Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008

Pelicans set plenty of records

WOODBRIDGE, VA.| Myrtle Beach was unable to capture the Carolina League's Mills Cup as Pelicans teams in 1999 and 2000 had done, but the 2008 version of the Atlanta Braves' Class-A affiliate set standards that future Myrtle Beach squads will be chasing.

The Pelicans rewrote the 10-year franchise record book, setting a plethora of team and individual records.

Foremost among them were 89 wins, which were the most in all of minor league baseball this season, and 242,397 home spectators.

``The numbers don't lie. This was the best team in the regular season in minor league baseball,'' said Pelicans managing partner Chuck Greenberg. ``And I can't say enough about the great job the Braves have done in the past couple years in drafting and developing players. The pipeline looks good. ... We're proud to be affiliated with the Braves and we're looking forward to many great years and a lot of fun nights at the ballpark to come.''

The Pelicans set at least 14 team records for a season, and individual players set career records in at least two categories and season records in at least seven categories.

The most notable accomplishments were all offensive for Myrtle Beach. About the only team pitching record broken, other than wins, was 51 saves.

First baseman Ernesto Mejia had what has to be considered the most impressive offensive season in team history. He set records for at-bats (519), doubles (46), RBIs (93), runs scored (93) and extra-base hits (73). Catcher Tyler Flowers also set marks with 98 walks and a .427 on-base percentage.

``I'm very proud of these kids,'' Pelicans manager Rocket Wheeler said. ``These kids played their butts off all year long.''

Some of the other more notable team records set included:

153 home runs| The previous record of 105 set in 1999 was shattered. The Pelicans never had more than five players with 10 or more home runs. This year eight players had 11 or more while playing in a home stadium known as a pitcher's park. Considering the team record is 23, an amazing seven players had 16 or more, led by Mejia's 21. Mejia added three in the playoffs.

764 runs scored| The previous record was what seems like a paltry 637 in 1999. Nine players scored more than 55 runs.

705 RBIs| Another record that was annihilated. The previous mark was 578 in '99. Eight players had 56 or more, and the previous Pelicans individual record was 81.

518 walks| For all the slugging the Pelicans did, they were also patient at the plate, breaking the previous walks record set in 2006 by 34.

The attendance marks and on-field performance are what Greenberg and others in his ownership group believed was possible when they purchased the team from Capitol Broadcasting two years ago.

``One of the things we wanted to do was completely re-create the experience at the ballpark with more people and more energy and more fun, and this year it really felt like what we have in mind,'' Greenberg said. ``Setting the attendance record was terrific, but most importantly it's the foundation to get even better in the future, and we're looking forward to just continuing to build that fan base and build a following and have this be one of the great franchises in the country.''

Contact ALAN BLONDIN at 843-626-0284.