081412...R ALL-STAR 3...Niles...08-14-12... Good crowd at Eastwood Field for the New York-Penn League All-Star game Tuesday evening...by R. Michael Semple

June 25, 1999.

The Cleveland Indians, with a league-best 47-24 record, were well on their way to another division title. At the box office, the Indians were in the midst of a sellout streak which spanned nearly six years.

Closer to home, the Indians’ newest minor league affiliate was poised to make its own run both in the standings and at the box office.

Twenty-five years ago tonight, the gates at Cafaro field opened for the first time, welcoming a fanbase eager to witness professional baseball in the Mahoning Valley.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers – and Valley residents – responded that night and throughout the summer. In their first-ever home game, the Scrappers defeated Auburn 8-5 in front of 6,718 fans. It remains the seventh-largest crown in what is now Eastwood Field history. The team would go on to finish 43-33 in ’99, good enough for a McNamara Division title. More than 200,000 fans attended the 38 home games, an average of 5,344 fans per home contest.

The Scrappers’ 1999 opening day roster offered a glimpse of what was to come. The roster included five players who went on to play in the big leagues, including Indians legends C.C. Sabathia and Victor Martinez.

All told, more than 100 former Scrappers have gone on to play Major League baseball. The Scrappers’ legacy is still very much alive today, as 11 players from the 2019 team reached the big leagues. The current Cleveland Guardians roster includes 10 players who once called Niles their baseball home. The current outfield of Steven Kwan, Will Brennan and Tyler Freeman all once wore a Scrappers uniform.

As a member of the New York-Penn League, the Scrappers won division titles in 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2009. They won the NYPL championship in ’04.

Aside from the game itself, the Scrappers have provided the Valley with some memorable and unusual entertainment.

On Aug.14, 2002, the Scrappers gained national attention when they held Jim Traficant Night. Of the 4,597 fans who were on hand as the Scrappers paid homage to the imprisoned Valley former congressman, 99 were admitted free of charge for wearing a toupee. The between-inning skits which featured a Traficant look alike were met with rambunctious cheers and jeers. In a mock election, Traficant was re-elected to the congress by a landslide vote.

The Scrappers have since hosted a LeBronfire – a public burning of LeBron James jerseys after James left Cleveland for Miami in 2010. Other unusual promotions over the years have included everything from a hairiest back contest to a funeral giveaway.

On Labor Day 2003 a game was canceled due to unusual circumstances. A fireworks show in between games of a scheduled doubleheader created a plume of smoke over the stadium which, on a humid night, failed to ascend into the night sky. Following a brief delay, the Scrappers were part of the first-known smokeout in professional baseball history.

Oddly enough, last year saw a pair of Scrappers games canceled due poor air quality as a result of the Canadian wildfires. Of course, the entire 2020 season was eliminated due to COVID.

Much has changed since that opening night in 1999, and thankfully much has stayed the same.

The biggest change of course occurred following the end of the 2019 season when the Scrappers were one of 43 minor league franchises eliminated by MLB. For a short period of time, it appeared as though Eastwood Field would sit idle for the foreseeable future.

Fortunately, the Scrappers franchise was revived thanks to the newly-formed MLB Draft League – a hybrid summer league and showcase league designed in part to highlight baseball talent ahead of the July MLB Draft.

Earlier this year MLB announced it will continue its affiliation with the league through at least 2030. The league expects to expand by two teams within the next couple of years. That’s great news for the future of the Scrappers.

Through it all, the Scrappers have continued to provide entertainment in similar fashion throughout their history. The postgame fireworks shows, the bobblehead giveaways, the Buck Nights and other promotions that were around in 1999 are still Eastwood Field staples in 2024.

In that regard, not much has changed. That’s a good thing for both the hardcore baseball fan and the casual observer looking for a night of affordable entertainment.

Happy 25th Scrappers, and happy 25th Eastwood Field!