CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF THUNDER MOMENTS
13. LITTLE ENGINE WHO COULD » David Eckstein might be short in stature (5-6, 170 pounds), but he was a bulldog on the diamond. One of four players with his number retired by the Thunder, Eckstein slashed .313/.440/.416 with 151 hits and 32 steals in 1999. Eckstein played 10 big leagues seasons and helped the Angels (2002) and Cardinals (2206) win World Series championships.
14. Rivalry road >> Separated by 80 miles and an hour-and-a-half drive, Trenton and Reading have developed one of the best rivalries in Minor League Baseball. Since Reading is affiliated with the Phillies, you can always bet on plenty of red shirts showing up at Arm & Hammer Park. Even Phillies greats like Chase Utley, Lidge and Victorino have rehabbed against the Thunder in Trenton. Who could forget Pedro Martinez pitching for the Fightin Phils against the Thunder at First Energy Stadium as he raced to join the Phillies for the stretch run in 2009. Martinez struck out 11 in six inning vs. the Thunder on June 6, 2009. He helped the Phillies reach the World Series where they lost to, you guess it, the Yankees.
15. BOOMER » A blue ‘Thunderbird’ named Boomer is a staple of the team’s games. Born on May 20 in a land far, far away, the mascot is best known for his ‘Boomer Race’ in which he challenges a fan, usually one under the age of 12, to a race around the infield. To this day, Boomer is still winless in the Boomer Race.
16. HEY, MR. FRANKLIN » There wasn’t a manager more beloved in Trenton than Tony Franklin. The Trenton Baseball Hall of Famer guided the Thunder to their three EL championships (2007, 2008, 2013) and reached the playoffs in five of his eight seasons. Franklin went 609522 (.538).
17. FROM THE BOOTH TO THE BIGS » Former broadcasters Tom McCarthy and Andy Freed both got their starts in Trenton on the road to the show. McCarthy is with Phillies and Freed the Rays.
18. THE ORIGINAL THUNDER » A member of the Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame, Tony Clark was on the inaugural 1994 Thunder roster for club’s lone year as a Detroit Tigers affiliate. A 22-year-old Clark batted .279 with 21 HRs and 86 RBIs in 107 games. Clark is credited as the first player to reach the mighty Delaware River with a home run. Clark went on to a 15-year MLB career with the Tigers, Red Sox, Mets, Yankees, Diamondbacks and Padres and is currently the director of the MLB Players’ Association.
19. FACE THE JUDGE » Aaron Judge marked his debut with the Thunder by blasting a 3-run homer in the season opener. A week later in the home opener, on April 16, 2015, the slugger launched a 10th-inning walk-off homer. Talk about a great first impression.
20. PERFECTION » Indians prospect Jeanmar Gomez threw a perfect game for the Akron Aeros against the Thunder on May 21, 2009. Gomez struck out eight and retired all 27 batters he faced. Gomez went on to pitch for the Indians, Pirates and Phillies.
21. PLAYOFF NO-HITTER » Pitchers Justus Sheffield and Taylor Widener combined to no-hit Binghamton in Game 3 of the 2017 ELDS. It was the fifth playoff no-hitter in EL history and fourth in Thunder history. What made it memorable was a controversial scoring decision to change a second-inning Binghamton single to an error after the seventh.
22. B-MITCH’S HISTORIC RUN » Bobby Mitchell was only skipper for a pair of seasons (2016, 2017) but the California cool manager guided the Thunder to its best two-year stretch in franchise history by going 179-103 (.634). The team’s 92 wins in 2017 matched the 1999 team’s mark for total victories in a single season, but set the record for winning percentage (.657) because the season was reduced from 142 games to 140.
23. PORK ROLL » The Case’s National Pork Roll Eating Championship took place on September 29, 2015 at Arm & Hammer Park with world famous eater Joey Chestnut downing 32 pork roll sandwiches in 10 minutes.
24. HAMMER TIME » The Thunder signed an agreement in 2012 to sell the naming rights to Mercer County Waterfront Park to Church & Dwight Co. Shortly after signing the 20-year licensing deal, the name was officially changed to Arm & Hammer Park.
25. WADE’S MAD DASH » Tyler Wade capped a wild ninth-inning rally against Portland in June of 2016 when he raced around the bases for a walk-off insidethe-park home run. The Thunder trailed 9-5 entering the inning and tied the game with two outs on Mark Payton’s 3-run homer.