The Nationals are back in Syracuse

The Washington Nationals and Syracuse Chiefs today announced that the clubs have signed a two-year Player Development Contract. Nationals President Stan Kasten, Nationals Senior Vice President and General Manager Jim Bowden, Nationals Assistant General Manager and Vice President/Player Development Bob Boone and Director of Player Development Bobby Williams made the joint announcement.

"We are thrilled to be affiliating ourselves with the Syracuse Chiefs, the City of Syracuse and baseball fans throughout Central New York," said Kasten. "Chiefs fans will soon discover that we are deep into a process during which we have reinvigorated both our scouting department and player development system. The results thus far have been beyond our expectations and we believe this process will now bear fruit in Syracuse."

Chiefs General Manager John Simone added, "the Syracuse Chiefs are pleased to enter into a relationship with the Lerner Family and the Washington Nationals Baseball Club. We are excited about their commitment to player development and the outstanding staff of baseball personnel that Stan Kasten has put together. It's a great opportunity for the people of Syracuse to visit their major league affiliate in the Nation's Capital and be part of something exciting in the D.C. community."

The Nationals and Chiefs will formally announce their new partnership at a 1:00 p.m. press conference on Monday, September 22 at Alliance Bank Stadium in Syracuse, NY. Kasten, Bowden, Boone and Williams will be present and participate in the event.

The Syracuse Chiefs entered the International League in 1936 and have been a continuous member of the IL since 1961. The Chiefs reside the IL's six-team North Division with Buffalo, Rochester, Lehigh Valley, Pawtucket and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Four of the Chiefs' five division rivals are located within a 200-mile radius of Syracuse.

The Nationals have again compacted the geographical footprint of its affiliates. By partnering with Syracuse, the Nationals' Triple-A affiliate is now closer to the Nation's Capital, and just 250 miles north of Harrisburg, the Nationals' Double-A Eastern League affiliate, on Interstate-81.

The Chiefs currently play in 11,117-seat Alliance Bank Stadium, which opened 1997. Last season, after a decade of baseball on artificial turf, the Chiefs installed a natural-grass surface that has been met with rave reviews. Alliance Bank Stadium also houses one of the finest indoor hitting facilities in minor-league baseball.

The Chiefs-who have won eight Governors' Cup titles (1935, '42. '43, '47, '54, '69, '70, '76)-recently ended a 31-year working relationship with the Toronto Blue Jays. The partnership between the Chiefs and Washington is not new, as in 1962, the Chiefs hosted players from both the Washington Senators and New York Mets.

Carlos Delgado, Ron Guidry, Roy Halladay, Thurman Munson, Deion Sanders and Vernon Wells are among those who have enjoyed playing stints in Syracuse during their minor-league careers. Current Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox skippered the Chiefs to their most recent Governors' Cup in 1976.

At 432-405, the Nationals' minor-league system posted a winning record in 2008 and their .516 winning percentage ranked ninth among baseball's 30 franchises. Both Potomac of the Single-A Carolina League and the Nationals' entry in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League won league championships in 2008.