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26-711: The Y'alls franchise has won three Frontier League championships. However, these titles came when the team existed as the Erie Sailors (1994), Johnstown Steal (1995), and Johnstown Johnnies (2000). The franchise is currently tied with the Rockford RiverHawks (including years as Portsmouth and Springfield) and the River City Rascals (including years as Zanesville) for the 2nd most league championships with each franchise winning three. The team began in Erie, Pennsylvania , as

52-620: A decision to continue his playing career. Mike Easler was then hired and finished the season. The Freedom ended the season with a 31–65 record, finishing in last place for the second consecutive year. In July 2004, shortly after the opening of Champion Window Field, contractors began filing liens against the Freedom, accusing the team of not paying for work done on the stadium. Eventually, 33 liens totaling US$ 4.7 million were filed. In August, Fifth Third Bank sued team part-owner Chuck Hildebrant for failing to repay multiple loans taken out to finance

78-652: A difficult period in 2012 when the RiverHawks ballpark went through foreclosure. The stadium ultimately was sold through auction in 2015. The league had taken over management of the Aviators franchise late in the 2015 season, and with financial instability, the team disbanded. Rockford is represented in the Frontier League Hall of Fame by outfielders Stephen Holdren, Jason James and Richard Austin. Runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in ( RBI )

104-571: A fielder's choice. From 1980 to 1988, the game-winning RBI was an additional statistic used in MLB. The perceived significance of the RBI is displayed by the fact that it is one of the three categories that compose the triple crown . In addition, career RBIs are often cited in debates over who should be elected to the Hall of Fame . However, critics, particularly within the field of sabermetrics , argue that RBIs measure

130-688: A new ownership group led by Clint Brown, who was not associated with Hildebrant's ownership group. In 2005, former Chillicothe Paints manager Jamie Keefe was signed as the team's new manager. Keefe led the Freedom to their first winning record (53–42). The team finished tied for second place in the Frontier League's East Division, missing out on the playoffs by a tiebreaker. Three Freedom players hit more than 20 home runs in 2005— outfielder Mike Galloway (24), designated hitter Kyle Geswein (24), and first baseman Trevor Hall (23). closer Ted Rowe tied for

156-411: A run batted in (c) The official scorer's judgment must determine whether a run batted in shall be credited for a run that scores when a fielder holds the ball or throws to a wrong base. Ordinarily, if the runner keeps going, the official scorer should credit a run batted in; if the runner stops and takes off again when the runner notices the misplay, the official scorer should credit the run as scored on

182-481: Is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the batter bats a base hit which allows a teammate on a higher base to reach home and so score a run, then the batter gets credited with an RBI. Before the 1920 Major League Baseball season , runs batted in were not an official baseball statistic . Nevertheless,

208-475: Is a list of Frontier League individual records set by Y'alls players as of the end of the 2009 season. Rockford RiverHawks The Rockford Aviators were a professional baseball team based in Rockford, Illinois that played in the independent Frontier League . Rockford previously had a team in the Frontier League called the RiverHawks (2002-2009). There was no Rockford team in the Frontier League in 2010 as

234-1131: Is a list of Y'alls alumni who have gone on to play MLB-affiliated baseball. The alumni are sorted by peak level of baseball in which they have participated after playing for Florence. In total, 20 Y'alls alumni have signed professional contracts after playing for Florence, with five making the major leagues. As of July 3, 2021: The following Freedom alumni have advanced as far as Class A-Advanced : Jason Tuttle (Freedom 2003), Kevin Rival (2004), Tim Turner (2004), Mike Galloway (2005), Heath Castle (2006), Johnny Washington (2008) The following Freedom alumni have advanced as far as Class A : James Morrison (Freedom 2004), Steven Pickerell (2005, 2009), Joel Posey (2004–5), Conor McGeehan (2006), Tyler Evans (2007), Neall French (2008) The following Freedom alumni have advanced as far as Class A-Short Season : The following Freedom alumni have advanced as far as Rookie Advanced class: J.D. Foust (Freedom 2004) The following Freedom alumni have advanced as far as Rookie Class : Reggie Watson (Freedom 2006–7), Preston Vancil (Freedom 2010) Below

260-790: The Erie Sailors in 1994, before moving to Point Stadium in Johnstown, Pennsylvania , in 1995, where it was first known as the Johnstown Steal then the Johnstown Johnnies beginning in 1998. The team won two Frontier League championships in their time in Johnstown, one in 1995 as the Steal and one in 2000 as the Johnnies. The team was sold after the 2002 season and moved to Florence, where it became known as

286-588: The Frontier League canceled their 2020 season and did not play. The Y'alls successfully returned to the playoffs, capturing their fifth division title. However, they lost the first round to the Schaumburg Boomers 3 games to 1. In March 2022, the Y'alls and Thomas More University partnered to rename the home of the Florence Y'alls Thomas More Stadium . As part of the agreement, the stadium will also become

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312-515: The 2007 Frontier League All-Star Game, hosted by Florence. Outfielder Ryan Basham earned the Frontier League Rookie of the Year award, hitting .298 with 17 home runs on the season. In 2007, Champion Window Field, home of the Freedom, hosted its first Frontier League All-Star Game, with the Freedom's East Division winning 11–3. The Freedom's Reggie Watson had three runs batted in and was named

338-551: The Freedom opened against the Midwest Sliders of Ypsilanti at home on May 20. Florence opened 2009 with two major changes— FieldTurf instead of a natural grass surface and a new coaching staff. Toby Rumfield became the new field manager, and Freedom alumni Greg Stone, the Freedom's all-time hit leader, as hitting coach and Bill Browett as pitching coach. Clint Brown died in January 2018 after 15 years as team president and owner. He

