BRADENTON -- The yellow and black championship banner, bragging of winning last year’s South Division title during last season’s second half, has been flapping in the warm breeze since the Bradenton Marauders kicked off their second season back in April.
It’s one of three flags stationed high atop the batter’s eye at McKechnie Field. And with the way they have been playing, the Marauders are about to raise another.
The team’s slogan, “The Tradition Continues,” is an interesting choice for a franchise in its infancy. But the two-year-old Marauders, the high Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, are on the cusp of repeating as the Florida State League’s South Division second half champions.
It has the makings of something dynastic, made even more impressive by the fact that the Marauders went 30-40 during the first half and never made a serious run toward the top of the standings.
“I think it’s just the team coming together,” said outfielder Robbie Grossman, who helped the Marauders win a division title last year. “I hadn’t played with 90 percent of the guys on this team…It was just us getting to know each other better, and know what we ought to do individually and as a team to help each other win.”
The Marauders’ beat the St. Lucie Mets 11-3 Monday night at McKechnie Field, stretching their lead over the second-place Palm Beach Cardinals to 4 ½ games. Bradenton heads to Palm Beach tonight and clinches the division with a win.
“We’ve put together a pretty good second half,” Grossman said.
Grossman has played a big part en route to becoming the first minor-leaguer since Nick Swisher (2004) to score 100 runs and walk 100 times in the same season.
But the Marauders have done this without a number of key personnel. Designated hitter Calvin Anderson was in a groove before suffering a season-ending wrist injury June 27, and first baseman Aaron Baker (73 RBIs in 103 games), the team’s cleanup hitter and the MVP of the FSL All-Star Game, was dealt to the Baltimore Orioles on July 31 for Derrick Lee.
Second baseman Jarek Cunningham (15 home runs in 80 games) has missed most of the second half with a concussion, and reliever Duke Welker (a 2.25 ERA in 36 games) was promoted to Double-A Altoona on Aug. 13.
“We just kind of do the little things,” said third baseman Elevys Gonzalez. “Depending on the situation of the game, we just adjust and do the little things.”
They hit, too. The Marauders entered Monday leading the FSL in batting (.277), runs (656), on-base percentage (.356) and slugging (.422).
They have gotten contributions from unexpected players. Gonzalez, 21, had never appeared in more 67 games in a season since signing with the Pirates in June 2008. Yet he began Monday batting .318 with a team-best 79 RBIs.
First baseman Cole White was sent down to low Single-A West Virginia before being sent back to Bradenton following the Baker trade, and is hitting .347 and slugging .514 in 21 games since being called back up.
Brett Lorin (7-6, 2.70 ERA) and Nathan Baker (9-8, 3.47 entering Monday’s start) have helped the Marauders rank fifth in the 12-team FSL with a 3.76 ERA.
And while winning isn’t paramount in minor-league baseball, where a player’s development trumps a team record, securing a championship has been on everyone’s mind.
“That’s the mentality we have to have,” Gonzalez said. “It’s not just A ball – we want to learn how to win games so the organization one day can win the World Series championship.”
A division title sends the Marauders back into the playoffs, where they will see St. Lucie, the first-half winner, in the South Division Championship Series beginning Tuesday, Sept. 6.
Grossman was with the Marauders during last year’s postseason push, and is happy to be part of another one, especially since few saw this one coming.
“It’s just special for the team,” he said. “It’s just a great experience. Not everyone gets to play in the playoffs, so if you get a chance to go back, it’s even more special.”
