Tides Offical Thread

[McMullen11]

This thread will be the offical thread for the Norfolk Tides. Here you will be able to keep track of them. I will give you a breif history about them and then thier roster. I will also be giving you up to date transaction, stats, game info and other news on the Tides.

History:
Norfolk had been without professional baseball since the Tars of the Piedmont League folded on July 13, 1955. The Portsmouth Merrimacs finished that season, but then the league went out of existence.

A South Atlantic League exhibition game was held in Portsmouth at Lawrence Stadium and was followed by study by Joe Ryan and Marshall Fox, who became the first General Manager of the Tides, to bring baseball back to the area. A Tidewater franchise in the South Atlantic League was granted in 1961 to businessman William McDonald of Miami, FL.

The name “Tides” was selected in a contest conducted by The Virginian-Pilot. Mariners was the name of choice, but editor Robert Mason liked the sound and alliteration of Tidewater Tides.

The team operated in the South Atlantic League for two years, first as an independent, the second with a Cardinal working agreement. Granny Hamner, the former Phillie Whiz Kid, became the first manager.

In 1963, the Sally League decided against continuing in Virginia because of travel requirements and the prospect of losing baseball again loomed. However, Dave Rosenfield, assistant general manger in 1962, led a local group to gain admittance to the Carolina League in tandem with a Peninsula franchise.

The Tides operated in the Carolina League for six years under Tidewater Professional Sports, Inc., which was led by the late Richard J. Davis, a former lieutenant governor of Virginia.

In 1969, the New York Mets moved their Triple-A International League franchise from Jacksonville, FL to Tidewater. T.P.S. Inc. continued to run the team, but it was owned by the Mets. That first year in AAA was played in Portsmouth’s Lawrence Stadium and the Tides went on to win the pennant under Clyde McCullough. At the same time, the Mets helped the City of Norfolk finance the construction of 6,200 seat Met Park.

The Tides did quite a bit of winning in Met Park. Governors’ Cup championships were won in 1972, ‘75, ‘82, ‘83 and ‘85. Included in those those years, the Tides competed in the first and last Fall Classic of Minor League Champions, the last Junior World Series and won the first Triple-A World Series in 1983, a fall classic that was not played again until 1998.

1987 was a year for the books under manager Mike Cubbage as the team won the International League pennant, by virtue of having the best record, and several individual team records were set before being upset in the playoffs.

The 1990 and 1991 teams were led by former big league catcher Steve Swisher. He led the team to a pair of second-place finishes in the International League’s West Division.

Former Tide Clint Hurdle managed the Tides in 1992 which turned out to be one of the worst years in team history. Not only did the Tides lose a club record 86 games, but also an entire homestand (8 games) was rained out in mid-August.

All was not bleak in the Tides future, though. Ground was broken on a new state-of-the-art facility in downtown Norfolk in February, 1992. This facility would prove to be the model for all minor league stadiums to be built in the future. The Tides would begin play there in 1993.

Also, in 1992, the Mets agreed to sell the franchise to a group led by Tampa, FL businessman Ken Young. This, coupled with the move to the new ballpark, brought about a great many changes for the Tides. They dropped the Tidewater name in favor of Norfolk to give the team a national geographic presence. Also, the City of Norfolk was quite instrumental in keeping the team in the area by getting the new stadium financed and built.

Updated Rosters:
Catchers
4 Mike Jacobs
0 Jesse Levis
46 John Pachot

Infeild
31 Craig Brazell
6 Mike Collins
2 Wilson Delgado
18 Danny Garcia
28 Mike Glavine
30 Rodney Nye
18 Gil Velazquez

Outfeild
13 Victor Diaz
21 Raul Gonzalez
1 Esix Snead

Pitchers
48 James Baldwin
17 Heath Bell
35 P.J. Bevis
20 Pedro Feliciano
50 Jeremy Griffiths
32 Aaron Heilman
27 Randy Keisler
0 Bob Keppel -
43 Jose Parra
40 Royce Rich
29 Jason Roach
45 Pat Strange

[Chris Paul #1]

Very cool idea, i was looking at a book in the mall and was talking about Norfolk baseball history how Johnny Bench and lots of other guys played here in the early 1900s into the 60s and 70s.

[McMullen11]

Game 1:
April 8, 2004 - 7:15 PM Indianapolis Indians (1-0) vs Norfolk Tides (0-1)
Indianapolis Indians left fielder Chris Magruder homered off of Tides reliever Pedro Feliciano in the 8th inning to break a 1 - 1 tie. The Indians went on to win 2 - 1. Victor Dias homered for the Tides in the 4th. Matt Wise won in relief for Indianapolis and Feliciano suffered the loss for Norfolk.

