2010 Season Wrap-Up

THE FLYING TIGERS (71-67) ... Lakeland finished with a 71-67 record in 2010 marking the first time since 2005 that the team has won 70 or more games and just the second time since 1997 they have won as many contests. The Flying Tigers made a run at the first half title, but ran out of gas just before the all-star break finishing tied for second with a 37-33 mark. The 37 wins was the most first half victories since the 2006 team also won 37 games. The team started the second half with a 2-9 mark and never really recovered finishing in fourth place for the second half with a 34-34 mark.

FIVE ALL-STARS ... Four Flying Tigers were elected to the 2010 Florida State League All-Star game in first baseman Rawley Bishop, outfielder Kody Kaiser and pitchers Charlie Furbush and Brayan Villarreal. A fifth, shortstop Gustavo Nunez, was later added to the roster. Four of the five played with Furbush sitting out since he had just pitched prior to the break. Somehow, second baseman Alden Carrithers was not chosen despite leading the FSL in batting, walks and on-base percentage at the time.

TWO NAMED TO HALL OF FAME ... Two Lakeland representatives were named to the Florida State League Hall of Fame in 2010 in former field manager Jim Leyland and former owner Frank Decker. Leyland, who played for Lakeland in 1964 and 1969, coached Lakeland from 1976-78, winning back-to-back league championships in 1976 and 1977. Leyland is now the manager of the big league Tigers. Decker owned the Lakeland franchise from 1972 to 1992 before selling the club to Detroit. A retired construction company owner, Decker built Joker Marchant Stadium and Tiger Town. In addition to the 1976 and 1977 FSL championships won under Leyland, the franchise also won the 1992 title under skipper John Lipon in Decker’s last game as team owner.

WITNESSED BY MANY ... Home games in 2010 were seen by more fans than ever before as Lakeland set the franchise’s all-time single season attendance record of 64,010, eclipsing the old mark of 61,255 established in 1987. Attendance has increased in every season under General Manager Zach Burek, growing from 32,179 fans in 2006, his first season at the helm of the Lakeland club.

WITNESSED BY MANY PLAYERS AS WELL ... Sixty-five players wore a Flying Tiger uniform in 2010 - four players shy of the all-time high of 69 players on the roster in 1968. Thirty-two different players played defensively for Lakeland with a 63rd having a plate appearance but never playing in the field. Thirty-two pitchers took to the mound. In all, an unofficial total of 125 transactions (65 in the first half and 60 in the second) were made during the season with just three players - shortstop Gustavo Nunez and pitchers Luke Putkonen and Mark Sorensen - remaining from the team’s opening day 25-man roster.

LONG-TIME N0-NO ... On Sept. 1, Lakeland fans witnessed an outstanding pitching performance as four Flying Tiger hurlers combined for 13.1 innings of no-hit baseball against the Dunedin Blue Jays. Chad Nelson, making just his third start for Lakeland, tossed seven innings of no-hit ball, followed by two no-hit innings each by Bruce Rondon and Matt Little. Wilfredo Ramirez also contributed two no-hit innings before surrendering the Jay’s first hit with one-out in the 14th inning. Neither team scored in the first 16 innings with the Jays scoring once in the top of the 17th and the Flying Tigers scoring twice in the bottom of the 17th to record the 2-1 extra inning victory. Lakeland played in a league-high 20 extra-inning games with a 10-10 mark.

NO JIVE, THAT’S FIVE ... Two Lakeland hitters named Bryan collected five base hits in a game this season as Bryan Pounds went 5-for-5 on April 14 at Brevard County and Bryan Holaday was 5-for-5 on July 9 at home against Clearwater in his professional debut. Holaday, a 6th round pick in 2010, had just signed his pro contract with Detroit on July 7. Holaday was one of four 2010 Detroit draft picks to play in Lakeland joining 10th round pick Cole Nelson, 25th rounder Shawn Teufel and 31st round draftee, Matt Little.

