Jacksonville Suns

The wordmark "Suns" in blue outlined in yellow and red. Centered above the wordmark is the word "Jacksonville" in yellow outlined in red. Centered above "Jacksonville" is a yellow sun face outlined in red with red baseball threading.

Division titles

League titles

1968*, 1996, 2001, 2005

Manager

John Shoemaker

Owner

Peter D. Bragan, Sr

The Jacksonville Suns are a minor league baseball team that play in Jacksonville, Florida. The team is a member of the Southern League, is the Class AA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and won the AA championship in 2005. In the past the Suns have been affiliated with the Kansas City Royals (1972-1984), the Seattle Mariners (1991-1994), and the Detroit Tigers (1994-2000).

The team plays at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, an 11,000-person capacity park that opened in 2003.

1 Franchise history
2 Season-by-season records
3 2005 Roster
4 Other Notable Alumni Suns Players
5 Notable players who once played for a team in Jacksonville
6 External links

[edit] Franchise history

[edit] The Early Years

Jacksonville pro baseball was founded in 1904. It began when the Jacksonville Jays participated in the South Atlantic League. In those days, baseball was played at Dixieland Park in the Southside of town. Back then, most fans would have to ride ferries to attend the games because there were still no bridges connecting one side of the St. John's River to the other.

But even before then, in 1888, Jacksonville hosted Major League Baseball's first spring training as the Washington Statesmen hosted the Philadelphia Athletics, Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds and Boston Nationals. It has been said that the Brooklyn Dodgers actually owned ships which would dock at the Hogan Street pier.

All-time home run leader Hank Aaron was a Jacksonville Brave in 1953 and joined Felix Mantilla and two Savannah players to first integrate the South Atlantic League. Jacksonville fans were privileged to see a 19-year-old Aaron, freshly signed from Mobile, Ala. Managed by the legendary Ben Geraghty, whom Aaron called the kindest and best manager he ever played for, he garnered the Most Valuable Player award that season, batting .362 with 208 hits, 36 doubles, 125 runs batted in and 115 runs. The next season, Aaron was promoted to the Milwaukee Braves and began his run to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The '50s stabilized Jacksonville’s pro baseball circuit. The Braves made the playoffs six times in the decade, compiling a 770-665 (.537) record and capturing the 1956 South Atlantic League championship. Knuckleball expert Phil Niekro, who won 318 Major League games, also played for the Braves in the 1960 and was later inducted into Cooperstown.

[edit] Here come the Suns! 1961-1970

The South Atlantic League remained in Jacksonville through 1961, but pulled up stakes as Triple-A baseball settled in. The Cleveland Indians moved their International League team to the city in 1962 and the Suns were born. The Suns were affiliated with the Indians for two seasons, including in 1963 when Tommy John pitched. (He later won 288 major league games.) With Geraghty, who had been skipper of the Braves' Louisville Colonels AAA affiliate the previous year, brought back to manage in 1962, the Suns won 94 games and the regular-season pennant, but dropped the playoffs in seven games to the Atlanta Crackers. But Geraghty died suddenly from a heart attack on June 18, 1963, and the Suns fell to last place that season.

The St. Louis Cardinals were the Suns’ parent club in 1964-65. The 1964 Suns, managed by Harry "The Hat" Walker, captured the regular-season pennant. From 1966-68, the New York Mets took over the affiliation. The Mets brought Jacksonville two Hall of Fame pitchers – Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver – and its first franchise Championship in 1968. But the Mets were lured away from Wolfson Park by a new ballpark in Norfolk, Va., after the season; and for 1969, Jacksonville was without a professional baseball team for the first time since World War II.

[edit] The Southern League 1971-1999

The Southern League welcomed Jacksonville in 1970, where the team has played since. It is the longest consecutive association of any city with a Class AA league. Jacksonville owns the SL record for most playoff appearances, 14, but until 1996, the team had not captured a Southern League Championship. It remains the team’s 2nd outright league championship, though the Suns have reached the series finals 10 times.

Membership has its privileges and the Suns were treated to a good pipeline of talent from the Kansas City Royals. The Royals became the Suns’ in 1972 and remained through 1984. Suns teams marched their way to five Championship Series with the Royals as their parent club. Two future big league managers used Jacksonville as a stepping stone: Billy Gardner Sr., (1972-74) and Gene Lamont (1980-83). Both won Manager of the Year awards: Gardner in 1973 and Lamont in 1982.

In 1991, the Suns signed a four-year agreement with the Seattle Mariners. Although the team finished over .500 only once during this period, the team had a number of individuals who performed well and later went on to the Major Leagues. Bret Boone, Mike Hampton and Chris Widger are among those who left Jacksonville and played in the Major Leagues.

