Question and Answer Time

Published on January 6, 2007 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Brevard County Manatees News Release


I know you said John Tamargo and Fred Dabney will be back as Manager and Pitching Coach, who will be our Hitting Coach this season?

Ken Berry is slated to be the Brevard County Manatees Hitting Coach. here's some background on Ken's career:

From www.BaseballLibrary.com:

An extraordinary outfielder, Berry won two Gold Gloves. Leaping catches above the Comiskey Park fence became his trademark. An All-Star with the White Sox in 1967 when he had a 20-game hitting streak, Berry batted over .280 only twice, in 1972 and '73 with the Angels. From September 16, 1971 through July 27, 1973, he accepted a record 510 consecutive outfield chances without an error. (JCA)

From www.wikipedia.com

Allen Kent Berry (born May 10, 1941 in Kansas City, Missouri) is a former Major League Baseball center fielder. He was signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before the 1961 season. He played for the White Sox from 1962 until he was traded in 1970 to the California Angels. He also played for the Milwaukee Brewers and finished his career with the Cleveland Indians. Ken won the Gold Glove Award for his play in the outfield in 1970 and 1972. He played his final major league baseball game on May 31, 1975. Berry was named to the American League All-Star team in 1967, when his White Sox battled the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, and Minnesota Twins for the pennant all the way down to the last few days of the season. He led league outfielders in putouts once (1965) and in fielding percentage three times (1970, 1972, and 1973). He tied for the league lead once each in assists and double plays, both in 1972. Career batting totals for 1,383 games played include 1,053 hits, 58 home runs, 343 RBI, and a lifetime batting average of .255. Career highlights include: a 20-consecutive-game hitting streak (May 28, 1967 - June 15, 1967), eight 4-hit games...the most impressive being three singles and a home run vs. the New York Yankees (June 7, 1970), thirty-nine 3-hit games, one 5-RBI game, including a grand slam against Detroit Tigers right-hander Joe Sparma (June 15, 1968), three 4-RBI games, including a pair of two-run homers vs. the Kansas City Royals (May 15, 1970), hit a combined .343 (102-for-297) against All-Stars Mike Cuellar, Tommy John, Mickey Lolich, Lindy McDaniel, Denny McLain, Dave McNally, Stu Miller, John O'Donoghue, and Dick Radatz, hit a combined .278 (22-for-79) against Hall of Famers Catfish Hunter, Gaylord Perry, and Nolan Ryan.

When you get down to it, the Manatees Coaching staff will be deep in experience again this season.

I want to pick out a seat for a season ticket. How does that work?

Anybody that wants a season ticket, the best season ticket package in pro sports history, can email Kyle Smith at ksmith@spacecoastsadium.com and Kyle will get you out to the stadium to test drive a seat (when they're replaced in the seating frames after repainting). You can stop by anytime and get with Kyle and he'll walk with you out to the seating bowl, show you what's available and give you the laundry list of perks that come with a 2007 season ticket, including assigned paved parking. Manatees Season Tickets are only $280 (or $4 per game) and all you need to get rockin' is a $50 deposit per seat. Of course we will take payments or wait until your income tax refund comes in or when that bet you placed back in September on the New Orleans Saints to win the Super Bowl pays off at 150:1 in February. We work payments into every season ticket holders budget...call Kyle at (321) 633-9200 x3007 for more information. Season Tickets save you 43% off the Box Office price and you get all the perks.

Where can I sign my son (or daughter) up for your baseball camp?

Shoot an email to info@spacecoaststadium.com and we'll email you a registration form. The four-day June camp is limited to 150 campers and the cost is $100. All campers receive a camp t-shirt, baseball, graduation certificate and a season ticket. You can wait to sign your son or daughter up for this camp, but if you wait until the season begins you kid will miss out on free Manatees baseball, so in the words of Larry, the Cable Guy..."Git 'er done."

Can I come out to see the renovation work being done at the stadium?

Anytime you want, but for those that want to get some quick glances can log onto our web site at www.manateesbaseball.com because Scott Pinner, our guru of everything Medianess, will keep current photos of the construction projects on-line. Currently the stadium is getting a fresh coat of paint inside and out as our Booster Club members found out last night...love those fumes, huh? Anybody wanting to check in on the action may stop by...park in gate #4 next to the AAA Field so your car won't be in the way of construction vehicles and you won't get a dusting of paint.

What's the dealy-o with the Booster Club? How do I join the Booster Club? I don't have a lot of free time but I want to join the Booster Club, what do I do?