SOLID AT SHORT ... Gustavo Nunez was rock at shortstop for the Flying Tigers, playing 123 of the team’s 138 games at that position. His glove was anything but a rock as the slick-fielding shortstop led the Florida State League for almost the entire season in fielding percentage before a few late season miscues dropped him to second place, just one percentage point out of the lead. He did lead the league in assists (388) while leading all FSL shortstops in games played at the position (123), total chances (628), putouts (214), and most double plays (76). He committed just 26 errors for a .959 fielding mark. Nunez led the FSL with 16 sacrifice bunts and was second with 523 at bats (six shy of the Lakeland record) and fifth with 33 stolen bases.

IS IT THE POSITION? ... Gustavo Nunez also led Lakeland with 116 hits. It marks the second straight year the team leader has been the team’s shortstop and the second year the leader has had 116 hits.

SPEAKING OF DEFENSE ... Lakeland committed a franchise-low 118 errors in 2010 - 12 fewer than the former record of 130 set last season as the Flying Tigers led the FSL with a .978 fielding percentage. Former Flying Tiger Brent Wyatt led all FSL outfielders with 20 assists.

THE YEAR OF THE ARM ... Some of the most outstanding performances came on the mound in 2010. Adam Wilk finished fourth in the FSL with a 3.01 ERA while Luke Putkonen placed seventh with a 3.18 mark. The duo helped Lakeland finished tied for second in the league with a 3.30 staff ERA. Putkonen was third with 152.2 innings pitched while Mark Sorensen was fifth with 147.1 innings. Wilk had the third best WHIP (walks + hits per innings pitched) at 1.10 and allowed a league-best 10.15 baserunners per nine innings. Wilk also led the league with just 1.19 walks allowed per nine innings as Lakeland pitchers walked a league low 299 batters.

RACKING UP THE K’S ... Three Lakeland pitchers reached triple digits in strikeouts this season in Mark Sorensen (113), Charlie Furbush (109 by the All-Star break!) and Adam Wilk (100). Furbush punched out 13 batters on May 10 in just 6.1 innings. It was the first time since the 2005 squad that three players recorded 100 or more strikeouts. The trio helped Lakeland strikeout a franchise best 989 batters in 2010.

LIMITED POP POTENTIAL ... Billy Nowlin and Jordan Lennerton each hit nine homers to tie for the team lead. It is the first time since Dan Ruff hit nine to lead the 1993 team that the team leader did not reach double digits in home runs.

TWO GRAND SLAMS ... Two Lakeland batters hit home runs with the bases loaded this season as Bryan Holaday cleared the fence on July 28 in a 7-6 win over Bradenton at home and Brent Wyatt did so in a 7-1 win at St. Lucie on Aug. 2.

CATEGORY LEADERS ... Gustavo Nunez led Lakeland in runs (66), hits (116), triples (tied with 6), total bases (147), stolen bases (33) and sacrifice bunts (16). Francisco Martinez led with a .271 average among those hits with 280 or more at bats. Brent Wyatt led with 18 doubles while Daniel Fields and Kody Kaiser tied with Nunez for the team lead in triples with six. Fields also led with 47 runs batted in and 55 walks. Jordan Lennerton and Billy Nowlin each hit nine homers to lead Lakeland in that category. Kody Kaiser had a 21-game hit streak from May 15-June 5, the second longest streak this season only to Clearwater’s Harold Garcia who set a FSL record by hitting in an amazing 37 straight games from May 24-July 4. Alden Carrithers reached base in 32 consecutive games from April 28-June 2 - also the second longest streak in the FSL in 2010. Mark Sorensen led with 10 wins and 113 strikeouts while Adam Wilk led with a 3.01 ERA among those pitchers with 110 or more innings pitched. Jared Gayhart and Lester Oliveros led with nine saves each while Luke Putkonen led the team with 152.2 innings pitched, the most innings pitched since Kevin Ardoin tossed 155.1 frames in 2006.

PERFECT SEASON SERIES ... Lakeland swept its eight-game season series with Jupiter in 2010, the first series sweep of any team by Lakeland in at least 16 seasons. The Flying Tigers also posted winning records over Brevard County (11-7), Daytona (10-8), Charlotte (5-3) and St. Lucie (6-2), while splitting eight games with Bradenton.