Game 2:
April 9, 2004 - 7:15 PM Indianapolis Indians (2-0) vs Norfolk Tides (0-2)
Tides third baseman Rodney Nye couldn't come up with a ground ball allowing Indians catcher Chris Coste to score in the top of the 13th as Indianapolis defeated the Tides 4 - 3. Norfolk first baseman Craig Brazell homered in the loss. Matt Childers picked up the win for the Indians while Royce Ring suffered the loss for Norfolk. With the win, the Indians sweep the two-game series at Harbor Park to begin the 2004 season.
Game Notes: RHP Jeremy Griffiths (NOR) vs. RHP Ben Hendrickson (IND)

Game 3:
April 10, 2004 - 7:15 PM Louisville Bats (1-2) vs Norfolk Tides (1-2)
Tides starter Randy Keisler allowed just one run over five innings as Norfolk defeated Louisville 5 - 2 for their first win of the season. Tides catcher John Pachot homered in the third inning and shortstop Wilson Delgado smacked a 2-run double in the 5th as the Tides improved to 1 - 2 on the season.
Game Notes: LHP Randy Keisler (NOR) vs. RHP Joe Valentine (LOU)

Game 4:
April 11, 2004 - 1:15 PM Louisville Bats (2-2) vs Norfolk Tides (1-3)
Tides starter James Baldwin allowed four earned runs in five innings of work as the Louisville Bats defeated Norfolk 12 - 3. Craig Brazell and Javier Cardona each had solo homeruns for the Tides in the loss. Norfolk fell to 1 - 3 on the year while the Bats improved to 2 - 2.
Game Notes: RHP James Baldwin (NOR) vs. LHP Jung Bong (LOU)

Game 5:
April 12, 2004 - 7:15 PM Louisville Bats (2-2) vs Norfolk Tides (1-3)
The game was rained out and will be made up as part of a double-header August 7th at 6:15 p.m.

Game 6:
April 13, 2004 - 12:15 PM Louisville Bats (2-3) vs Norfolk Tides (2-3)
Norfolk's starting pitcher Matt Ginter pitched four scoreless innings in his Tides debut as Norfolk won a rain-shortened game 2 - 0 against the Louisville Bats. The game was called in the top of the 8th due to heavy rain. With the win, the Tides improved to 2 - 3 on the season.
Game Notes: RHP Matt Ginter (NOR) vs. RHP Bubba Nelson (LOU)

Game 7:
April 15, 2004 - 3:00 PM Norfolk Tides (3-3) vs Indianapolis Indians
Tides first baseman Craig Brazell smacked an RBI double scoring Mike Jacobs in the top of the 9th as Norfolk defeated Indianapolis 7 - 6. Brazell went 2 for 5 in the game with a homerun and three RBI. P.J. Bevis picked up the win in relief and Jose Parra recorded the save a the Tides improved to 3 - 3 on the season.

Game 8:
April 16, 2004 - 7:15 PM Norfolk Tides (4-3) vs Louisville Bats
Victor Diaz, Craig Brazell and Mike Jacobs each homered for the Tides as Norfolk out-slugged Louisville for a 10 - 9 win 10 innings. Jose Parra won in relief for Norfolk and P.J. Bevis picked up the save as the Tides improved to 4 - 3 on the year.

Game 9:
April 17, 2004 - TBA Norfolk Tides (5-3) vs Louisville Bats
Tides first baseman Craig Brazell hit a pair of solo homeruns and Raul Gonzalez launched a first inning, two-run blast as Norfolk defeated Louisville 9 - 7. Tides starter Randy Keisler allowed only one run over six innings of work with eight strikeouts for the win. Pat Strange picked up the save for the Tides who held off a late rally by Louisville. With the win, the Tides have now won four games in a row and improved to 5 - 3 on the year. The Tides are Currently tied for first with the Durham Bulls
Game Notes: LHP Randy Keisler (NOR) vs. LHP Jung Keun Bong (LOU)

[Chris C2]

Nice, being a Met fan, I have a few questions.

1. What are your impressions on Brazell, do you think he'll be a solid major leaguer?
2. How's Heilman doing?
3. Is (Victor) Diaz the real deal?

[McMullen11]

Nice, being a Met fan, I have a few questions.

1. What are your impressions on Brazell, do you think he'll be a solid major leaguer?
2. How's Heilman doing?
3. Is (Victor) Diaz the real deal?

1. I think that he is great. He is turing out to be a great player. If he keeps this up, I can say that he will be called up during the year. If he can raise his Avg up more i think he will do fine in the majors and has enough power to maybe challange for the home run title down the road.

2. He is doing alright, but not what people have been expecting. In his 2 starts he has pitched 10 innings giving up 12 hits and 6 runs posting a 4.5 era. But to tell you who is doing well, it is Randy Keisler. Keisler was a member of the Yankees last year and was picked up as a free agent during the offseason by the Mets. He is 2-0 with a 1.64 era giving up only 8 hits in 11 innings of work. As a Yankee fan i was really upset when Keisler did not return with the Yanks. I thought with a year or two he would be able to fill a void in the Yanks rotation. Looks like he is doing pretty good.

3. I'm not really sure. I like what i am seeing though. I am hoping that he continues to play at this level this would really help out the Mets orginization down the road.