lantic League Championship,” said Phillies Director of Minor Leagues Steve Noworyta, who spoke to the crowd before the rings were distributed. “To give them their rings at a public ceremony before one of the big league games is really the least we could do. They earned it.”
The BlueClaws, who started the season 0-9 and ended up fourth in the first half, won the second half with a 47-23 record, a staggering 10.5 games ahead of second-place West Virginia. Lakewood took both games from Lexington to win the South Atlantic League Division Series and beat Augusta three games to one to win the SAL Championship Series, all in the franchise’s first postseason appearance.
“We’d like to thank the Phillies for this wonderful ceremony,” said BlueClaws General Manager Geoff Brown, in Clearwater for the event. “I think it really meant a lot to the players to receive their rings in front of the big-leaguers, because after all, that’s where they’re all trying to get someday.”
Ironically, the game was started by Cole Hamels, a former BlueClaws pitcher, who was 6-1 with a 0.84 ERA for the team in 2003, but Toronto won the game 11-6. Hamels allowed four runs, three earned, in his four innings of work.
The Lakewood BlueClaws are defending South Atlantic League Champions and open the 2007 season April 5, 2007 at FirstEnergy Park at 6:35 p.m. against the Greensboro Grasshoppers.
The BlueClaws have led the league in attendance every year, adding 448,310 fans in 2006. This season, the BlueClaws will become the fastest team in South Atlantic League and New Jersey baseball history to reach the 3 million fan attendance mark. For tickets or more information call 732-901-7000 or visit the BlueClaws website at www.BlueClaws.com.
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