Revs Hit Grand Slam with Attendance, Team, Player, and Community Wins

(September 20, 2023, York, Pa.) — The York Revolution’s Sweet 16 was sweet indeed.

Recapping the 2023 season, the organization’s 16th, York Revolution officials today called the newly concluded baseball year a “grand slam” for the city’s professional baseball team.

“From our attendance to the team’s performance, individual player achievements, and our support of the community, we are extremely pleased with the 2023 season,” said York Revolution President Eric Menzer. “To use some industry language, we knocked it out of the park.”

Attendance

  • Average attendance at York Revolution home games in 2023 was up nearly 25% over the 2022 season.
  • As highlighted by BallPark Digest, WellSpan Park welcomed nearly 197,000 people to Revolution games, ranking the ballpark sixth out of the 46 teams in the Major League Baseball Partner Leagues.
  • The Revolution drew crowds of 5,000 or more eight times in 2023; the team had four crowds of that size in 2022 and 2021 combined.

Menzer attributed the increase to multiple factors.

“We have a seasoned front office crew who have done a great job with marketing and sales,” he said. “Our investments in the 1741 Club presented by UPMC and lots of fan-friendly amenities are paying off, we continue to benefit from the faithful support of our business partners, and we put an exciting team on the field that people clearly enjoyed watching. It was a winning formula for attendance.”

Team Performance

  • The Revolution finished the 2023 season with a .568 winning percentage, second highest in team history, behind only its 2011 championship season.
  • Finishing in second place in the North Division in both the first and second half of the season, the team achieved a 71-54 overall record – four and a half games better than first-half champ Long Island and eight and a half better than second-half champ Lancaster.
  • The Revolution finished the 2023 season with a league-high 797 runs scored and led the league in hits, doubles, and on-base percentage. The team ranked second in batting average and steals and third in home runs.
  • New Revolution manager Rick Forney orchestrated an impressive turnaround in his first year, taking a team that finished 20 games under.500 in 2022 to the best overall record in the North Division – all while fielding virtually an entirely new squad (only three returners took the field on Opening Day). Forney, meanwhile, notched his 900th career win on May 26.
  • “Home field advantage” proved undeniable in 2023, as the team posted a 42-21 record at WellSpan Park (tying the league’ best home winning percentage), including the 600th win in the ballpark on September 9.

“We could not be happier with the incredible job Rick did this year,” Menzer said. “He did exactly what we brought him to York to do. He turned this team around, dramatically improved the quality of our baseball product, and did it using just 41 players, the fewest number of players in our history. There was very little turnover, and you could see in the play on the field how well the squad he created gelled and operated as a true team.”

Standout Players

  • 2023 York Revolution Player of the Year Drew Mendoza became the third Atlantic League batting champion in Revolution history with his .346 average, the second highest in team history. He led the team with 148 hits, 41 doubles (tying the team record and tying for fourth in league history), 87 RBIs, and 240 total bases and a slugging percentage of .561
  • 2023 York Revolution Pitcher of the Year Nick Raquet finished third in the league in strikeouts with 133, the third highest single-season total in team history. His 10-strikeout performance on September 15 was his fourth of the season, making him just the second pitcher in Revolution history to achieve that. He finished the season with a 3.71 ERA, fourth best in the league, and pitched 145.2 innings, third highest in the league.
  • Trey Martin and Tomo Otosaka teamed up to terrorize opposing pitchers on the bases. Martin finished first in the league in stolen bases with 46 (third in team history); Otosaka was on his heels with 42 (fourth in team history).
  • Perennial fan favorite Nellie Rodriguez became the first in Revs history with three 20-home-run seasons and blasted his 75th homer this season, moving up to second place in team history.
  • Local product Nick Parker, who played on the field of WellSpan Park as an 8-year-old Young Rev, made his professional debut back on that field on July 25 and contributed 19.0 innings over the remainder of the season.

Community Contributions

  • The York Revolution raised more than $100,000 for the community in 2023.
  • $40,000 of that amount went to the team’s 2023 Presenting Partner Give Local York through 50/50 raffles conducted during each game, jersey auctions, and other fundraising tools.

“The Revolution Presenting Partner has become a great tradition and a win-win each year,” said Revolution Vice President of Business Development Nate Tile. “Give Local has been a terrific teammate this year, and I’m excited we could return the support and further their efforts to help hundreds of nonprofits doing great things in our community.”

  • The Revolution returned another $45,000 to the York community through its ticket fundraiser partnership program. Hundreds of youth sports teams, church groups, school bands and choruses, cheerleading squads, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts troops, and other non-profits benefitted from the partnership.

“As a softball coach, I appreciate firsthand how much work parents and other volunteers put into running these organizations,” Tile said. “It’s personally gratifying when I see the checks go out to support them.”

  • The Revs raised another $10,000 for the YMCA of York’s Strong Kids program and York City Little League through their flagship team fundraiser, the Brooks Robinson Golf Classic presented by Shipley Energy.
  • Revolution jersey auctions, community donations, and other fundraisers also put more than $10,000 of the team’s revenue back into the community, benefitting groups such as Children’s Miracle Network, the Rodney Miller Scholarship Fund, Pink Power, the William Penn High School art department, the SPCA, the York Literacy Council, Bartz Brigade, and Hospice and Community Care.
  • The team’s Hunger Free Thursday promotion presented by Member’s First Credit Union, which rewarded fans with tickets for nonperishable food donations, gathered more than a ton of food for the York County Food Bank. It was the fourth time the team has run the food drive promotion.

WellSpan Park was certified by KultureCity as a Sensory Inclusive Venue, making it the only Atlantic League ballpark and minor league ballpark in Pennsylvania to have earned such a designation.