Sheehan Los Angeles Dodgers Boston College 2023

Bold denotes player is still active in MLB.

Westerners logo from 1995-2019

See also

References
  1. "NECBL ALUMNI | New England Collegiate Baseball League". www.necbl.com. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  2. "NECBL Alumni Tracker | New England Collegiate Baseball League". www.necbl.com. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
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