LONG ISLAND DUCKS

The Long Island Ducks

The Long Island Ducks is a professional baseball team based in Central Islip, Long Island, New York. They belong to the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. The Ducks are known as a Double-A team which means they play very good in the field. In fact, some of their players have moved from the Ducks directly into the majors bypassing the usual stint in a Triple-A team. Today, they own the independent league baseball single-season in attendance record of 443,142 fans, exceeding the previous record of 436,361 fans which the team had also set in 2000. The Long Island Ducks recorded their 2 millionth fan since the stadium opened in the same year.

As we all know, Long Island has been considered as the largest duck farm in the world. The story of duck growing in the area dates back to about 1890, when a boy fisherman at Eastport set a nest full of Peking duck eggs under a brooding hen. Raised on a diet of field greens and cooked fish, and allowed to run in a pen placed beside a private stream, the ducklings developed rapidly and within three months were shipped alive to a virgin market. The Long Island baseball team has used "Ducks" as their moniker which is commonly refers to Long Island's duck-farming heritage, which is further represented by the Big Duck ferrocement.

In 2000, the Long Island Ducks inaugurated their first season in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, even though the people of Long Island have waited for professional baseball for many years. They have been very excited about the Ducks and led the Atlantic League's attendance since their beginning. Despite their success at the gate, the Long Island Ducks did not had success on the field until their 2004 Atlantic League Championship season when they defeated the Camden Riversharks in a three-game sweep. After the Ducks' 2004 championship season, the Ducks participated in the Atlantic League playoffs for the next three seasons.

The official colors of the Long Island Ducks uniform are black, green, and orange. Black hats and white jerseys are worn for home games, while green hats and grey jerseys are worn for road games. The alternate jersey is sleeveless and green with "Ducks" centered on the front. The word "Ducks" in script in orange with black and green outline, and the stylized head of a duck inside the letter "d". The words "Long Island" is centered above the script in orange letters outlined in black. The CitiBank Park is a stadium which is smaller than standard MLB stadiums and is considered home of the Ducks located in Central Islip and has an excellent view for a live baseball game.

For more information please visit: www.liducks.com

Long Island Sports