IronPigs and Phillies Renew Affiliation Thru 2016

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs announced today that they will remain the Triple-A team for the Phillies through 2016, a four year extension and the maximum extension allowed under the current agreement between Major and Minor League Baseball. 50 players and 1 coach have made the leap “From the ‘Pigs to the Bigs”, including 10 current members of the 25-man roster.

The Pigs set a franchise record last year with 80 wins, coming two wins shy in the Triple-A championship from winning the club’s first Triple-A championship since 1983. They currently lead the International League’s North Division and will release 2012 Playoff Packages for sale to the general public at 10 AM on July 31.

Coca Cola Park has been the site of 2012 rehabs for Chase Utley and Ryan Howard and in the past has hosted Shane Victorino, Brad Lidge, Pedro Martinez, and Roy Oswalt. From the team’s press release:

Coca-Cola Park and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs have received numerous honors and distinctions since debuting, including Ballpark Digest’s “Ballpark of the Year” award and “Best Game Operations and Presentation” award as chosen by gameops.com.  Since 2008, the IronPigs have drawn 2,914,177 fans to Minor League Baseball’s flagship ballpark and have led Minor League Baseball in overall attendance each of the last three seasons.