Baseball fever hits downtown Bradenton

The weather report rolled in, and Trevor Gooby got a bit concerned.

Bradenton’s first Pirates Pep Rally was slated for Thursday night, and with chilly temperatures expected, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ director of Florida operations wasn’t sure how many fans would head down to Old Main Street.

Less than two hours into the event, Gooby’s worries were assuaged.

Hundreds of fans hit downtown Bradenton, catching a glimpse of the Pirates, as well as the first uniform unveiling of the Bradenton Marauders, a Single-A team scheduled to begin play in the Florida State League in April at McKechnie Field.

“Awesome turnout,” Gooby said. “It’s a really great way to kick off spring training, and hopefully, we’ll be able to do something like this every single year.”

The rally got rolling at 6 p.m. and the Marauders uniforms were shown off just before 7. Modeling the colors were Pirates prospects Jarek Cunningham and Tony Sanchez, the latter of whom the Pirates took with the fourth overall pick of the 2009 draft.

Rounding out the lineup was Marauders manager P.J. Forbes.

The home uniforms are white with Marauders, in the Pirates’ colors of black and gold, written across the front and a commemorative patch on the sleeve marking the team’s first season in Bradenton.

The road uniforms are gray with Bradenton written across the chest, also in black and yellow colors. And an alternative jersey, to be worn during batting practice and select games, are black with the team’s logo — a bearded marauder with interlocking bats on his hat — on the left chest, and the sides of the jerseys lined in yellow and red.

Two caps were also unveiled — a black one with the marauder on the front, and a yellow one with a script B.

After showing off the colors, Forbes, Cunningham and Sanchez signed autographs.

“This kind of turnout, obviously, you can tell how excited the community is,” Forbes said. “And we’re excited. It’s a great league, a very competitive league for our players, and it gives us a chance to develop a little closer to our spring home base.”

Forbes spent time in Bradenton last spring.

“The people were very nice,” he said. “I know it’s hot here during the summer, but that’s Florida. I’m looking forward to going to work.”

Current Pirates such as Garrett Jones, Andrew McCutchen, Zach Duke and Palmetto native Lastings Milledge signed autographs, as did Steve Blass, one of the heroes of the Pirates 1971 World Series championship team.

“We were a little nervous that there’d be (just) some diehards here,” Gooby said, in reference to the weather. “But it’s a great turnout.”