The second season of Tampa Yankees baseball at Legends Field was every bit as interesting as the first. The Hideki Irabu circus came to town, culminating in a bench-clearing brawl between Tampa and St. Petersburg (Devil Rays).
As always, injured major leaguers rehabilitated in Tampa; Darryl Strawberry and Tim Raines graced the roster. The players particularly loved it when ΓÇ£RockΓÇ¥ Raines was around as he talked baseball and more importantly, bought the pizza.
For the first time since relocating from Fort Lauderdale in 1994, the Yankees didnΓÇÖt make the playoffs but the won-loss column is not always a true indicator of a minor-league teamΓÇÖs progress.
First-year manager Lee Mazzilli said his team had many highlights.
ΓÇ£The pros outweighed the cons 10 to 1,ΓÇ¥ Mazzilli said. ΓÇ£We developed guys, we won and we had a competitive club.ΓÇ¥
Tampa players developed as evidenced by the promotions of pitchers Brett Schlomann and Ben Ford to higher levels in the organization.
Tampa did its share of winning, though most of it was in the first half when it finished one game behind first-place St. Petersburg.
The Yankees remained competitive until the last week of the season even though injuries had taken their toll on the team, claiming leadoff hitter Donzell McDonald and shortstop DΓÇÖAngelo Jiminez.
Further elaborating on the progress of his team, Mazzilli sounded like a proud father.
ΓÇ£Talking baseball with them, watching them make mistakes, correcting them then seeing them not repeat their mistakes,ΓÇ¥ Mazzilli said. ΓÇ£ThatΓÇÖs a positive sign.ΓÇ¥
Mazzilli said the team was composed of a ΓÇ£great bunch of kids,ΓÇ¥ who were a delight to watch develop.
ΓÇ£ItΓÇÖs great to see a guy like (second baseman) Vick Brown work hard and develop into a great everyday player,ΓÇ¥ Mazzilli said. Brown hit .292 with 42 RBI and 55 stolen bases.
