by Miranda G. McLeod
Staff Writer
Getting up early in the off-season to drive into town is not Sun’s general manager Peter “Pedro” Bragan Jr.’s idea of a good time. But in he drives, donning his Jacksonville Suns bomber jacket and Southern League title ring to speak to groups like the Downtown Council of the Chamber of Commerce.
Although the Suns season wrapped in August, it’s never too early to start thinking about baseball season, he said. The Suns opener is April 6 against the Chattanooga Lookouts and Bragan is on a quest for back-to-back Double-A Southern League titles. The last time a Southern League team won consecutive titles was in the mid-1970s by the Montgomery Rebels.
“The Suns have a real good chance to win back-to-back,” said Bragan. “This game is the center ring of our circus.”
Bragan said the 2006 team already looks good and will have a lot of young guys back from this year’s championship team. The goal for all — Southern League title included — is to make it to the majors and play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Sun’s Major League affiliate.
“You don’t have to be a fan to enjoy the game,” said Bragan, referring to the 360 degree concourse of the Baseball Grounds, which is a mecca for 20-somethings and dollar beers on Thursdays and family nights all season.
The ball park opened in 2003 and Bragan remembers battling the mayor’s office to keep corporate sponsorship from infringing on the ball park. It took several meetings (word is some of them were not so pleasant) with former Mayor Delaney and his Chief of Staff Sam Musa, as well as Bragan’s incessant lobbying, to keep the name of the stadium.
“We didn’t want a Publix Park or Winn-Dixie Stadium,” said Bragan.
In a half joking reference to the recent negotiations between the City and the Jacksonville Jaguars, Bragan said he was going to meet with Mayor John Peyton to talk about the Suns’ rent, too.
The Bragans have become a household name in Jacksonville and the Suns have always been a part of the community, said Bragan, who hails from Birmingham, Ala.
“We wanted to be a part of the community and work with charities and fundraisers,” he said.
Bragan visited 36 elementary schools speaking mostly with fifth graders during last year’s Catch Reading Fever initiative. He tried to cap it at 25, but doesn’t want to turn away schools.
Bragan goes to schools and challenges the fifth grade students to memorize Ernest Lawrence Thayer’s poem “Casey at the Bat.” Upon memorization, the students receive a baseball and bat. Casey’s Challenge is Bragan’s way of promoting literacy.
Bragan is staying pretty busy during this off-season. Besides his literacy program, he is taking care of his parents, Peter Sr. and Mary Francis, as neither are in very good health. He also returned from a trip to Memphis where he went to a minor league seminar to get ideas for the upcoming season.
Bragan said he’s looking for new food and beverage concessionaires, a sales and marketing person and new Sunbeams — the group that entertains the crowd between innings and helps with all the fan-based contests.
“I’m going through a lot of resumes right now,” said Bragan.
There also will be some other new recruits at the stadium. Southpaw, the Suns mascot, will have some new friends this upcoming season. Sunny the Bunny will be more visible as well as a green sea monster life guard named Sea More Baseball.
“I rented so many bunny costumes over the years, that I went ahead and bought one,” said Bragan.
Other things keeping Bragan busy are renewing sponsors, getting media sponsors and securing giveaways for special event games. The Suns have sponsorships ranging from the Justice Coalition to Duke’s Mayonnaise. The team also has deals with Comcast, which sponsors Monday night games, and NAPA Auto Care Centers, which sponsors the Friday night fireworks.
“September is pretty slack,” he said. “But once Oct. 1 rolls around, there’s a sales meeting every Monday.”
Things have to be done this early in the off-season because everything takes five months to get in and get back out, said Bragan.
“Now, I’m just sponsorship hustling,” he said.
There’s not much down time for Bragan, but when the opportunity arises he plays golf and goes fishing.
“I love Jacksonville. It’s one of the greatest communities,” said Bragan, who also gardens.
“ You can get two to three crops of tomatoes out if you hustle,” he said.