Fun With The Binghamton Triplets

By Paul Semendinger

The late Yankee captain Thurman Munson played for the Binghamton Triplets.Photo byDan Schlossberg

A few weeks ago, I created a list of the best players in baseball who played for both the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees. I joked that I might have to next look at the Binghamton Triplets...

Well, that joke stuck in my mind, and it became something I had to do.

The Binghamton Triplets were a minor-league team in New York state that played in various leagues and at various levels from 1923 to 1968. The Triplets, at various times, were associated with the New York Yankees, the Milwaukee Braves, and the Kansas City A's.

They got their nickname because they represented three cities: Binghamton, Johnson City, and Endicott.

I was able to create an all-time All-Star team of former Triplets. (For the bullpen, I had to convert some pitchers who were typically starters.)

Here they are:

C - Thurman Munson - 7-time All-Star, 1970 A.L. Rookie of the Year, 1976 A.L. Most Valuable Player

1B - Bill "Moose" Skowron - 8-time All-Star, played in 8 World Series

2B - Bobby Richardson - 8-time All-Star, Played in 7 World Series (1960 W.S. Most Valuable Player), 5 Gold Gloves

SS - Bert Campaneris - 6- time All-Star, played in 3 World Series

3B - Clete Boyer - played in 5 World Series, Gold Glove winner

LF - Andy Pafko - 5-time All-Star, played in 5 World Series

CF - Bill Virdon - 1955 N.L. Rookie of the Year, Gold Glove Winner, played in 1 World Series

RF - Tommy Holmes - 2-time All-Star, played in 2 World Series, lifetime .302 batting average

DH - Deron Johnson - led N.L. in RBI's in 1965, played in 1 World Series

SP - Whitey Ford - member of the Baseball Hall of Fame

SP- Lefty Gomez - member of the Baseball Hall of Fame

SP- Spud Chandler - 1943 A.L. Most Valuable Player

SP - Vic Raschi - pitched in 6 World Series, 4-time All-Star

SP - Freddie Fitzsimmons - pitched in 3 World Series, led the N.L. in Winning Percentage 2-times

RP - Ralph Terry - Pitched in 5 World Series (1962 World Series MVP), 2-time All-Star

RP - Bob Grim - 1954 A.L. Rookie of the Year

RP - Al Downing - Pitched in 4 World Series, 1-time All-Star

MGR - Tony LaRussa - member of the Baseball Hall of Fame

Coaches - Ralph Houk, Cito Gaston, John McNamara

I am happy there was no professional baseball team called the Quadruplets.

[Editor’s Note: There is a minor-league team based called the Quad Cities River Bandits, a High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals in the Midwest League who play home games at Modern Woodmen Park in Davenport, Iowa, one of the Quad Cities.]

Paul Semendinger who runs the site Start Spreading the News has been published numerous times. From Compton To The Bronx, which he wrote with Roy White and The Least Among Them focus on baseball. Paul's novel, Scattering the Ashes, is being made into an audio book!