It’s a shame Jacksonville won’t have minor-league baseball this season, but Jumbo Shrimp advertising partners stepped up to minimize the damage for the Miami Marlins Double-A franchise.
It had been rumored for nearly a month that Major League Baseball was going to pull the plug for 2020 on its minor-league operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it still doesn’t make canceling the Double-A Jumbo Shrimp season any easier to accept.
The first shutdown of Jacksonville minor-league baseball since 1969 was probably the right call, given that playing without fans makes no sense financially for Jumbo Shrimp owner Ken Babby. It’s simply too expensive to run a business that would have significant overhead and the bulk of its revenue source taken away.
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Without baseball, the Shrimp stand to lose "millions of dollars," according to Babby, but the consolation is the Double-A franchise has enough committed sponsorships to withstand the financial blow.
"Business conditions are tough, but we have prioritized our people as a top priority," Babby said. "We haven’t laid off an employee and we don’t intend to.
"When the pandemic started, our close to 50 partners rolled over their commitments into 2021. That provided a bridge for us to get through it. That allows us to weather the pandemic."
Babby adds a similar business commitment in Akron will allow his RubberDucks franchise in the Eastern League to remain solvent. He has already requested forgiveness from the city of Jacksonville for the ballclub’s $210,000 annual rent to the city.
While it pains Babby, a former Baltimore Orioles spring training bat boy, to see fans deprived of minor-league baseball, he understands the importance of constantly marketing the product.
That’s why you see the Jumbo Shrimp periodically having movie nights, bingo nights and fireworks. Though it brings in only a small fraction of revenue (under social distancing conditions) of a real baseball season, what matters is keeping the fans connected to the Jumbo Shrimp.
"The loss of the baseball season is catastrophic for our business, but it pales in comparison to loss of jobs and loss of life," Babby said. "Still, people miss the sights, sounds and smells of the ballpark. Going to a Jumbo Shrimp game and fireworks is a big part of people’s summer in Jacksonville and across the country."
It’s bad enough hundreds of ballplayers will see their pro careers end because of this coronavirus interruption. Six players off the 2019 Jumbo Shrimp roster – including pitchers Vincenzo Aiello, Kolton Mahoney, Alex Mateo and Josh Roeder – were released by the Miami Marlins and remain unsigned.
But the biggest baseball loss is for the Jumbo Shrimp fans. No minor-league baseball in Jacksonville for the first time in 51 years leaves a summer entertainment void not easily filled. . . .
Baseball trivia: The Jacksonville Suns won their only International League championship in 1968, their last season in Jacksonville as a Triple-A franchise. What player off that team went on to have a 19-year MLB career with two teams? Answer at the bottom. . . .
The two-part summer check list for Jaguars’ defensive end Yannick Ngakoue is simple: (1) Stay off social media as far as rendering opinions on his contract situation until it’s resolved; (2) Sign the franchise tender by July 15 to either facilitate the trade he desires or a long-term deal with the Jaguars. If an NFL season is played, it’s hard to envision a scenario where Ngakoue sits out, even if it means playing for the Jaguars. . . .
Of all the narratives floated during this COVID-19 pandemic, none is more ridiculous than those who debate mask-wearing as if it was a political issue. So not true. It’s simply a matter of human decency and respect for others.
Let me put this in terms football fans of all political leanings can understand: wear a mask in public to increase our chances of seeing Gardner Minshew, Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Trevor Lawrence and Kyle Trask all throw passes in 2020. . . .
The NFL writing fraternity lost one of its icons last week when long-time USA Today scribe Gordon Forbes passed away at 90. While Forbes made his mark at USA Today (1982-2002), he began his newspaper career at the Florida Times-Union from 1957-62 before spending the next 20 years at the Philadelphia Inquirer. Forbes was given the Dick McCann Memorial award in 1988 by the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his league coverage. RIP, Gordon. . . .
With pressure from different forces ratcheting up for the Washington Redskins to change their name, it’ll be interesting to see if owner Daniel Snyder backs down from his long-standing position to "never" lose the Redskins name. Snyder is only 55, so in his case, never could be a long time. . . .
After the magnanimous effort by superstar Maya Moore -- giving up her basketball career to work on successfully freeing Jonathan Irons from a Missouri prison after he served 23 years on a burglary and assault conviction – this is the next logical step for the WNBA: name a Woman of the Year award in Moore’s honor. It was a shining example of compassion and selflessness. . . .
White High product Jordan Johnson, a four-year starter at center for UCF, never had a chance to showcase his skills at a Pro Day. He went undrafted and failed to secure a free-agent contract, so Johnson (6-foot-2, 300 pounds) immediately put out a resume on April 30. He was contacted within a couple days by Florida Marketing North and assigned to sell windshield replacements door-to-door for Express Glass.
In two weeks, Johnson, who has a degree in Human Communications, sold as many windshields on Jacksonville’s Westside as 15 other employees and was promoted to training salesmen. Last week, Johnson accepted an offer to become strength and conditioning coach at Tom Shaw Performance in Daytona Beach, where he once trained in hopes of being invited to an NFL camp. . . .
With so much uncertainty about college sports scheduling this year, including non-conference games in the early part of basketball season, University of North Florida coach Matthew Driscoll has his eye on six away games – SMU, Texas A&M, Florida, Gonzaga, Oregon and South Florida – the Ospreys play in the first four weeks.
Not only does UNF depend on the combined $500,000 from those money-guarantee games to supplement its budget, but Driscoll also wants the tougher competition to provide one of his youngest teams in history the necessary experience to develop.
"The closer we get to basketball season, I think we’ll have better solutions," said Driscoll. "I know everybody is concerned about [coronavirus] spikes, but I’m optimistic we’ll be able to proceed as scheduled." . . .
Jacksonville University center David Bell, the 6-foot-9 transfer from Ohio State who was the Dolphins’ best frontcourt presence the past two years, has signed a pro contract with Lavrio B.C., part of the top-tier league in Greece. . . .
Trivia answer: The late Tug McGraw, who started 23 games and went 9-9 in 1968 for the Suns, spent three seasons with the New York Mets before coming to Jacksonville. The crafty southpaw pitched 16 more seasons for the Mets and Philadelphia Phillies, almost exclusively as a reliever. . . .
I’ll be on vacation next week and this column will resume on July 13.
gfrenette@jacksonville.com: (904) 359-4540
The Link LonkJuly 03, 2020 at 11:44PM
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Gene Frenette: Jumbo Shrimp partners soothe hurt of no minor-league baseball - The Florida Times-Union
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