Riverside Stadium - Harrisburg Pennsylvania - Former Home of the Harrisburg Senators

The Senators faced the sophomore jinx in their 2nd season, as 1988 sent the team in a free fall to 7th place. Jeff King returned to hit 14 HRs and bat .255 and the pitching wasn’t too bad, though they had very little to show for it. Mike Curtis for example, put up a 3.28 ERA but could only post a 6-13. The Senators finished at 65-73, though the fans still continued to support the team, 216,000 strong. By 1989 however, Harrisburg seemed to be back on track as they welcomed their first future All-Star to the team… Moises Alou would come to Riverside Stadium and bat .293 in 205 At Bats. Sadly for this son of the famed Alou clan, he would find himself injury prone which kept him from ever achieving true greatness in the Major Leagues. He would however have in his 7 All-Star years and 17 year MLB career, a few seasons which were spectacular. Examples would be in 1998 when he hit .312 with 38 HR and 124 RBI. In 2004 at the age of 37, he would have his best power year hitting 36 2B, 39 HR, 106 RBI all while batting .293. In his final season with the Mets at the age of 40, he batted .341 but couldn’t keep himself healthy enough to qualify for the batting title, reaching only 360 plate appearances. As for the rest of the Senators, future Philly Wes Chamberlain had a great year with 26 2B, 21 HR, 87 RBI and a .306. Future Pirates 2B Carlos Garcia meanwhile hit .282 on his way to becoming the 2nd All-Star produced by Riverside Stadium. Future Pirates closer Stan Belinda stepped up to go 1-4, 2.33 with 15 Saves to help two fine pitching performances… future Indians’ Mike York who posted an 11-5, 2.31 and future Expos’ Bill Sampen who went 11-9, 3.21. Together this team forged itself back into 2nd place with a 71-65 record and set out to repeat their inaugural season where they won the E.L. title. It started out just fine as the Senators beat out Albert Belle (20 HR) and his Canton-Akron Indians in 4 games. Waiting in the wings however… was Jim Leyritz (.315), Hensley Mullens and Bernie Williams (11 HR, .252). The Albany-Colonie Yankees weren’t going to go down without a fight… and in the end, Bernie and crew would hold on to keep the Senators from notching another title in the belts. 200,000 came to City Island’s Riverside Stadium.