The Manatees new Booster Club is now rockin' and rollin' with 30 members and growing daily. I can't thank the members of the Booster Club enough for getting this program off the ground this season. Fans, the cost is minimal to join and the impact you'll make and experience you will have will we worth it. There's no age limit to join the club, kids are welcome as well as adults! I know I speak for the entire Manatees and Milwaukee Brewers organizations when I say thank you to the Booster Club members for the time, effort and dedication in making this club a reality. Thanks to the Daytona Cubs Booster Club for your suggestions, ideas and assistance as well! We're planning a post-game even that both Booster Clubs can partake in later this season. If you want more information on the Manatees Booster Club, email BoosterClub@spacecoaststadium.com and club members will get back to you shortly on all of your questions.

When will the next Treasure Hunt begin? You said that the Manatees would have another Treasure Hunt this fall or winter. When does it begin? What's the update on another Treasure Hunt?Ah, the questions have begun to stream in about our Treasure Hunt.

Treasure Hunt II has already begun.

If you live locally in the Viera area and read the Viera Sun you knew it was Game On like Donkey Kong on December 29th because Lyn Dowling told you so in her article....hey, if you don't read your Viera Sun maybe you should think twice about that. If you don't receive it I suggest stopping by the USA Today/Florida Today offices on US 1 and grabbing yourself a free copy from the rack in the lobby because I can assure you that a future clue will show up in it's pages before this contest ends and whether that clue helps you or not is your risk.

For everybody else, a little history for you....Last season we hid a Manatees coin in the county and offered clues to its whereabouts and for the lucky finder, a lifetime Brevard County Manatees season ticket. When that contest was over many of you asked for another contest.

We obliged and in August we wrote in an email newsletter that this fall/winter we would begin another contest. You can dig back into your archives and see for yourself.

We said that if you want to be kept in the loop that you should read our Game Day Program the last month of the season because we'd update you on our next Treasure Hunt in those pages. Those that read our Game Day Program and were paying attention found that clue in our A-Z Section under the letter T for Treasure Hunt (go back and look at old issues for yourself, I'll wait)...if you found that clue we asked you to send us an email and you'd be added to a update list and that we'd notify you when the next Treasure Hunt would begin. Only five Manatees fans found that clue and emailed us. We then hid a 2nd coin in Brevard County and wrote an email to those five fans that stated when the game would begin and that once again it was time to start reading our email newsletters very closely because clues would be dropped into almost every one of them.

For example, on New Year's Day we sent out the following text (and if you paid attention you'd see the letters of each of those paragraphs directed you to bcmanatees.net where you were briefed on the Treasure Hunt (below is the original text of the New year's Day email newsletter):

We spent New Year's Eve with some Manatees fans and we were reliving some of the more memorable moments of this past season. Because we're beginning a new season and year, I wanted to refresh your memories one last time with these moments in Manatees history:

Gallardo's remarkable season...what can you say.he was simply en fuego. Or Braun's throw's from third. Or Sollmann's clutch hits and everyday hustle.we could go on and on about some of the guys from last season, but the bottom line is that we had a very talented team...seven of the guys were elected to the league's All-Star game and that's a reflection of the direction the Milwaukee Brewers are headed.

Our PA messages providing the update from the Ketchikan , Alaska , Little League this past season. What happens when you're going stir crazy? Staff member Kyle Smith showed us how outlandish you can get when he began dropping in the Ketchikan Little League updates into the nightly script this past season. The reaction on the fans' faces said it all. The updates were all factual, all actual game summaries from a Little League team from the land of the midnight sun near the Arctic Circle . Who knows what Little League team we'll have featured this season?

Two Manatees players voted as the top player and pitcher in the Milwaukee Brewers organization (Ryan Braun & Yovani Gallardo). Both moved up to AA and we're recognized at Miller Park in late September.

Overall, I think we had six fireworks shows, but the one on the 20th of July was pretty memorable although the fireworks company goofed the main spectacular kickoff of it.we re-enacted the final scene of the movie 'The Natural' and a rocket was supposed to go screaming from home plate to the top of the batter's eye on a small, thin cable, but a kink in the cable stopped it short of it's target...the effect was still there, but oh, what could've been.

