Mussels Up!
Fort Myers Minor League Baseball Returns May 11th
On Thursday night, August 22, 2019, the Fort Myers Miracle, the local minor league baseball team from the Minnesota Twins organization, completed a three-game sweep of the Charlotte Stone Crabs with a 5 to 2 victory. Little did any of us fans dream as we headed to our cars that it would be 628 days and almost 90 weeks before Fort Myers would host its next home game, or the monumental changes that would engulf our society, minor league baseball, and the Miracle!
Hurricane Dorian
On that late August evening, Fort Myers was the defending 2018 Florida State League (FSL) Champions. They were set to defend their title, as they won the 2019 1st Half FSL championship to already qualify for the playoffs that would begin in under two weeks. While on the season’s final roadtrip, however, monster Hurricane Dorian was ravaging the Caribbean, seemingly on her way to a major Florida landfall. Out of caution, the FSL cancelled the remainder of the regular season as well as the playoffs, a fact made sadder when Dorian at the last moment first stalled, then veered north, sparing the Sunshine State.
Mighty Mussels & The Pandemic
After a 28-year run, the Miracle officially came to an end in December 2019! No, the Fort Myers franchise, the Single A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, did not fall victim to the major league owners’ ill-conceived plan to eliminate 42 minor league baseball teams. The death of the Miracle, rather, gave birth to the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, the team’s freshly-minted moniker, along with its new mascot, “Mussel Man,” and logo portraying “Mussel Man” in calling his homerun shot!
These changes came through Andrew Kaufmann, CEO and Owner of Zawyer Sports, who became the principal owner of the Fort Myers franchise prior to the 2019 season. “We are so excited by the Mighty Mussels,” Kaufmann said. “We made the decision to change our name because the ‘Miracle’ came with the team when it relocated here from Miami in 1992 and we wanted something that more directly identified with our area. We studied the beach and found out there are over 60 different varieties of mussels in our waters, and when the sun hits them, they reflect purple, blue, and yellow, so those became our team colors. The ‘Miracle’ will always be an important part of our team history but we want our local community to think of us as their team.”
The Mighty Mussels were to debut on April 9, Opening Night of the 2020 FSL season, but the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak forced Major League Baseball to cancel all activities one month prior, on March 12. The initial hope was that minor league baseball might salvage some part of 2020, but the “Summer Surge” made it obvious the pandemic would not easily let up and the FSL soon cancelled its season.
2021 Home Opener & Weekly Promotions
Traditionally, minor league baseball resumes on the 2nd Thursday of April, but in order to keep a social-distancing number of players at each team complex during Spring Training, minor leagues in 2021 had their openers slightly postponed, to Tuesday, May 4. That meant that the Mighty Mussels came to life up the coast in Bradenton against the Marauders of the Pittsburgh Pirates organization from Tuesday through Sunday, May 4 to 9, splitting that 6-game series with 3 wins apiece.
The Mussels home opener is Tuesday, May 11, versus the Clearwater Threshers of the Philadelphia Phillies system at 7 p.m., with the initial homestand continuing through Sunday, May 16. The Mussels actually guarantee an Opening Night win because if they do not, every fan in attendance receives a complimentary ticket to the next evening’s game on May 12! In addition to this guarantee, May 11 fans receive a 2021 Mussels magnetic schedule, with a special postgame fireworks show following the final out.
All Mussels 2021 homegames will be Tuesdays through Saturdays at 7 p.m., with Sundays at Noon, with each day of the week having its own special promotion. “Two For Tuesdays” feature 2-for-1 hot dogs, draft beers, and sodas. Wednesdays are “Senior Nights” with discount admission prices as well as “Dollar Hot Dog Nights” all game. Thursdays are “College Night” with all college students with IDs purchasing tickets for just $5, along with “Thirsty Thursdays” with $1 beers and $2 drafts. Fridays feature a “Happy Hour” from 6 to 7 p.m., with fireworks after the game. Saturdays are “Bark in The Park” where fans bring their dogs to the game, along with terrific giveaways, such as on Saturday, May 15, that is the “Mussel Man” bobblehead! Sundays are “Sunday Brunch” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., for $10 on top of your ticket cost, with kids running the bases after the game.
2021 Roster & Tickets
The 2021 Mussels roster features 16 pitchers and 14 position players, highlighted by five of the Twins top-ranked prospects, including 2019 #1 selection, shortstop Keoni Cavaco, and 2020 #1 pick, first baseman Aaron Sabato, along with infielders Will Holland, Yunior Severino, and Charles Mack. Mussels players range from 19 to 24 years of age, guided by 1st year manager, the appropriately-named Brian Meyer, assisted by a 7-man coaching and training staff.
Mussels tickets range from $9 to $12; purchase them online at www.milb.com, at the box office that opens 60 minutes prior to each game, or over the telephone at 239-768-4210, with parking $5-per-car. Due to ongoing pandemic precautions, the Mussels are currently limiting Hammond Stadium attendance to 28% capacity, with pod seating and social distancing, and all fans must wear masks except for when drinking beverages or consuming food. The Mighty Mussels play at Hammond Stadium at the CenturyLink Sports Complex at 14100 Six Mile Cypress Parkway.
More Changes
The Mighty Mussels moniker is not the only change fans will notice in 2021. Due to Major League Baseball taking control of its minor league underlings in 2020, it followed through with its threat and reduced 42 franchises by eliminating the half-season Rookie Leagues and contracting several others, including the former FSL from 12 to 10 teams by giving death sentences to the Charlotte Stone Crabs and Florida Fire Frogs. In fact, the FSL no longer exists, having its 100-year-old title swapped for the completely-unimaginative “Low-A Southeast.”
The FSL previously was a High-A league, meaning players formerly at that level were the third closest to the major leagues out of the old 6-tier system, but now the “Low-A Southeast” is the 2nd lowest of the new 5-division setup. At season’s start, there is no plan to have an end-of-the-year playoff to determine the League Champion, though Major League Baseball may revisit this during the Summer. Rather than the traditional 3- or 4-game series, this year, to reduce travel and COVID-19 risks, teams will play against the same opponent at home or on the road from Tuesday through Sunday, with Monday being a league-wide off-day. Formerly, minor league seasons were 140 games, but 2021 will have just 120 contests, without an All-Star Game. The season will end on September 19 rather than the traditional Sunday prior to Labor Day.
by Gary Mooney
thewritestuff25@gmail.com