Akron RubberDucks


The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. From 1997 to 2013, the team was named the Akron Aeros.
The RubberDucks play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 fans. The nickname "RubberDucks" refers to Akron's history in the rubber industry, in particular as the birthplace of tire and rubber companies such as Goodyear, Firestone, Goodrich and General Tire.

History

on April 10, 1997 marked the debut of the Akron Aeros. With 9,086 fans in attendance, the Aeros and Harrisburg Senators played the first game at Canal Park. The Aeros went on to finish the season with a record of 51–90. Despite the last place record, the team drew a Double-A league-leading 473,272 fans to Canal Park that season.
In the 1998 season, the Aeros put together a 30-game "worst-to-first" turnaround; after finishing the prior year 34½ games back, they proceeded to win the Southern Division that season by 8½ games. However, after losing in the playoffs that year, it would be three more years until the Aeros found their way back to the postseason.
On September 6, 1999, the Aeros set an Eastern League attendance record for three straight seasons and once again led all Double-A teams after 522,459 fans attended Canal Park in 1999.
In 2002, the team posted a 93–48 record, the third-highest win total in the Eastern League in 50 years. They built on that success and finally won two league championships in 2003 and 2005. In 2006, the Aeros again posted the best regular-season record in the league, but lost the playoff title to Portland after taking the series to a deciding fifth game.
From 2005 to 2008, the Aeros advanced to the Eastern League Championship Series. Although the Aeros won the ELCS in 2005, they were defeated in three consecutive trips from 2006 to 2008.
In 2009, the Aeros again advanced to the league championship and defeated the Connecticut Defenders capping a 95-win season and their third title in the last seven years. Jared Head was named the playoff MVP.
In their first three seasons in Canal Park, the Aeros led all of Double-A in attendance, becoming the first team at that level to draw a half-million fans in a single season.
The team was sold by Mike Agganis to Ken Babby in October 2012.

2014–present

On October 29, 2013, the Akron Aeros officially changed their name to the Akron RubberDucks.
The RubberDucks won their first Eastern League Championship under the new name in 2016, sweeping Trenton 3-0. Akron also hosted the 2016 Eastern League All-Star Game at Canal Park.

Season-by-season results

Note: Place indicates finish in Eastern League's Northern Division from 1980 to 1982; in divisionless Eastern League from 1983 to 1993; in Eastern League's Southern Division from 1994 to 2009; in Eastern League's Western Division since 2010.

Notoriety

Over the off-season between the 2010–2011 season, the Aeros received national attention after introducing a number of new promotions as well as menu items at Canal Park. The team was featured in a segment titled "Back in Black" during The Daily Show performed by comedian Lewis Black. In the segment, Black talks about several of the menu items including The "Three Dog Night" consisting of a hot dog in a Bratwurst in a Kielbasa, and "The Nice to Meat You Burger". The food was also covered by CNBC Sports Financial Analyst Darren Rovell.
For the 2016 season, several different promotions were announced, including Thirsty Thursdays, Star Wars Night on May 4, Shooter McGavin Bobblehead Night, and An action-filled two days for the Eastern League All-Star Game.

Media

Several outlets throughout Northeast Ohio cover the RubberDucks including SportsTime Ohio, as do all four Cleveland television stations. In print, the RubberDucks are covered by Akron News Now, and longtime standard The Akron Beacon Journal
Games are broadcast over WARF-AM Fox Sports 1350. Jim Clark, in his 25th year in 2017, as well as Minnesota-native broadcaster Marco LaNave call play by play.

Attendance

On August 12, 2017, the RubberDucks reported their highest single-game attendance since rebranding of 8,396 fans.
SeasonTotal attendanceLeague rankTotal openingsAverage attendance per openingAverage attendance per Eastern League opening
1997473,2321st677,0634,260
1998521,1221st707,4454,334
1999522,4591st697,5724,954
2000481,0601st667,2894,147
2001485,5821st697,0374,294
2002400,1873rd675,9734,284
2003445,6032nd676,6514,128
2004478,6111st687,0384,399
2005455,0562nd666,8944,468
2006412,9953rd656,3544,353
2007355,3766th645,5534,831
2008342,8167th675,1174,570
2009316,8366th684,6594,612
2010261,5639th693,7914,796
2011266,2659th683,9164,868
2012256,4739th683,7724,669
2013295,4597th704,2214,616
2014350,7044th685,1574,609
2015340,9166th685,0134,579
2016350,0774th695,0744,259
2017343,3516th665,2024,773
2018344,7546th684,9964,793

Roster