Celebrating Black History Month: Highlighting Barron, Mitchell & Rayford

Showcasing some of the best Black players in SWB franchise history

February 9, 2024

In celebration of Black History Month, throughout February, teams across Minor League Baseball are looking back at some of the best Black players to suit up for their club. While some of these standout performers from across the sport went on to long and illustrious Major League careers, others simply

In celebration of Black History Month, throughout February, teams across Minor League Baseball are looking back at some of the best Black players to suit up for their club.

While some of these standout performers from across the sport went on to long and illustrious Major League careers, others simply had great Minor League careers. Some were notable for their presence, both on and off the field. And, in a few cases, some had that one incredible season that went down as “a year for the ages.”

Over the month, we will highlight some of the best Black baseball players to ever suit up for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

In the past, we have highlighted greats like Marlon Anderson, Ryan Howard, Aaron Judge, Wendell Magee and Jimmy Rollins.

Tony Barron

Barron was initially drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers and signed with Philadelphia as a free agent before the 1997 season. The outfielder appeared in 194 games over two seasons with the Red Barons, hitting .298 with 36 home runs and 140 runs batted in. Barron was truly a professional hitter, finishing his 16-year professional career with a .300 batting average between the Majors, Minors and Foreign Leagues over 1602 games played.

DJ Mitchell

Mitchell was selected by the Yankees in the 10^th round of the 2008 Draft out of Clemson and made his SWB Yankees debut in his second professional season. Over three seasons with SWB, Mitchell appeared in 46 games, starting 41 of them, going 21-13 with a 3.81 earned run average. His 3.18 ERA in 2011 remains seventh-best in any single season in franchise history.

Floyd Rayford

Rayford spent the final three seasons of a 16-year career as part of the first Red Barons teams. Though he only appeared in 81 games, “Sugar Bear” was a fan-favorite and clubhouse presence for those early Bill Dancy-led clubs. At the tail-end of his playing days, Rayford went into coaching and even spent the 1996 campaign as the manager for the Phillies' short-season club in Batavia, leading the Clippers to a 42-33 record.