RailRiders Unveil 2026 CHAMP’S Home Run Readers Program The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and Red Robin are thrilled to announce a new reading program. CHAMP’S Home Run Readers is a premier reading program developed exclusively for elementary and middle schools in Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and surrounding communities. This challenge will run from March 2 through March 22, 2026. CHAMP’S Home Run Readers are tasked with tracking their reading minutes outside of the classroom. While only at-home, out-of-school reading counts, this can include school curriculum books, self-chosen books, and both digital and print materials. A reader’s time can also include minutes a parent or guardian reads aloud to the student, encouraging family literacy. They believe in celebrating every milestone in reading. Prizes are awarded based on the student’s highest achievement tier. Each student who participates will receive a coupon courtesy of Red Robin. Single – Read under 400 minutes and receive a participation certificate. Double – Read at least 400 minutes and receive a participation certificate plus two tickets for a specified RailRiders game. Triple – Read at least 800 minutes and receive a participation certificate plus four tickets for a specified RailRiders game. Home Run – Read 1,300 or more minutes and receive a participation certificate plus four tickets for a specified RailRiders game, a first pitch at a specified RailRiders home game and a RailRiders t-shirt. Top Overall Reader: On-Field recognition at a RailRiders game, an autographed baseball PLUS a photo with CHAMP. Student tickets are redeemable on June 9 or June 10, 2026. All prizes are subject to change. CHAMP’S Home Run Readers efforts will be tracked by program coordinators at the student’s school. Each school will designate a program coordinator to assist in the process. Any teacher that has their classroom participate in this challenge, the Program Coordinator and Principal will be awarded a ticket voucher redeemable for four tickets to a 2026 RailRiders game. Some restrictions may apply, and seats are based on availability. The top five schools with the most student participation will receive a suite for a RailRiders game for 12 staff members (food and beverage not included) for a mutually agreed upon date. The top school will receive $250 towards a school Amazon Wish List. The deadline for registering is February 13, 2026. The RailRiders’ 2026 campaign begins on the road March 27 with the home opener at PNC Field scheduled for April 7. Season ticket memberships, including premium seating, full season, half season and partial plans, are on sale now. Learn more about CHAMP’S Home Run Readers, presented by Red Robin, online at swbrailriders.com or by calling (570) 969-2255.
SWB RailRiders Hosting Salvation Army Toy Drive The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, in conjunction with The Salvation Army, have announced that PNC Field will serve as a drop-off location for the Scranton Citadel Toy Drive. Fans can drop off new, unwrapped toys at the RailRiders Front Office from November 17 to December 12. The Front Office is open from 9 A.M. to 4 P.M., Monday through Friday, though it will be closed November 26 – 28 for Thanksgiving. Donate one new, unwrapped toy for The Salvation Army Scranton Citadel Toy Drive and receive one Zone C ticket voucher redeemable for any 2026 April or May RailRiders game at PNC Field. In 2024, local donations helped The Salvation Army serve 2,279 families, deliver over 2,500 toys and brighten the holidays for more than 700 children in our community. For more information, please call (570) 969-2255.
RailRiders To Host Emergency Food Drive The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are hosting an emergency food drive benefitting the Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank on Tuesday, November 11, in the Geisinger Plaza at PNC Field. Food collection will take place from 9 A.M. until 4 P.M. The RailRiders are asking for donations of non-perishable food items, including but not limited to canned vegetables, canned fruit, pasta, rice, canned proteins, canned soup, instant coffee and dry beans. The club requests that no items in glass containers be donated. As a token of appreciation, each individual who donates a shopping bag of items will receive one (1) Zone C ticket voucher redeemable for a 2026 regular season RailRiders game at PNC Field. For more information, please call (570) 969-2255.
