Celebrating Black History Month: Highlighting Dickerson, Longmire & Neal
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 featured greats like Marlon Anderson, Ryan Howard, Aaron Judge, Wendell Magee and Jimmy Rollins..
This month, we have focused on Tony Barron, DJ Mitchell and Floyd Rayford as well as Austin Jackson, Kevin Jordan and Billy McMillon.
Last week, Lou Collier, Jamie Westbrook and Mason Williams were highlighted.
Chris Dickerson
Dickerson was initially drafted by New York in 2000 but chose to attend the University of Nevada after high school. The Yankees would eventually bring him into the fold, acquiring the outfielder in 2011 in a trade with Milwaukee. Dickerson appeared in 126 games for the SWB/ Empire State Yankees between 2011 and 2012, batting .282 with nine home runs, 41 runs batted in and 35 stolen bases. He also appeared in 85 games for the Yankees those seasons. His professional career spanned 15 years and 1,001 games.
Tony Longmire
Longmire was selected in the 8th round of the 1986 First-Year Player Draft by Pittsburgh out of Logan High School in Vallejo, California, and was traded to Philadelphia at the end of the 1990 season. He started 1991 with Reading in Double-A but jumped to the Red Barons squad for 36 games, batting .261 to close the year. After missing the 1992 campaign, Longmire came back to SWB strong in 1993. The outfielder hit .304 over 120 games for skipper George Culver’s team. Longmire hit six home runs and drove in 67 while leading the team in hits and doubles. Longmire was inducted into the Vallejo Sports of Fame in 2020.
Thomas Neal
Neal was drafted by San Francisco, came up through the Giants organization and excelled most every step along the way. In 2013, he signed with the Yankees as a free agent and appeared in 72 games for Dave Miley’s first-ever RailRiders club. Neal hit .325 with 17 doubles, two home runs and 29 runs batted in. He closed out his playing days in 2015 but served as a hitting coach in the Giants Minor League system for years.