Brendan Katin's Game-Winning 3-run blast in game one of a doubleheader on August 18th that just caused the biggest vacuum in an open stadium in sports history.I was in the autograph pit with a couple staff members and some media folks.I saw Kate come out and I said, "Here's the guy that can get it done right now." His theme song came on: "I'm a hard working man...." and he jacked a pitch into the stratosphere for a three-run walk-off home run...the only thing that could've made it better was having Bob Uecker utter his famous phrase, "Get Up, Get Up...Get Outta Here...GONE!" That moment just took the wind out of the St Lucie Mets and I read the lips of Mets Manager Gary Carter and I can't reprint those words here, but the entire crowd inhaled all at once, like they just all got caught off-guard and if it could've been measured it would've registered on the Hoover or Dyson vacuum scale. The silence ended and the crowd went nuts. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.it was like we all knew it was going to happen.

Cubs Hitting Coach Richie Zisk opened the clubhouse door to the visitor's dugout and water poured in because the dugouts were completely flooded and the water had risen up the ramp to the clubhouse doors. We had (count 'em) 11 rainouts this past season and that led the entire Minor Leagues.you just can't fight and win against Mother Nature on a bad day. Heck, you can't beat her on a good day either!

Masa Koyanagi, our Japanese Athletic Trainer, and his passion for Karaoke.someday there'll be a movie about the life and times of Masa and I hope the Manatees get a few minutes on the big screen because he made life enjoyable for us.

All the kids running to Who Let the Dogs Out with then-intern Meagan Gonser leading the way trying not to get run over.

Negro League Tribute Night with Doc Graham. Doc volunteered to come down to Brevard County from Daytona Beach free of charge just to tell the story of the Negro Leagues to Manatees fans. He's just a classy guy who knows-just like the late Buck O'Neill-that if baseball gave you the opportunity to play you ultimately have to pay it back and Doc's the epitome of a baseball ambassador.

An Arcade and Kids Zone installed in the stadium gave the younger fans a chance to burn off some energy before the ride home.look for a few more changes for this season.

Thirst Aid Thursday. Enuff said. Party on, Wayne . Party on, Garth.

Eliminating paying for parking, fans saved $3 by the carload.

Everybody said we couldn't do it, but 5,906 Honorary First Pitches happened and then couldn't be officially counted because after throwing all those pitches our game was rained out and you can't have first pitches without a baseball game.my arm's sore just thinking about that day...we opened the gates at 6:00 am for a 6:00 pm doubleheader.

Steve Hammond's June 1st performance against the Lakeland Tigers.Steve-O went 8.1 innings, allowed five hits, walked one and whiffed eight in the 7-0 shut-out.completely dominating. We had some really remarkable pitching performances this last season by a host of Aces, but this one really stuck out in my head as a complete shut-down because for a Minor League guy Steve-O had so much confidence on this night. I watched him come off between innings and you could read it on his face; he wasn't going to be shut down. He was everything you wanted in a pitcher on this night and you can use every cliché you've ever heard on SportsCenter to describe him, but I think Stuart Scott's 'cooler than the other side of the pillow' sums up Steve-O's outing against the Tigers.

Dress Like a Pirate Night where Manatees fans came to the yard dressed like privateers, mutineers, scallywags and pirates, all for prizes. Next season's DLAP Night is scheduled for late May to coincide with the release of Pirates of the Caribbean III.

Our two chaplains, Donnie Legg and Abraham Medina, for keeping us all on the straight and narrow...there aren't two other chaplains out there that go above and beyond the call of duty on their free time than these two! This duo didn't just minister to the players, coaches and staff, but they even renewed wedding vows and performed weddings for fans at home plate at Space Coast Stadium...their assignment to us is, well, a Godsend.

The Milwaukee Brewers organization for agreeing to four more years with the Manatees. We're extremely proud to be a part of the Brewers family and I think this season many of you saw it for yourselves how classy an organization they really are.

Nothing compares to coming to work like showing up at the yard knowing you'll be surrounded by crazed, loyal Manatees fans that continue to support the future of the Brewers. From young to old, you're our extended family and having your friendly faces in the ballpark every night makes it fun, exciting and much easier to absorb those long, long game days.

Every single one of our corporate partners that went above and beyond to make the season fun and enjoyable.I could type at length here, but could never thank them all.there are guys like Kirk Kaye of Gator Rents that ensures that our interns and players have household items, that the new Gator Rents Party Zone has cool electronic gizmos and that when we want to host a World Series Party and need big screens, he always comes thru...guys like Bob Straub of McDonald's who always covers the associated costs of our Family Sunday promotion where fans can get the entire family in for $5. Our corporate partners are the reason we can do so many promotions and special events and we can't thank them enough.