SWB RailRiders Announce Banana Ball Games in 2026 Banana Ball is coming to PNC Field in 2026! The global phenomenon, made famous by the Savannah Bananas, will stop in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for two games on May 22 and 23. As revealed Thursday night during the 2026 Banana Ball City Selection Show, which aired on ESPN2, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has been selected as a tour stop for the brand-new Banana Ball Championship League (BBCL). PNC Field will host official league games featuring the Loco Beach Coconuts against the Firefighters. Fans must enter the ticket lottery at bananaball.com/tickets by October 31, 2025, for a chance to purchase tickets. Tickets will go on sale approximately two months prior to the scheduled event dates for those selected in the ticket lottery. Individual ticket sales for the games are being handled exclusively by Fans First Entertainment, the company that manages the Savannah Bananas and BBCL member teams. Standard tickets start at $35. Banana Ball has taken the sports world by storm, drawing millions of fans with its non-stop action, viral moments and unique rules – including a two-hour time limit, no bunting and fans catching foul balls for outs. The 2026 BBCL season will feature six teams playing 60 games across the country, all leading to a can’t- miss championship series in October. With dancing players, surprise guests and one-of-a-kind in-game antics, Banana Ball delivers an entertainment experience unlike anything else in sports.
SWB RailRiders: Duncan, Rojas and Winans Honored Trio win end-of-year accolades for 2025 efforts leading Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to IL playoffs. On Saturday night, Minor League Baseball™ announced the league awards and All-Star teams for the two leagues that make up the Triple-A classification in Major League Baseball’s player development system. Jose Rojas and Allan Winans were tabbed for end-of-season All-Star honors, while Shelley Duncan was selected as the International League Manager of the Year. Sixteen players across the International League were selected as All-Stars, including one at each position, one utility spot, four starting pitchers and two relievers. Additionally, three players and Duncan were honored with awards. Rojas, 32, was selected for the All-Star Utility spot after hitting .287 with 32 home runs and 105 runs batted in. He matched Jorge Vasquez’s 2011 franchise home run record and became only the second player in franchise history to drive in 100 or more runs in a season. Rojas finished the season with 35 doubles and set a new franchise mark with a .599 slugging percentage. Winans, 30, was tabbed as an All-Star starting pitcher. The right-hander went 12-1 with a 1.63 ERA over 21 appearances. In 99.1 innings of work, Winans struck out 105, walked 27 and had a 1.03 WHIP. The RailRiders went 20-1 in games that Winans appeared in. Duncan was named Manager of the Year after leading Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to an 87-win campaign in his third year at the helm, including a league-best 49 wins en route to a second-half crown. The 2009 IL MVP returned to the Yankees’ organization in 2023 to manage the RailRiders. In three seasons, Duncan has paced Scranton/ Wilkes-Barre to 249 wins and a .561 winning percentage. Click here to find more information.
SWB RailRiders Announce Shawn Reilly as President/ GM The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and Diamond Baseball Holdings are pleased to announce that Shawn Reilly has been welcomed as the new President/ General Manager of the RailRiders, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. Longtime GM Katie Beekman remains with the team and transitions to a new role as VP of Operations, providing the RailRiders front office with continuity and an enhanced leadership structure. “I am honored to join this outstanding franchise,” Reilly said. “For 36 years, this team in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has created lasting memories, including so many more this past season, while exemplifying the values of Minor League Baseball. I look forward to building on that tradition, meeting members of the community, and working to enhance the organization’s success while expanding the potential of RailRiders baseball throughout NEPA.” Reilly most recently served as President/ General Manager of the Frontier League’s New York Boulders. A co-founder and owner of the club since 2011, he helped establish the Boulders as one of the league’s flagship franchises. His baseball career began with the Niagara Falls Rapids in 1992. After leading the Jamestown Jammers in 1993, Reilly served as General Manager of the New York Mets’ Spring Training facility in Port St. Lucie for two years. Before returning to baseball, he spent 15 years as Senior Vice President at Core Communities in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where he played a key role in developing the nationally recognized master-planned communities of St. Lucie West and Tradition. A native of Niagara Falls, New York, Reilly earned his MBA from Niagara University. “We’re excited to welcome Shawn Reilly to the RailRiders. He brings a distinguished track record of leadership in professional baseball and community development, and we’re confident he will build upon the strong foundation already established in Northeast Pennsylvania,” said Pat Battle and Peter Freund, Executive Chairman and CEO of DBH, respectively. “We also want to recognize Katie Beekman for her exemplary service and steadfast leadership as General Manager. We’re grateful she will continue to lend her experience and expertise as VP of Operations. With Shawn’s vision and Katie’s ongoing contributions, the RailRiders are exceptionally well-positioned to set the standard for a best-in-class Triple-A franchise.” Beekman will continue to build on her 15 years with the RailRiders as she transitions to her role as VP of Operations. She remains in a senior leadership role while continuing to oversee PNC Field, focusing on key partners and developing the club’s relationship with the New York Yankees. This new position also allows Beekman more flexibility and opportunity to spend time with her family, a rarity in Minor League Baseball. “I’ve been working in sports for more than 25 years,” Beekman said. “My favorite part has always been finding ways to bring families together to make memories, but all those late nights under the lights and early morning tarp pulls have meant missing some of the big things with my own family. I’m excited that my new role will allow me to continue to do what I love and offers more flexibility for my work-life balance.” Click here for more information.
