Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp: Welcome to the Crustacean Nation
The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp had a season to remember in the AA Southern League, and it looks like the fun is only beginning.
One of the best parts of the game of baseball is the road it takes to get to the major league level. The adversity and the challenges that players endure to reach their ultimate goal are some of the most difficult and tiring in professional sports. Along the road to the major leagues, players make pit stops playing in the minor league system where some dreams flourish, and some ultimately hit a wall.
The Southern League in AA is one of the most touted and talented in all of baseball. This is where the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp reside, and yes, I said the Jumbo Shrimp. The once-named Jacksonville Suns are now one of the most talked about and iconic brands in the minor leagues.
The Jumbo Shrimp organization is one that is filled with history, and you don’t have to look far to see. Jacksonville has won a grand total of seven titles, six of which came in the Southern League, and one in the International League in 1968. The Jumbo Shrimp are the AA affiliate of the Miami Marlins, and they are also home to some of the Marlins’ best prospects.
Although the organization has experienced some great success over the last few decades, they have also seen dark days. After claiming their elusive seventh league title in 2014, the Jumbo Shrimp have amassed a 116-160 record since. Jacksonville followed up their Southern League title with one of the worst records in the league’s history upon winning a title when they finished 2015 with a 53-84 record.
Which brings us to the 2017 season. After finishing the first half of the season at 30-40, it looked as if the Jumbo Shrimp were headed for yet another below-.500 season. League powerhouses such as the Chattanooga Lookouts and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos have laid claim to some of the best seasons in recent memory, which makes this story all the better.
If you’re not aware of how the minor league playoff system works, allow me to explain. In the Southern League there is a first half of the season division winner, and then there is a second half of the season winner. The first and second half winners of each division will battle it out, and the winners will advance to the Southern League Championship Series.
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In the most unlikely turn of events, the Jumbo Shrimp clinched the second-half title with a 39-31 record and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2014, but this Cinderella story doesn’t have a happy ending.
With the arrival of Hurricane Irma, the Southern League was forced to change the playoff procedure. The playoffs would now consist of co-champion for the Southern League, and the winner of Southern League North and the Southern League South would be declared co-champions.
The Jumbo Shrimp were set to face off in a winner-take-all best-of-five series with their divisional rival in the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Sadly, the Jumbo Shrimp would fall to Pensacola 3-0 after a hard fought 5-4 loss in 12 innings. The Blue Wahoos won their first ever Southern League title, finishing the season at 75-66.
So what’s so magical about the Jumbo Shrimp? Why does any of this matter? Well, I for one worked for the Jacksonville Suns in their 2015 season, and got to see firsthand the nature of minor league baseball. It is one that is very cutthroat, and unlike the major league level, putting butts in seats can be a daunting task.
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The 2017 season saw 325,743 fans pack the Baseball Grounds, which was a boost of 60,000 from the Jacksonville Suns’ final season in 2016. The future of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp is filled with excitement and anticipation coming off their playoff run this season, and next season the team will see 70 home games. So if you’re in the Jacksonville area come next spring, be sure to make it out and see Crustacean Nation for yourself!