| Jackson Generals Founded in 1998 Jackson, Tennessee |
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| Minor league titles | |||
| League titles | 2000 | ||
| Division titles | 1999, 2000, 2005 | ||
| Owner(s)/Operated by: Generals Baseball | |||
| Manager: Jim Pankovits | |||
| General Manager: Tom Hanson | |||
The Jackson Generals are a minor league baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The team is located in Jackson, Tennessee, and plays their home games at Pringles Park; opened in 1998, the park currently holds 6,000 fans.
From their inaugural season until 2010, the Generals were known as the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx. The new name is reflective of the Jackson Generals minor league team based in Jackson during the first half of the 20th century.
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The Generals began play as the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx in Jackson, Tennessee in 1998 as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. In the following season, 1999, manager Dave Trembley led the team to win the West Division title. They went on to play in the Southern League Championship series where they were defeated by the Orlando Rays, three games to one. The Diamond Jaxx also hosted the SL All-Star Game that season.
The 2000 team was managed by Dave Bialas and featured such future major league stars as Carlos Zambrano and Corey Patterson. The team also won its first, and only, SL Championship. They defeated the Birmingham Barons (3–2) to win the West Division title, and then beat the Jacksonville Suns (3–2) to take the league title.
The Diamond Jaxx's worst season came in 2001 when the team won only 59 games and lost 80, finishing with a .424 average, their worst average to-date. In 2002, the team lost the West Division Championship to the Birmingham Barons, two games to three.
In 2005, Nomar Garciaparra played in four games for the Diamond Jaxx. The team, managed by Bobby Dickerson, returned to post-season action for the first time since 2002. They won the North Division Championship versus the Carolina Mudcats before losing the league championship to the Jacksonville Suns, one game to three.
After the 2005 season, the team considered a move to South Carolina, citing financial problems, but team owner Bob Lozinak was denied permission by Major League Baseball.[1] They later signed a three-year lease to play at Pringles Park through the 2008 season.
Following the 2006 season, the Diamond Jaxx ended their affiliation with the Cubs. Team ownership made an attempt to sell the team to a group of investors in Florida which was approved by the city, but failed to meet deadlines for approval by MLB, Minor League Baseball, and the Southern League.[1]
The Diamond Jaxx began their affiliation with the Seattle Mariners in 2007. They finished the season with a .432 winning percentage.
On October 2, 2007, The Tennessean, reported that the team's owners entered into an agreement to sell the team to a group of Nashville-based investors. Low attendance and financial problems were cited as reasons for the sale. One of the new owners is Reese Smith III, who is also a minority partner in the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. The new owners planned to keep the team in Jackson for the 2008 season in an attempt to increase attendance and break even (financially).[1] The sale was approved by the Southern League during the 2007 Baseball Winter Meetings.[2] The majority owner will be David Freeman, who is also the majority owner of the Nashville Predators.[3]
On September 6, 2010, the team announced that they were retiring the Diamond Jaxx nickname after the 2010 SL playoffs, rebranding as the Jackson Generals for 2011 and beyond.[4]
| West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (Southern League) | |||||||||
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| Year | Regular Season | Post-season | |||||||
| Record | Win % | Finish* | Record | Win % | Result | ||||
| 1998 | 66–74 | .471 | 3rd | – | – | ||||
| 1999 | 84–57 | .596 | 1st | 4–4 | .500 | Won West Division Championship vs Chattanooga Lookouts, 3–1 Lost SL Championship vs Orlando Rays, 1–3 |
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| 2000 | 80–58 | .580 | 1st | 6–4 | .600 | Won West Division Championship vs Birmingham Barons, 3–2 Won SL Championship vs Jacksonville Suns, 3–2 |
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| 2001 | 59–80 | .424 | 5th | – | – | ||||
| 2002 | 73–67 | .521 | 3rd | 2–3 | .400 | Lost West Division Championship vs Birmingham Barons, 2–3 | |||
| 2003 | 65–73 | .471 | 4th | – | – | ||||
| 2004 | 70–68 | .507 | 3rd | – | – | ||||
| 2005 | 83–56 | .597 | 1st | 4–3 | .571 | Won North Division Championship vs Carolina Mudcats, 3–0 Lost SL Championship vs Jacksonville Suns, 1–3 |
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| 2006 | 75–65 | .536 | 2nd | – | – | ||||
| 2007 | 60–79 | .432 | 4th | – | – | ||||
| 2008 | 70–68 | .507 | 3rd | 0–3 | .000 | Lost North Division Championship vs Carolina Mudcats, 0–3 | |||
| Totals | 776–745 | .510 | – | 16–17 | .485 | 1 League Championship | |||
| Note: * Finish denotes their position in their divisional standings. | |||||||||
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Many current and former major leaguers have played for the Diamond Jaxx/Generals. A list of notable players includes:
The Generals' current, and only, ballpark is Pringles Park. The park, which is owned by the City of Jackson, was opened in 1998 and seats 6,000 fans.
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| Seattle Mariners franchise | |||
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| Triple-A | Double-A | Class A | Rookie |
| Tacoma Rainiers | Jackson Generals |
High Desert Mavericks Clinton LumberKings Everett AquaSox |
Pulaski Mariners AZL Mariners DSL Mariners VSL Mariners |
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