by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
The Jacksonville Suns will see some new promotions and advertisers this year, but most everything else will remain the same for the baseball team in 2007.
One thing that won’t change at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville is the faces. A few new Sun Beams might dance atop the dugouts, but the front office and coaching staff from last year are intact.
“We have a new intern, but no one left from last year,” said Kirk Goodman, who’s entering his second year as the team’s general manager. “That’s different. Usually there’s some turnover.”
The 2007 season’s biggest promotion will be the Saturday tributes to the 1968 team that won the International League title as a Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. That team featured Hall of Fame pitchers Nolan Ryan (1999) and Tom Seaver (1992) as well as longtime Major League relief pitcher, the late Tug McGraw. During Ryan’s 27-year career, he compiled a record of 324-292. He is also the Major League record holder for strikeouts (5,714) and no-hitters (8).
The Suns were an affiliate of the Mets for three years. The year after the title, the Mets moved the team to a new ballpark in Norfolk, Va. and Jacksonville was without a professional baseball team for the first time since World War II.
Goodman said the Suns — the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers — will honor that championship team on Saturdays when the team will wear throwback jerseys, including stirrups and 1960s-style hats.
“We will have a bobble head of Nolan Ryan and replica jerseys that we will auction off,” said Goodman, who is spending much of the off season lining up new advertisers and re-signing last year’s. “We have signed Saturn of Jacksonville and we haven’t lost anybody yet. We still have some things in the works. We will also have the Chicken back and two good Christian concerts.”
In addition to Ryan and McGraw, the Suns will also have bobble head nights featuring former Suns James Loney and Matt Kemp. Both players started last year with the Double-A Suns and were called up by the Dodgers during the season.
Goodman said he’s not sure of the makeup of the team; much of that will be determined when the entire Dodgers organization reports to Vero Beach in mid-February.
However, John Shoemaker is back for his third consecutive year as manager and fourth overall. Danny Darwin and Luis Salazar are also back as pitching and hitting coaches, respectively. One new face in the dugout is athletic trainer Yosuke “Possum” Nakajima.
“The Dodgers have put together an incredible staff for this year’s team,” said Suns President Peter Bragan, Jr. “Shoe is one of the best managers the Suns have ever had, both on the field and off, and having Danny Darwin back and adding Luis Salazar to work with him gives me a lot to look forward to this season. With this staff, I feel confident that we can make it back to the top of the Southern League.”
The Suns open the 2007 Southern League season on April 5 against the Tennessee Smokies. Season tickets, sponsorships and group tickets for the Suns’ 70-game regular season are currently on sale.