Seattle left for Wilmington, N.C., after the 1994 season and the Suns began a six-year run as an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. Things started to look brighter for the Suns future as Tigers' farm hands brought the Suns within one out of the playoffs in 1995 and then swept through the Southern League in 1996. The Suns captured both the first and second half championships before beating the Carolina Mudcats for the Eastern Division title and the Chattanooga Lookouts for their 2nd Championship. The Suns nearly won its third title in 1998. After winning the first half and owning the top record in the minor leagues, the Suns swept Knoxville in the first round of the playoffs before losing to Mobile in the finals.

And now, the Dodgers. Following the 2000 season, the Tigers left for Erie, Pa., and the Suns signed a four-year agreement with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Playing as an affiliate to one of the most storied franchises in all of professional sports, the Suns got off to a blazing start as they stormed to the first half crown in 2001. The Suns advanced to the finals, but because of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Southern League cancelled the games and declared the Suns and the Huntsville Stars co-champions. This was the Suns third Championship. The Suns reached the finals again in 2002, but were swept by the Birmingham Barons in three games.

The Suns began a new chapter in 2003 with the opening of the $34 million Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. The facility, built by Jacksonville taxpayers as part of the Better Jacksonville Plan, housed a franchise-record 359,979 fans in its inaugural season and surpassed that mark in year two, drawing 420,495 through the gates.

The Suns claimed their 4th Championship in the 2005 season.

[edit] Season-by-season records

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

Season	W	L	Finish	Playoff Results
1962	94	60	1st
1963	56	91	5th, South
1964	89	62	1st
1965	71	76	6th
1966	68	79	7th
1967	66	73	5th
1968	75	71	4th	International League Champions
1970	67	70	4th
1971	63	77	4th
1972	64	75	4th, East
1973	76	60	1st, East
1974	78	60	1st, East
1975	59	79	4th, East
1976	66	72	4th, East
1977	72	66	3rd, East
1978	73	69	2nd, East
1979	69	72	3rd, East
1980	63	81	5th, East
1981	65	77	4th, East
1982	83	61	1st, East
1983	77	68	2nd East
1984	76	69	3rd, East
1985-1990 Jacksonville Expos
1991	74	69	3rd, East
1992	68	75	3rd, East
1993	59	81	5th, East
1994	60	77	4th, East
1995	75	69	3rd, East
1996	75	63	1st, East	Southern League Champions
1997	66	73	3rd, East
1998	75	71	1st, East
1999	75	66	1st, East
2000	69	71	2nd, East
2001	83	56	1st, East	Southern League Co-Champions
2002	77	62	1st, East
2003	66	73	T-4th, East
2004	66	71	4th, East
2005	75	71	1st, South	Southern League Champions
2006	??	??	??	Lost in Divisional Series

* = Current Standing

[edit] 2005 Roster

50 Jonathan Broxton
45 William Juarez
31 Eric Hull
40 Luis Gonzalez
35 Chad Billingsley
38 Richard Bartlett
18 Alvis Ojeda
41 Joel Hanrahan
46 Justin Orenduff
30 Carlos Alvarez
40 Beltran Perez
25 Greg Miller
8 Russell Martin
14 Mike Nixon
22 James Loney
54 Joel Guzman
28 Brian Sprout
21 Sergio Garcia
17 Andy LaRoche
5 Tony Abreu
23 Adolfo Gonzalez
3 Todd Donovan
11 Jon Weber
15 Tydus Meadows
9 Nick Alvarez
A.J. Zapp

[edit] Other Notable Alumni Suns Players

Tom Seaver
Alex Rodriguez
Nolan Ryan

[edit] Notable players who once played for a team in Jacksonville

Hank Aaron
Phil Niekro
Tommy John
Randy Johnson

[edit] External links

Jacksonsville Suns official website

Los Angeles Dodgers Franchise
AAA	AA	A	Rookie
Las Vegas 51s	Jacksonville Suns	Inland Empire 66ers Great Lakes Loons	Ogden Raptors Gulf Coast Dodgers

Northern Division		Southern Division
Southern League
Carolina Mudcats \| Chattanooga Lookouts \| Huntsville Stars \| Tennessee Smokies \| West Tenn Diamond Jaxx		Birmingham Barons \| Jacksonville Suns \| Mississippi Braves \| Mobile BayBears \| Montgomery Biscuits

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Categories: Southern League (baseball) | Minor league baseball teams | Sports in Jacksonville

Jacksonville Suns

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