by Fred Seely
Editorial Director
Whoever plays for Jacksonville’s minor league baseball team this year will be glad to read this next line:
Your bus will travel 2,000 fewer miles.
Whoever works for major league teams affiliated with the Southern League will be glad to read this one:
You can watch your team’s entire pitching rotation without leaving town.
The Southern League made a radical change this year, dumping the traditional schedule which had teams visit another city for a three or four-game series and then move on.
This year, all series will be five games and five days long. There will be 14 home series and a like number on the road. Past schedules typically had 18-19 series in each.
“It will save us about 2,000 miles on the bus,” said Suns President Peter Bragan Jr. “How many hours of driving is that? That’s a lot of wear and tear on people, not to mention on the bus. And how much gas will be saved?”
That’s for the players. Bragan said major league executives also will appreciate the change.
“A team typically has a five-man pitching rotation,” said Bragan. “In the old system, the executive wouldn’t see all the pitchers in one town. If he wanted to see everyone, he’d have to go to the next city.”
The Suns, who won the league championship last year, open the season on April 6 with Chattanooga visiting for five days. Birmingham then comes in for five before the Suns leave for Raleigh to play five there.
The schedule would seem to set up well for the team, traditionally a league power with players supplied by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Opening at home with 10 games is a major asset and they’ll close the season with 10 of the final 15 at home.