RailRiders Hosting Game 2 Watch Party at PNC Field Scranton/Wilkes-Barre leads Jacksonville 1-0 in best-of-three International League Championship Series The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are hosting a watch party in the Geisinger Champions Club tonight for Game 2 of the International League Championship Series. The RailRiders beat the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 5-4 in 10 innings on Tuesday night to take a 1-0 lead in this best-of-three set and can clinch the third International League title in franchise history with a win tonight. Tonight’s watch party is open to the public and presented by PrimoHoagies. Doors open at 6:30 P.M. with a first pitch slated for 7:05 at Jacksonville’s VyStar Ballpark. The game will be broadcast on the video board and throughout the Geisinger Champions Club. A cash bar will be available. Additional food and drinks will be available for purchase. With a win this evening, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre would claim its first title since 2016 and advance to the Triple-A National Championship Game on Saturday, September 27, in Las Vegas.
SWB RailRiders, Spencer Jones Named Player of the Month Outfielder is the first RailRider to nab monthly honors since September 2023 Major League Baseball has announced that RailRiders’ outfielder Spencer Jones was tabbed as the International League’s Player of the Month for July. MLB honors the best player and pitcher in each of the 14 leagues of the player development system, and Jones is the seventh player in franchise history to capture the distinction. Jones, 24, batted a league-best .419 in July with a league-high 11 home runs. He also led the IL in on-base percentage (.477), slugging percentage (.946) and OPS (1.423). He was second in runs (25) and total bases (70) and was third in hits (31) and RBI (23). He recorded 10 multi-hit games, including consecutive four-hit games on July 19 and 20. Jones was selected by the Yankees in the first round, 25th overall, of the 2022 Draft out of Vanderbilt University. He began 2025 in Double-A, hitting .274 with 16 home runs over 49 games for Somerset before a June 27 promotion to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. His 29 total home runs led all Minor League players at the end of July. Jones joins Brandon Duckworth (Pitcher- July 2001), Jose Pirela (Player- June 2014), Aaron Judge (Player- June 2016), Jake Cave (Player- July 2017), Michael King (Pitcher- August 2018) and Will Warren (Pitcher- September 2023) as the seventh player in franchise history to earn an MLB/ MiLB monthly honor. Three homestands remain on the 2025 schedule. For tickets and promotional information, visit swbrailriders.com.
RailRiders’ Leal Earns Pitcher of the Week Honors Minor League Baseball has announced its weekly awards for July 29 through August 3, and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Erick Leal was tabbed as the International League’s Pitcher of the Week. Leal pitched a seven-inning complete game shutout on August 1 in game one of a doubleheader against Nashville. The right-hander struck out a career-best ten batters, surrendering two hits and zero walks. He became the first RailRiders pitcher to throw a complete game shutout in nearly four years. The Carabobo, Venezuela native is 7-7 overall this season with a 5.09 ERA over 20 games this season. Leal has excelled in the second half for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, however, with a perfect 6-0 mark in seven starts and carries a 2.20 ERA since the half began. Leal leads the RailRiders with 106 strikeouts, 40 of which have come over seven appearances since June 24. Leal was signed by the New York Yankees as a Minor League Free Agent in September of 2024 after having spent the last four years pitching in the Mexican League. He is the first RailRiders player to earn a league award this season. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre opens a road trip at Lehigh Valley tomorrow with seven games over six days on the swing down the turnpike. Leal is slated to take the mound in game one of a doubleheader on Wednesday. The RailRiders return to PNC Field on August 12 to host the Indianapolis Indians. Get tickets and promotional information at swbrailriders.com.