CLOSE ONES ... Fifty of Lakeland’s games in 2010 were decided by just one run with Lakeland splitting the 50 games, winning 25 and losing 25 games.

BEST DAYS ... The Flying Tigers were 14-5 on Wednesdays, 12-8 on Fridays and 12-9 on Tuesdays.

NOT HOT ON A WEEKEND ... Lakeland was a combined 16-23 on Saturdays and Sundays.

TOP CROWD ... The Bright House Networks night brought in the most fans once again with 5,514 fans walking through the turnstiles while 4,402 fans came out on a rainy Fourth of July game.

UP THE LADDER ... While no Flying Tiger made it the bigs this season, six played at AAA Toledo in catcher Andy Bouchie and Angel Flores, outfielders Ben Guez and Chris White, along with pitchers Charlie Furbush and Matt Hoffman. Numerous Flying Tigers played at both Lakeland and Erie including: Rawley Bishop (1B), Bouchie, Alden Carrithers (2B), Brandon Douglas (2B), Flores, Guez, Carmelo Jaime (OF), Kody Kaiser (OF), Matt Mansilla (OF), John Murian (C), Billy Nowlin (IF), Kyle Peter (OF), Bryan Pounds (IF), Chris White (OF), and Brent Wyatt (OF), along with pitchers Erik Crichton, Charlie Furbush, Ramon Garcia, Jared Gayhart, Cory Hamilton, Matt Hoffman, Jon Kibler, Lester Oliveros, Jose Ortega, Anthony Shawler, Brayan Villarreal, Jay Voss, Rob Waite, and Adam Wilk.

Mission Notes vs. Daytona (Sept. 3-5)

THE FLYING TIGERS (32-32, 69-65) - Lakeland played in an amazing 17-inning game on Wednesday night with the pitching staff throwing a no-hitter through 13.1 innings. Cole Nelson worked seven hitless innings while Bruce Rondon, Matt Little and Wilfredo Ramirez each worked two innings without allowing a hit before Justin Jackson singled up the middle to break up the no-hit bid with one out in the 13th inning. Neither team scored through 16 innings with the Blue Jays scoring once in the top of the 17th while Lakeland pushed across a pair in the bottom of the frame for a walk-off win. Last night, The Lakeland defense committed four errors and managed just three hits in a 4-1 loss to Dunedin. The loss leaves the Flying Tigers at 32-32 in the second half and 2.0 games behind third place Brevard County. Lakeland is eighth in the FSL with a .255 team batting average and third with a 3.32 ERA.

THE CUBS (39-26, 73-62) ... Daytona, coming off a doubleheader sweep of Clearwater last night, is battling for a playoff spot trailing the Tampa Yankees by two games. Rebel Ridling leads the Cubs with 13 home runs and 75 runs batted in while D.J. LeMahieu is third in the Florida State League with a .314 average. LeMahieu leads the FSL with 170 hits while Ridling is tops with 34 doubles. The Cubs are the second highest scoring team in the league with 598 runs scored. Daytona is fourth in the FSL with a .262 team batting average and sixth with a 3.58 staff ERA.

THE SERIES ... Lakeland holds an 8-7 advantage in the series and had won four in a row in the series before the Cubs recorded a 6-1 victory in the last meeting on Aug. 29 in Daytona. Three of the 15 games have been extra-inning affairs while five games have been decided by one run and ten games by two runs or less.

CURTAIN LOWERED ... The 2010 season comes to a close this Sunday with Breakfast with the Flying Tigers at 11 am.

NEW SINGLE SEASON ATTENDANCE RECORD SET ... The Lakeland Flying Tigers established a new single-season attendance record at Joker Marchant Stadium with Wednesday’s crowd vs. the Dunedin Blue Jays. Kerri Koesel of Lakeland was the 61,256th fan to pass through the gates this season. The previous mark was set in 1987 when the team drew 61,255 fans. The mark also represents an increase of almost 25% from 2009 when 49,569 fans attended games.

