JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It finally feels like a normal Opening Day for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.
Finally.
The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp open the 2022 season on Tuesday night with the beginning of a six-game series against the Worcester Red Sox at 121 Financial Ballpark. First pitch is 7:05 p.m. A three-hour street party on A. Philip Randolph Blvd. precedes the game.
It just feels different.
And everyone around the team feels it, said owner Ken Babby.
Thirsty Thursdays will feel normal. Children can return to running the basepaths after games on Sundays. Fireworks will still be a common sight.
After two years of precautions and restrictions and even no baseball, baseball as fans are accustomed to returns.
“These last few years this community has stood by with us every step of the way. Even when times were tough, even when we didn’t have a game,” Babby said.
“ … And tomorrow we get a chance to do here what we love and what we dream of doing and what we’ve been waiting all winter to do, which is to play baseball. And when the fans come in the building when the gates open tomorrow, it’s going to be a pretty special experience I think for everybody here. It should be a great, great, great year.”
The last two years have been challenging for different reasons.
The pandemic triggered the cancellation of the entire minor league baseball season in 2020. Babby said the creativity and execution by Jacksonville’s staff during the pandemic was exceptional. The team had movie nights, socially distant beer festivals and bingo nights, anything to boost morale and bring in additional revenue.
Outside of the pandemic, the cloud of a radical overhaul across Major League Baseball hung over the entire minor league system in the latter half of that year. MLB reduced its minor league farm system to 120 teams, eliminating more than 40 cities from its landscape. While Jacksonville was never a candidate to be eliminated, the move was significant for the sport. The Jumbo Shrimp moved into Triple A as part of the restructuring, their first season at that level since the 1968 season after decades as a Double-A team.
But Jacksonville’s first season in Triple A still felt a bit clouded by the residual effect of the pandemic.
Almost opening day for the @JaxShrimp. @121Financial Park is going to be busy this week. Tomorrow night is when things get cranked up. pic.twitter.com/p1f8NbailU
— Justin Barney (@JustinBarneyTV) April 4, 2022
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The season was delayed by a month. When it did start, Jacksonville had an attendance cap of 45%, roughly 5,000 fans per game. Those restrictions were eliminated in June. But even with restrictions ultimately gone, general manager Harold Craw said the “energy” in the building just didn’t feel the same as it had in the past. He’s seen signs of that returning already.
“I think last year a lot of folks kind of got there, they got what they were going to eat, then they kind of got to their seats because they wanted to make sure that they felt safe,” Craw said. “But even watching people walk through the stadium for just small events that we’ve had. ... Energy, right?”
As the pandemic page turned, along came the Major League Baseball lockout. That didn’t end until last month. While it’s unusual, the minor league season actually begins before the MLB campaign.
“It’s a fun time. I think, you know, you go through the winter, last couple of years, a lot of different things going on with pandemic and lockout and a lot of stuff. I think it’s fans ready to see baseball,” said manager Daren Brown. “Opening Day’s kind of your first chance to get out here and actually watch it. It’s exciting for us, exciting for fans, it’s just hopefully an exciting night.”
The 144-game regular season features 72 contests at 121 Financial Ballpark, including 36 home weekend games and a special home date on July 4.
Marlins top prospects
A look at the top players on the Jumbo Shrimp roster this season.
Pos., Player, Where they rank
RHP Edward Cabrera, No. 2 prospect by MLB.com, No. 34 prospect in baseball
RHP Max Meyer, No. 3 prospect by MLB.com, No. 35 prospect in baseball
RHP Sixto Sanchez, No. 5 prospect by MLB.com, No. 58 prospect in baseball
OF JJ Bleday, No. 6 prospect by MLB.com, No. 69 prospect in baseball
OF Peyton Burdick, No. 10 prospect by MLB.com