364-521: The Freedom. The Freedom played their 2003 home games at Foundation Field in Hamilton, Ohio , about 30 miles (48 km) north of Cincinnati , while the ownership group was building a new stadium (Champion Window Field) in Florence. The team was managed by former major leaguer Tom Browning . The Freedom finished in last place, setting a then-league record with 61 losses, but featured future major leaguer Chris Jakubauskas , who would go 4–9 (5.11 ERA) for

390-468: The Freedom. The team averaged fewer than 500 fans per game in attendance. In 2004, the Freedom opened Champion Window Field in Florence. The park opened on June 18, with the Freedom losing to the Washington Wild Things 10–6 before a crowd of 4,453 fans. On July 7, after a poor start to the season, manager Tom Browning was fired. Pete Rose Jr. , took over for one game, but quit after making

416-565: The RBI statistic was tabulated—unofficially—from 1907 through 1919 by baseball writer Ernie Lanigan , according to the Society for American Baseball Research . Common nicknames for an RBI include "ribby" (or "ribbie"), "rib", and "ribeye". The plural of "RBI" is a matter of "(very) minor controversy" for baseball fans: it is usually "RBIs", in accordance with the usual practice for pluralizing initialisms in English; however, some sources use "RBI" as

442-537: The franchise played as the Springfield Capitals . The team moved to Rockford for the 2002 season. The RiverHawks franchise moved to the Northern League in 2010, but stayed for one season before a Rockford team returned to the Frontier League in 2011 when the Northern League folded. The team changed the name to the Aviators for 2013. The Aviators folded following the 2015 season. The highlight for Rockford

468-448: The game's Most Valuable Player . The game's attendance of 4,483 set a new attendance record for Florence. In 2008, the team finished with a 47–49 record, missing a playoff spot by four games. For the first time, the Freedom attracted over 100,000 fans to Champion Window Field, with a total of 106,707 fans for the year. In early 2008, the Freedom changed their primary colors from red, white, and blue to black, red, and silver. In 2009,

494-665: The home of the Thomas More Saints baseball team starting in Spring 2023. The team missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018. In 2023 season, the Y'alls missed the playoffs for the second year in a row. The Y'alls failed to reach the playoffs for the third year in a row in 2024. Pitchers Utility players Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches [REDACTED] Disabled list ‡ Inactive list § Suspended list  updated July 16, 2024 Transactions Below

520-585: The league lead in saves with 17. In 2006, the Freedom had a losing record of 38–50, finishing fifth in the Frontier League East Division. In 2007, the Freedom again had a sub-.500 record, going 42–54 for the season. This placed the team third in the East Division. Outfielder Reggie Watson led the league in batting average (.357) and steals (20), while also winning the Home Run Derby at

546-532: The plural, on the basis that it can stand for "runs batted in". The 2018 edition of the Official Baseball Rules of Major League Baseball (MLB), Rule 9.04 Runs Batted In , reads: A run batted in is a statistic credited to a batter whose action at bat causes one or more runs to score, as set forth in this Rule 9.04. (a) The official scorer shall credit the batter with a run batted in for every run that scores (b) The official scorer shall not credit

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572-406: The quality of the lineup more than it does the player himself. This is because an RBI can only be credited to a player if one or more batters preceding him in the batting order have reached base (the exception to this being a home run , in which the batter is credited with driving himself in, not just those already on base). This implies that better offensive teams —and therefore, the teams in which

598-504: The stadium construction. As part of the lawsuit, it was revealed that Hildebrant had used 204 acres (0.83 km) of land that he did not own as collateral for the loans, and that he had given the bank a forged document as proof of ownership. Hildebrant was later the subject of a federal white collar crime investigation and sentenced to prison in October 2005. The team was sold in November 2004 to

624-488: The team played in the independent Northern League . A separate RiverHawks franchise then returned to the Frontier League in 2011 and changed the team name to the Aviators in 2013. The RiverHawks began play at Marinelli Field . In 2006, Rockford moved to RiverHawks Stadium, now known as Rivets Stadium , located in Loves Park, Illinois . The Aviators Frontier League franchise was relocated from Springfield, Illinois , where

650-463: Was succeeded by his widow, Kim Brown. Sale of the team to a group of local investors was finalized July 2019. In October 2019, the new owners announced a rebranding of the team for the 2020 season, dropping the name Freedom immediately. The new team name, Florence Y'alls, was announced in January 2020. The team takes its new name from the local Florence Y'all Water Tower . Due to the COVID-19 pandemic ,

676-862: Was the stellar 2004 Frontier League season with manager Bob Koopmann, winning the West division with a 59-37 (.615) record, advancing to the playoffs where they edged the Windy City Thunderbolts 3-2 in the best of five series to advance to the league championship series. Rockford would then sweep the Evansville Otters 3-0 to win the Frontier League title. The team was led by pitcher Josh Tomsu (10-3, 2.64 ERA), closer Josh Latimer (3-3, 15 saves, 2.47 ERA), Aaron McEachran (.332 BA, 11 HR, 62 RBI), Rico Santana (.284 BA, 5 HR, 65 RBI, 27 SB), Doug Schutt (.286 BA, 3 HR, 32 RBI, 39 SB) and Frontier League MVP Rich Austin (.359 BA, 15 HR, 77 RBI, 22 SB). The franchise hit

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