Mike Loree - 2011 Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year

Coming out of Gillette, NJ, 6’6” right-hand pitcher Mike Loree was drafted by the San Francisco Giants organization and headed to their Arizona League team in 2007.

After rising as high as Double A ball with Pittsburgh’s affiliate the Altoona Curve, Loree took the mound for the Long Island Ducks in 2011 and delivered one of the greatest Atlantic League pitching seasons ever recorded.

Finishing the 2011 season with a record of 14-5, with 131 strikeouts and an ERA below two (1.98), Mike Loree had no peers in any of these categories that year as he claimed both the 2011 Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year award as well as the Atlantic League Pitching Triple Crown  -- becoming only the second pitcher in league history to dominate in such a way (Magrane-Somerset; 2009).

That year, Loree set a Long Island franchise record with 14 strikeouts in a game (since tied by MLB pitcher Rich Hill in 2015 when pitching with the Ducks), while also shining in the post season with a 2-0 record coupled with an 1.10 ERA.

2012 saw the Villanova alumn be signed away from the Ducks by the Lamigo Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League where Loree would become the most dominant in-season and post-season mound star over the next few years.

Loree matched his-triple crown performance on Long Island with a CPBL triple-crown year in 2015 pitching for the EDA Rhinos finishing with a 16-5 record, 3.65 ERA while striking out 144. 

Loree led the CPBL in wins (13) and ERA (3.98) in the 2016 season, and added a second CPBL league pitching triple crown to his resume in 2017 pitching for the Fubon Guardians (16-4, 2.18 ERA, 154K’s).

Mike Loree was named to the 15^th-Anniversary Long Island Duck team in 2014.

Bill Madlock - 4X NL Batting Champ & Newark Bears Manager

Autographed 2004 Newark Bears Choice Team Set #27
Autographed Atlantic League Baseball Inscribed "Newark Bears MGR 2003-04"

With a major league career batting average of .305 and four National League Batting Championships (1975,1976, 1981 and 1983) to his name, Bill Madlock became the 3rd manager of the Atlantic League’s Newark Bears taking the helm for the 2003 and 2004 seasons.

Nicknamed “Mad Dog” for his ability to get riled up with umpires, Madlock’s two-year managerial tenure saw some of the most recognizable MLB names in Atlantic League history on his rosters including Jamie Navarro, Jose Lima and the 44-year-old All-Time Stolen Base King Rickey Henderson.

Madlock quibbed about having the elite base stealer on his Bear’s teams, ”I had the greatest base stealer in the world those years, and if you don’t believe me you can ask him yourself and he will tell you the same thing…”

Ray Navarrete - 2009 Atlantic League Player of the Year

Autographed 2009 Long Island Ducks Choice Team Set #19 (MVP Card) & Long Island Ducks Souvenir Baseball.
10th Anniversary All-Time Ducks Choice Team Set #11 (Unsigned)

After a six-year run within the Pittsburgh Pirates’ and New York Mets’ organizations, Ray Navarrete entered the Atlantic League in 2005, and went on to have one of the most successful careers the league has ever known.

The Seton Hall alumnus established himself as the franchise face of the Ducks partaking in eight seasons (2006-2013) and two league championships eventually retiring with Long Island’s career offensive records in six categories including: games played (863); hits (963); home runs (137); RBI’s (548); runs scored (599) and doubles (245).

Navarrete’s best season came in 2009 when he was selected the Atlantic League Player of the Year; compiling a .309 batting average with 25 home runs, 96 RBI’s and 106 runs.

Navarrete entered the Atlantic League 1,000 Hit Club “with an exclamation point” on August 3, 2013, with a home run against York becoming only the second Atlantic League player (with Jeff Nettles) in league history to join this elite group.

The end of the 2013 season brought retirement in style as Navarrete hit a 3-run home run in the deciding game 5 of the Championship Series against Somerset putting the Ducks in the lead for good and bringing the Atlantic League Championship Trophy home to Long Island for a second straight year.