2014 Trinidad Triggers Season Recap - Another Playoff Run and Nick Rodesky Signs with the Philadelphia Phillies
The 2014 Trinidad Triggers season represented another step forward for a franchise that had quickly established itself as one of the most consistent teams in the early years of the Pecos League. After reaching the playoffs in each of their first two seasons, the Triggers returned in 2014 under manager J.D. Droddy and once again found themselves in the middle of the Northern Division playoff race.
Trinidad finished the regular season with a 35-27 record and advanced to the Pecos League playoffs for the third consecutive year. The season eventually ended against the Santa Fe Fuego in a hard-fought three-game Northern Division playoff series, but one of the biggest stories of the year happened immediately after the regular season when pitcher Nick Rodesky was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
Rodesky's opportunity represented exactly what the Pecos League was designed to provide. He had joined Trinidad during the 2013 season, returned for the entire 2014 regular season and used his time with the Triggers to earn an opportunity in affiliated professional baseball. His move to the Phillies became one of the most significant player advancements in the early history of the Trinidad franchise.
The 2014 season also came immediately after Trinidad had become nationally known through "The Pecos League" television series. The show, which had been filmed while following the Triggers throughout the 2013 season, aired on Fox Sports 1 during the summer of 2014. While a new Trinidad team was playing games at Central Park, television viewers around the country were watching the previous year's Triggers and learning about the realities of independent professional baseball.
For Trinidad, it created a season unlike any other. The Triggers were attempting to return to the playoffs while simultaneously becoming one of the most recognizable teams in independent baseball.
J.D. Droddy Returns for Another Season
J.D. Droddy returned as manager after leading Trinidad to the playoffs in 2013. By the beginning of 2014, Droddy had become closely identified with the Triggers organization. He had originally served as an assistant with Trinidad in 2012 before taking over the club and had been one of the central personalities featured during the filming of "The Pecos League."
His job in 2014 was to move beyond the television attention and continue building a winning baseball team.
Trinidad had already proven that professional baseball could survive at Central Park. The Triggers had reached the postseason in both 2012 and 2013, but they had not yet advanced deep into the playoffs. The goal in 2014 was no longer simply to establish the franchise. Trinidad expected to compete.
The Northern Division presented another difficult challenge. Santa Fe had developed into one of the strongest teams in the league, and the Fuego would ultimately finish 48-24. Trinidad had enough talent to remain in the race and again establish itself as one of the better clubs in the league.
The Pecos League Television Show Airs While the Triggers Play
The 2014 season had an unusual backdrop because Trinidad's 2013 season was airing nationally while the new team was playing its schedule.
"The Pecos League" debuted on Fox Sports 1 in May of 2014. The six-episode series followed the previous year's Triggers through the challenges of independent professional baseball and introduced viewers around the country to Central Park, Trinidad, J.D. Droddy and the Pecos League.
The final episode aired in June, while the 2014 Triggers were already well into their season. That meant fans could watch the previous Trinidad team on national television and then come to Central Park to watch the current team play that same evening or later in the week.
The exposure helped establish the Triggers as one of the signature franchises of the Pecos League. Trinidad had only entered the league in 2012, but by 2014 the team's name was known well beyond Southern Colorado.
The challenge for the 2014 players was creating their own identity instead of simply becoming the team that followed the television cast.
A New Group of Triggers Takes the Field
The 2014 Trinidad roster featured a large collection of players who would become important parts of the team's history. Johnny Bladel, Shane Casey, Jake Summers, Blake May, Michael Morris, Jamie McMillan, K.C. Judge, Chris Escobar, Nicholas Bunce and Adam Barry were among the hitters who appeared for Trinidad during the season.
The roster also included Josh Tols, Kevin McGovern and Nick Rodesky, three pitchers whose careers would extend beyond Trinidad and provide examples of the opportunities available to players who performed well in the Pecos League.
As was common throughout the league during this era, the roster didn't remain intact for the entire summer. Successful players could be moved to higher independent leagues or affiliated organizations at virtually any point during the season.
