The Brevard County Manatees were a minor league baseball team of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League from 1994 to 2016. They were based in Viera, Florida, and played their home games at Space Coast Stadium. The team left Brevard County after the 2016 season for Kissimmee, Florida, where they began play in 2017 as the Florida Fire Frogs.
| Brevard County Manatees | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
| Previous classes | Class A-Advanced (1994–2016) | ||||
Previous leagues | Florida State League (1994–2016) | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Previous teams |
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| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles (1) | 2001 (co-champions) | ||||
| Division titles (3) |
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| Team data | |||||
| Name | Brevard County Manatees (1994–2016) | ||||
| Colors | navy blue, red, white | ||||
| Mascot |
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Previous parks | Space Coast Stadium (1994–2016) | ||||
The team′s mascot was a manatee. From 1994 to 2001, he was named Hugh Manatee (a pun on "humanity"), and from 2002 to 2016 he was known as Manny Manatee.
Team history
editIn 1994, the Manatees won the East Division title, but lost the Florida State League championship series to the Tampa Yankees in four games. They won the East Division again in 2001, but due to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks the league championship series was canceled and the Manatees and the West Division champion, the Tampa Yankees, were declared co-champions. In 2007, the Manatees won the North Division title but lost in the league championship series to the Clearwater Threshers in four games.
On August 12, 2009, the Manatees recorded the 1,000th win in franchise history with an 8–2 win over the Dunedin Blue Jays.
The Manatees were affiliated with the Florida Marlins from 1994 to 2001 and with the Montreal Expos from 2002 through 2004. From 2005 through 2016, they were an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.[1]
The Manatees played their last game on September 4, 2016, losing to the Daytona Tortugas 6–4 before a crowd of 1,573 at Space Coast Stadium.[2] After the 2016 season, the team relocated to Kissimmee, Florida, to play its home games at Osceola County Stadium.[3] The name of the team changed to the Florida Fire Frogs[4] and its affiliation switched from the Brewers to the Atlanta Braves.
Notable promotions
editIn April 2007, on "World Record First Pitch Attempt Day" the stadium was opened at 6:00 a.m. for the 7:00 p.m. game to allow each fan to throw a ceremonial first pitch. They were still short of the world record by several hundred pitches.
Notable alumni
editBaseball Hall of Fame alumni
edit- Andre Dawson (1995) 2010 Inductee
- Tim Raines (2004 as manager) 2017 Inductee
Notable alumni
edit- Orlando Arcia
- John Axford
- Josh Beckett
- Ryan Braun
- Hiram Burgos
- Josh Butler
- Lorenzo Cain
- Chad Cordero
- Tyler Cravy
- Khris Davis
- Ryan Dempster
- Alcides Escobar
- Yovani Gallardo
- Mat Gamel
- Scooter Gennett
- David Goforth
- Tom Gorzelanny
- Jim Henderson
- Félix Heredia
- Shawn Hill
- Jeremy Jeffress
- Taylor Jungmann
- Jonathan Lucroy
- Jorge Lopez
- Damien Magnifico
- Matt Mantei
- Mike McClendon
- Brian Meadows
- Randy Messenger
- Kevin Millar
- Jimmy Nelson
- Manny Parra
- Scott Podsednik
- Jay Powell
- Darrell Rasner
- Mike Redmond
- Michael Reed
- Édgar Rentería
- Yadiel Rivera
- Nate Robertson
- Tony Saunders
- Logan Schafer
- Grady Sizemore
- Brent Suter
- Joe Thatcher
- Luis Ugueto
- Carlos Villanueva
- Tyler Wagner
- Kelley Washington[5]
- Randy Winn
- Chris Young
Season-by-season results
edit| Brevard County Manatees | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Regular Season | Post-season | ||||
| Record | Win % | League | Record | Win % | Result | |
| 1994 | 78–61 | .561 | 2nd | 3–3 | .500 | Won East Division title vs West Palm Beach Expos, 2–0 Lost FSL Championship vs Tampa Yankees, 1–3 |
| 1995 | 61–74 | .452 | 12th | — | — | — |
| 1996 | 47–92 | .338 | 14th | — | — | — |
| 1997 | 62–76 | .449 | 12th | — | — | — |
| 1998 | 43–97 | .307 | 14th | — | — | — |
| 1999 | 61–74 | .452 | 12th | — | — | — |
| 2000 | 66–74 | .471 | 10th | — | — | — |
| 2001 | 80–55 | .593 | 1st | 2–1 | .667 | Won East Division title vs Vero Beach Dodgers, 2–1 FSL Championship series vs Tampa Yankees canceled due to September 11, 2001 attacks. Both teams are declared co-champions. |
| 2002 | 51–85 | .375 | 12th | — | — | — |
| 2003 | 65–66 | .496 | 7th | — | — | — |
| 2004 | 53–72 | .424 | 10th | — | — | — |
| 2005 | 63–73 | .463 | 10th | — | — | — |
| 2006 | 64–65 | .496 | 8th | — | — | — |
| 2007 | 74–62 | .544 | 4th | 3–4 | .429 | Won East Division title vs St. Lucie Mets, 2–1 Lost FSL Championship vs Clearwater Threshers, 1–3 |
| 2008 | 66–72 | .478 | 8th | — | — | — |
| 2009 | 79–48 | .622 | 1st | 0–2 | .000 | Lost North Division title vs Tampa Yankees, 0–2 |
| 2010 | 64–75 | .460 | 10th | — | — | — |
| 2011 | 62–76 | .449 | 11th | — | — | — |
| 2012 | 63–72 | .467 | 8th | — | — | — |
| 2013 | 66–68 | .493 | 7th | — | — | — |
| 2014 | 73–62 | .541 | 6th | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 55–80 | .407 | 9th | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 40–97 | .292 | 12th | — | — | — |
| Totals | 1,436–1,676 | .458 | — | 8–10 | .444 | 1 League Co-Championship; 3 Division Titles |
References
edit- ^ Anonymous, "Manatees Extend Affiliation With Brewers: Player Development Contract Now Runs Through the 2016 Season," milb.com, September 17, 2014 12:25 PM EDT.
- ^ Bonanno, Chris, "Fans reflect on Manatees’ final game in Brevard," floridatoday.com, September 5, 2016, 12:29 a.m. EDT.
- ^ Hill, Benjamin (September 16, 2016). "Braves move A Advanced club to Kissimmee". MiLB.com. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
- ^ "Team Name Revealed as Florida Fire Frogs". MiLB.com. October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ Wide Receiver, New England Patriots, was a prospect for the Florida Marlins and played in Brevard in 1998 and 1999