TOUGH LUCK - PT. I ... Jacob Turner has not allowed a run in his last three starts, going five innings in each outing. He has surrendered just 9 total hits while striking out 19 and walking three in those games. However, due to a lack of runs behind him. He has three no decisions to show for his efforts. In his last five games, Turner, who is 2-0 in those starts, has surrendered just one earned run in 25.1 innings for a miniscule 0.36 ERA.

TOUGH LUCK - PT. II ... New Flying Tiger pitcher Cole Nelson has started two games for Lakeland and given up just one hit over 12.0 innings pitched. He surrendered one run in his first start, a 5.0 inning affair in his Lakeland debut on Aug,. 26. On Sept. 1, he was started the 17-inning marathon for Lakeland, tossing 7.0 no-hit innings. For all his efforts, he has two no decisions.

SORENSEN STREAK SNAPPED ... Mark Sorensen had won five consecutive starts to start the month of August before getting a no-decision to close out the month on Aug. 31.

FIVE-GAME HIT STREAKS ... Centerfielder Daniel Fields and Jordan Lennerton each enter this series with five game hit streaks. Lennerton is 8x22 (.364) with four doubles while Fields is 6x24 (.250) with hits in eight of his last nine games.

MARTINEZ ON THE ROCKS ... Third baseman Franciso Martinez is 10x41 (.244) in his last nine games.

KEEN ON McKENNA ... Second baseman Patrick McKenna is 7x21 (.333) in his last four games and 11x36 (.306) over his last eight games.

WILK NAMED FSL ALL-STAR ... Pitcher Adam Wilk was Lakeland’s lone representative on the Florida Southern League All-Star team as voted upon by league manager, general managers, official scorekeepers and the media. Wilk is 9-5 on the season with a 3.01 ERA.

RONDON EARNS GCL HONOR ... New Lakeland pitcher Bruce Rondon has been named to the Gulf Coast League All-Star team as announced on Thursday. Rondon was 0-0 with 15 saves and a 0.70 ERA before being called up to Lakeland on Aug. 24.

PERFECT LITTLE PITCHER ... Matt Little has appeared in five games since joining Lakeland on Aug. 17 from West Michigan and has yet to surrender a score to any opponent. He has recorded 10 strikeouts while walking three.

DETROIT BEST DRESSED ... In a survey conducted by UniWatchBlog.com, the Detroit Tigers’s home uniform was chosen as “Best Home MLB Uni.” The Tigers received 941 votes among readers - some 146 more than the second place St. Louis Cardinals. Rounding out the top five were New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers.

AFFILIATE GLANCE ... The Toledo Mud Hens (AAA) are 66-73 overall this season and in fourth place, 12.5 games out in the International West Division. Former Lakeland Tiger Jeff Frazier leads the club with 25 homers and 73 runs batted in. The Erie Seawolves (AA) are 62-75 and are in fifth place, 17.0 games out of first in the Western Division of the Eastern League. Former Flying Tiger Rawley Bishop is the team’s active leader with nine homers. None of the current Seawolves have played in more than 77 games of the team’s 138 games this season - more evidence of the shuffling of rosters this season. The West Michigan Whitecaps (A) was 17 games under .500 in the first half, but has made a nice turnaround in the second half taking a 34-32 record into tonight. They are in third place in the Eastern Division of the Midwest League. The Gulf Coast League Tigers finished in third place in the North Division, just 3.0 games out of first place with a 30-28 record. Current Flying Tiger Juaner Aguasvivas led the club with five homers, 14 doubles and 27 RBI this season. The Connecticut Tigers (R) are in a battle for the Stedler Division Pennant in the New York-Penn League as they are just 1/2 game out of first place behind Tri-City. The Valley Cats have a three-game series with Brooklyn which leads their Division with a 49-23 record. The Tigers open a three-game set with last place Aberdeen (32-39).

LOTSA MOVING ... Unofficially, Lakeland posted 125 transactions in 2010 with 66 players playing here, three shy of the franchise record.