For Droddy, that was both a source of pride and one of the most difficult parts of managing in the Pecos League. The better a player performed, the greater the possibility that another professional organization would take him away during the middle of a playoff race.
Trinidad Sends Players to Higher Levels
The 2014 Triggers became particularly successful at moving players to higher levels of professional baseball.
Johnny Bladel was moved from Trinidad to the Amarillo Thunderheads during July. Kevin McGovern was sent to the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association. After the season, Zach Leitten was moved to the Rio Grande Valley Roadrunners.
Those transactions demonstrated that professional organizations were watching what was happening in Trinidad. Players weren't simply coming to Central Park to complete another baseball season. For many of them, Trinidad was an opportunity to be seen and earn another job.
No transaction illustrated that better than the one involving Nick Rodesky.
Nick Rodesky Earns His Opportunity
Nick Rodesky had originally joined the Triggers during the middle of the 2013 season and returned to Trinidad in 2014. He spent the entire regular season with the club and became part of a pitching staff that helped Trinidad reach the playoffs for the third consecutive year.
Immediately following Trinidad's final regular-season game, Rodesky received the opportunity every Pecos League player was chasing.
The Philadelphia Phillies acquired Rodesky from the Trinidad Triggers on July 24, 2014.
Rodesky was sent into the Phillies' minor-league system and initially appeared at the Rookie level. He pitched in three games there and posted a 1.50 ERA before being promoted to the Phillies' Class-A affiliate in Lakewood, New Jersey.
It was a remarkable progression for a player who had been pitching at Trinidad Central Park only days earlier.
Rodesky's signing was also another example of the quality of players who had passed through Trinidad during the franchise's first three seasons. Eric Yardley, who had pitched for Trinidad in 2013, was already in the San Diego Padres organization during 2014 and would eventually reach Major League Baseball.
For players considering the Pecos League, Trinidad was developing a reputation as a place where a professional career could move forward.
The Triggers Battle Through the Northern Division
On the field, Trinidad remained competitive throughout the summer. The Triggers won 35 games and finished eight games over .500 at 35-27.
Central Park continued to provide Trinidad with a distinctive home-field environment. The Triggers produced several memorable offensive performances there, including a 13-4 victory over the Alpine Cowboys in early July. Trinidad also played numerous high-scoring games against Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Raton, Taos and the other teams on its schedule.
The games against Santa Fe became increasingly important as the season progressed.
The Fuego had developed into the strongest team in the Northern Division. Trinidad could compete with Santa Fe, including a 12-11 victory at Central Park on June 26, but the Fuego had the deeper regular-season run and ultimately finished 48-24.
Trinidad's 35 victories were enough to return the Triggers to the postseason.
For the third time in three seasons, Central Park had produced a Pecos League playoff team.
Trinidad and Santa Fe Meet in the Playoffs
The Northern Division playoff series matched two teams that knew each other extremely well.
Trinidad and Santa Fe had played repeatedly throughout the summer. There were few secrets between the clubs by the time the postseason arrived. Trinidad knew the Fuego lineup, Santa Fe knew the Triggers, and the series became a battle between two teams that had spent the entire season competing against each other.
Unlike Trinidad's playoff appearances in 2012 and 2013, the Triggers didn't go quietly.
The series went the full three games.
Trinidad won one game and pushed Santa Fe to a deciding Game Three before the Fuego finally eliminated the Triggers two games to one.
The loss ended Trinidad's season at the hands of a team that was about to make Pecos League history.
Santa Fe Goes on to Win the Championship
After defeating Trinidad, Santa Fe advanced to face the Alpine Cowboys in the Pecos League Championship Series.
Alpine had been the best regular-season team in the league at 48-20 and had the advantage of playing the championship series at historic Kokernot Field. The Cowboys appeared to have everything positioned for another Pecos League title.
Instead, Santa Fe defeated Alpine two games to one and won the 2014 Pecos League championship.
