Manager Ramon Borrego reflects on Blue Wahoos special season

The recent, day-long, drive back home on two of Florida's major interstate highways allowed Ramon Borrego plenty of time for reflection.
His 10th season as manager in the Minnesota Twins organization was unlike the previous ones.
In his first year managing in Double-A, also his first outside of Fort Myers, he guided the Pensacola Blue Wahoos to their second-best overall record (76-63 in regular season) and the franchise's fifth consecutive trip to the Southern League playoffs.
"I can remember starting my car in April and coming up (to Pensacola) for the first time and how good I felt," Borrego said. "I started meeting a lot of people, being in that stadium, getting ready and I really thought it would be a great season, no matter what happens, I thought it was going to be good."
It evolved that way.
The Blue Wahoos produced a franchise-best start, winning the first eight series. They contended for both half-season division races. They had the Twins' No. 1 draft picks, Alex Kirilloff, Royce Lewis and Trevor Larnach from the past three years, all together in the second half of the season. 
The Blue Wahoos reached the playoffs as a wild card team, matching the Mobile BayBears for the second-most consecutive playoff appearances in the 55-year history of the Southern League.
And they did all of this with a roster that underwent a near-complete overhaul.
Only four players - pitcher Griffin Jax, outfielder Jimmy Kerrigan, infielder, Taylor Grzelakowski and catcher/infielder Caleb Hamilton were on the opening day roster and post-season roster.
And none of the trio played all season in Pensacola. Jax and Kerrigan both had call-up stints with Triple-A Rochester Red Wings. Grzelakowski spent time on the injured list.
They were part of more than 100 roster moves during the season.
"We were like a roller coaster at times, up and down," said Borrego, laughing.
Incredibly, seven Blue Wahoos players on the opening day roster reached the major leagues, including six with the Minnesota Twins. The group was led by third baseman Luis Arraez, the first Blue Wahoos player as a Twins affiliate to reach the big leagues. He is now the Twins' leading hitter and one of the top rookies in the major leagues.
Five pitchers in a group of Devin Smeltzer, Sean Poppen, Cody Stashak, Brusdar Graterol and Jorge Alcala are now with the Twins. Outfielder Jaylin Davis, a Southern League All-Star in the first half with the Blue Wahoos, was then traded to the San Franciciso Giants where he made his big-league debut earlier this month.
"Throughout the levels we definitely have a good farm system," said pitcher Jordan Balazovic, who was added on Sept. 4 from Advance-A Fort Myers Miracle and was the Blue Wahoos starting pitcher in Game 3 of the playoffs "Our pitching staff, big hitters. Guys are moving through it pretty quick, so that's good."
Another Blue Wahoos player, pitcher Randy Dobnak, who first joined the team on May 2, completed an improbable odyssey by advancing four levels in 2019 to pitch for the Twins. That's essentially one-third of a Double-A team going to the major leagues.
"It was really fun to watch those guys, going from here to the big leagues," Borrego said. "They are basically the future of the Minnesota Twins. You got to see how they developed, how they took care of business."
In addition, former Blue Wahoos pitching coach Cibney Bello also went to the big leagues, joining the Twins staff In late August.
"We put a lot of guys into the big leagues and I never expected that," Borrego said. "I thought at some point down the road those guys would rise. But I never thought we would see this kind of talent go to the big leagues all the same year.
"You're talking Graterol, Smeltzer, Dobnak, Poppen, Stashak, all in Minnesota and my coaching staff (Bello). That's just great."
With all the transition, including injuries and players being released, the Blue Wahoos kept winning enough to reach the playoffs.
"We had really different teams throughout the year because of that, but they have all been fun," said versatile infielder-outfielder Travis Blankenhorn. "I think that says a lot about the Twins organization, because I think we have some good talent in it up and down the entire system.
"We've had guys go up and down from Triple-A, up from High A and we all came together as a team every time and played our butts off."
One of the defining elements of the Blue Wahoos season occurred in the Southern League playoffs against Biloxi.
Trailing 0-2 against the Shuckers after losing a wild, game one (11-10) on a walk-off, extra-inning homer, the Blue Wahoos won their only home game (3-2) in the series, forced a deciding game with a ninth-inning rally the next night, led three times in the finale before losing after the Shuckers rallied in the eighth inning.
"This was the fifth team I was on this year and it's a special group," said pitcher Jonathan Cheshire, who joined the team on July 26. "A lot of energy in the clubhouse, a lot of positive vibes and that's how you win.
"I credit the staff. The coach staff is outstanding."
As he drove back to Fort Myers a week ago, Borrego thought about all the big moments of the season. It ended with the disappointing loss to the Shuckers in the deciding South Division playoff series, but it was noteworthy in so many ways.
This will also be the first time Borrego is not going to manage in a winter league. The unrest in both his native Venezuela and in the Dominican Republic includes a travel ban that will prevent him from spending extended time in either country.
Instead, he'll be home in Fort Myers with his wife and two children. Borrego rented a temporary residence in Pensacola for the five month season.
"This is the first time I will be with them the whole time until spring training, so I am looking forward to that," he said. "It was tough not having them with me (in Pensacola). All the other years, I stayed in Fort Myers and was home in the mornings and off days."
His one lament is not seeing his team reach the championship series and deliver the first outright Southern League title to Pensacola. As a Cincinnati Reds affiliate, the Blue Wahoos shared the championship with Chattanooga in 2017, after both won division series and a hurricane threat wiped out the final round.
"I think about how special this season was," he said. "It would have been more special had we won it all, but it was still special."