Southern League set for 2007 season
The Biscuits, who claimed the 2006 Southern League title just three years after entering the league, will host the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx on Opening Day. All returning members of the Biscuits will receive a championship ring during a ceremony prior to the first of 70 home games at Montgomery.
The Biscuits are among four South Division teams hosting games on Opening Day, which kicks off the Southern League's 44th consecutive season. The Huntsville Stars will be the lone member of the North Division hosting a game on April 5, as they will take on the Mississippi Braves at newly renovated Joe W. Davis Stadium. The Stars, who emerged division champions last year before falling to the Biscuits in the Southern League Championship Series, enter 2007 riding an 11-game regular-season home winning streak.
Former major league All-Star Brett Butler will manage his first official game at the Double-A level when the Mobile BayBears host the Chattanooga Lookouts at Hank Aaron Stadium. The game also will mark Mobile's first as an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who previously were the parent club of the Tennessee Smokies. Butler, who collected 2,375 hits during a 17-year major league career, managed in the Class-A California League last year following a stint as first base coach for the Diamondbacks.
The Birmingham Barons also will have a new manager bringing major league playing experience to the position when they host the Carolina Mudcats at recently renamed and renovated Regions Park. Rafael Santana, the starting shortstop for the New York Mets when they emerged World Series champions in 1986, played in 668 major league games for three teams. He will make his Southern League managerial debut exactly 24 years after playing in his first major league game.
Other managers new to the league this year include Brandon Hyde of the Mudcats, Montgomery's Billy Gardner, Jr. and Eddie Rodriguez of the Diamond Jaxx. Gardner's father was Southern League Manager of the Year in 1973, when he guided the Jacksonville Suns to an Eastern Division title.
The Suns also can lay claim to the most recent Southern League Manager of the Year. John Shoemaker received the honor after the Suns paced the circuit with 86 regular-season victories last season. Shoemaker will look to add to his 1,020 career managerial wins when Jacksonville hosts the Smokies at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
The Southern League in 2007 welcomes back the affiliation of the Seattle Mariners, who have moved their Double-A operations from San Antonio of the Texas League to West Tenn. Jackson, Tennessee becomes the sixth Southern League city to be affiliated with the Mariners since the early 1980s, joining Chattanooga, Jacksonville, Port City, Memphis and Orlando. The Chicago Cubs were the previous major league affiliate of the Diamond Jaxx but now have a working agreement with the Smokies.