The Fuego became the first road team to win the Pecos League Championship Series, completing a postseason run that had begun with the three-game battle against Trinidad.
For the Triggers, losing to the eventual champions provided little consolation immediately after the series, but it demonstrated how close Trinidad had come. The Triggers had taken the eventual league champions to the deciding game of the Northern Division playoffs.
Three Seasons and Three Playoff Appearances
By the conclusion of 2014, the Trinidad Triggers had accomplished something impressive for such a young franchise.
They had never missed the playoffs.
Trinidad qualified in its inaugural 2012 season, returned in 2013 and qualified again in 2014. The organization had gone from an expansion team in a small Colorado market to one of the most consistent franchises in the Pecos League.
The results also showed steady progress. The Triggers were swept out of the playoffs in their first two seasons. In 2014, they pushed Santa Fe to a deciding third game.
Trinidad still hadn't reached the Pecos League Championship Series, but the organization was moving closer.
Central Park Becomes an Established Pecos League Home
The 2014 season also reinforced the relationship between the Triggers and Trinidad Central Park.
By this point, Central Park wasn't an experiment anymore. Professional baseball had become part of the summer schedule in Trinidad. Fans knew the Triggers, players knew what to expect when they arrived in town and the Pecos League viewed Trinidad as one of its established markets.
The television series had given Central Park national exposure, but the continuation of the team was ultimately more important than the television attention. The Triggers needed local fans to continue attending games, local businesses to support the organization and the community to continue embracing professional baseball.
Three consecutive playoff appearances helped make that possible.
More Than Wins and Losses
The lasting importance of the 2014 Trinidad Triggers season goes beyond the 35-27 record.
It was the year the rest of the country saw the Triggers on Fox Sports 1. It was the year Trinidad demonstrated that the success of the franchise wasn't dependent upon the television cameras being present. It was another playoff season, another winning record and another summer in which Central Park became one of the recognizable homes of the Pecos League.
Most importantly from a player-development standpoint, it was the season when Nick Rodesky went directly from the Trinidad Triggers into the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
That transaction represented the purpose of independent professional baseball at its best.
Rodesky came to Trinidad looking for an opportunity. He pitched for the Triggers, remained with the club through the regular season and earned the attention of an affiliated organization. Within days of completing Trinidad's regular season, he was pitching in the Phillies' farm system.
Other Triggers also moved to higher-level independent teams during the summer, further establishing Trinidad as a place where players could advance their careers.
The Triggers Continue Building Their Identity
The 2014 season ended one victory short of a trip to the next round, but Trinidad had established something much more sustainable than a single postseason result.
The Triggers had become a consistent winner.
Three seasons had produced three playoff appearances. J.D. Droddy had established himself as one of the recognizable managers in the Pecos League. Central Park had become one of the league's signature venues. Players were moving from Trinidad to higher levels of professional baseball, and the franchise had received national exposure through the Fox Sports 1 television series.
The next challenge was taking the final step from playoff participant to championship contender.
That opportunity would come quickly. The 2015 Trinidad Triggers would become the best team the franchise had fielded to that point, winning 43 regular-season games and taking another run at the Pecos League championship.
But the foundation for that success had already been built.
The 2014 Trinidad Triggers finished 35-27, reached the playoffs for the third consecutive season, pushed the eventual Pecos League champion Santa Fe Fuego to a deciding third game and sent Nick Rodesky into the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
It was another successful chapter in the rapid transformation of the Trinidad Triggers from a Pecos League expansion team into one of the league's most established franchises.
2014 Trinidad Triggers
Regular Season Record: 35-27
Manager: J.D. Droddy
Home Field: Trinidad Central Park
Postseason: Northern Division Playoffs
Northern Division Playoffs: Santa Fe Fuego defeated Trinidad Triggers 2 games to 1
Pecos League Champion: Santa Fe Fuego
MLB Organization Signing: Nick Rodesky - Philadelphia Phillies
Other Player Advancements: Johnny Bladel - Amarillo Thunderheads; Kevin McGovern - Lincoln Saltdogs