They said it'll be an obnoxious promotion. They said don't order them. They said fans would hate 'em. We decided that Space Coast Stadium's atmosphere was on life support long enough and that it was either time to revive the patient or bury it. We decided to kick up the amps a few notches and bring some life back to the seating bowl. Say it with me: "More cowbells!" Those couple cowbell giveaway nights caused a lot of heartburn in other ballparks thanks to Manatees fans. I predict a few other FSL teams will be giving out cowbells this season because of how obnoxious they can really be.there's nothing like drowning out a team's home crowd with a handful of Manatees fans on the road with cowbells. If you can't handle the noise, we suggest a nice library or coffee shop because we're going to make it louder and more interesting this season.

See it?

Once at www.bcmanatees.net you would've received the first clue to the coin's location.

Every newsletter this year has had a clue hidden in it, so even if you don't find the clue at first glance DO NOT DELETE those emails because you're going to need them later! At least cut-and-paste the text into a text document and save it for future use.

Now if you're feeling like you got left on the starting line, don't feel bad because you have the opportunity to play catch up because the search for the coin just began a week ago and if you go back and re-read your emails you'll get caught up...at least save those emails.

What's the prize for finding this coin?

A pair of lifetime season tickets and the perks that come with it. But don't even begin to think that this search will be over in 13 days like last year's Treasure Hunt. You had better bring your A-Game for this one because you will work for this coin. This contest will not end until somebody finds the coin, whether that's next week or next year...we have all the time in the world, that's why they're lifetime tickets.

Now, if you're looking for a family hobby, there's none better than combining forces to find this coin. It just comes down to how bad you want it.

This week's clue isn't hidden, but it's a cryptogram...solve it and get a lead on everybody else. Those that don't solve this clue will get this clue down the road at a date to be named later:

YKVX JK N CELBNJX VXXJLIO JK EXYXLBX JFX IXSJ YTRX: PLS CV, HKREJF HTKKE NJ JFX PJNMLRV KI HELMNQ JFX JZXTHJF KH WNIRNEQ.

Seriously, if I were you I would make this a family project because you're going to need help.

Our final question: Why are Sunday games going to be moved up to 1:00 pm when they were 4:00 pm last season?

When a lot of fans requested our Sunday game times be moved back to 4:00 pm last season (from 1:00 pm) we listened to the various reasons, church, Sunday dinner, beach time, etc. Then a funny thing happened. Our Sunday attendance really didn't increase dramatically like what should have happened. In fact, because of moving the game back three hours we now faced the later afternoon thunderstorms that plague Florida in June, July and August. Therefore, primarily based on the weather our Sunday games will be played at 1:00 pm to get ahead of Mother Nature. Last season those 11 rain outs were tops in the entire Minor Leagues! We will take every measure necessary to cut that number down to size. Other benefits to a 1:00 pm start time include exposing the players to playing night games followed by daytime games like many MLB teams do, fans, players and coaches having their Sunday nights off and if we do get rain we have longer to make a decision on a rain out so we can avoid having to schedule a DH for the next day. We have seven Sunday home games scheduled this season and two of those games are scheduled for a six pm start time because of the amount of travel the visiting teams have to make (Minor League Baseball forbids games beginning before 4:00 pm when the visiting team must travel more than 150 miles when they played a night game the day before). Therefore, our Sunday games on July 15th vs Dunedin and August 5th against Tampa will be 6:00 pm starts. Also, all Saturday games will begin at 6:00 pm instead of 7:00 pm. Games will now end at approximately 8:30 pm instead of 9:30 pm, making it possible for fans to stay for the entire game instead of having to get tired kids home. Those fans that like the night life on Saturday night now have time to head home, shower, change and go out because the night will still be young. Fans that want to head over to Rave Motion Pictures at The Avenue Viera and catch a 9:00 pm movie will now have the opportunity to do so. This way of thinking may backfire on a fireworks night when the sky should already be dark when the game ends but sure as heck we'll have an Ace pitcher in the game who'll be on fire and get the 2.5 hour game done in 1:50, the sun high in the sky and we'll have to have all of our interns out at home plate line dancing or doing something entertaining until the skies darken, but we'll cross that bridge if we come to it. Interns, get your dance steps down before the season begins just to be on the safe side. No, I don't dance.

Have a good week, everybody. We're now under 90 days until the Minor League Baseball season begins. Our staff is grinding it out and like Dave McConnell likes to say, "We're on this side of the grass."

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Florida State League Stories from January 6, 2007


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