Jackson Generals

For the former Texas League team of the same name, see Corpus Christi Hooks.

Jackson Generals Founded in 1998 Jackson, Tennessee
Team Logo Cap Insignia
Class-level
Double-A (1998–present)
Minor league affiliations
Southern League (1998–present) North Division
Major league affiliations
Seattle Mariners (2007–present) Chicago Cubs (1998–2006)
Name
Jackson Generals (2011–present) West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (1998–2010)
Ballpark
Pringles Park (1998–present)
Minor league titles
League titles	2000
Division titles	1999, 2000, 2005
Owner(s)/Operated by: Generals Baseball
Manager: Jim Pankovits
General Manager: Tom Hanson

Pringles Park entrance sign.

A baseball game at Pringles Park in August 2005.

The Jackson Generals are a minor league baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The team is located in Jackson, Tennessee, and plays their home games at Pringles Park; opened in 1998, the park currently holds 6,000 fans.

From their inaugural season until 2010, the Generals were known as the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx. The new name is reflective of the Jackson Generals minor league team based in Jackson during the first half of the 20th century.

Team history

Chicago Cubs (1998–2006)

Logo as the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx

The Generals began play as the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx in Jackson, Tennessee in 1998 as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. In the following season, 1999, manager Dave Trembley led the team to win the West Division title. They went on to play in the Southern League Championship series where they were defeated by the Orlando Rays, three games to one. The Diamond Jaxx also hosted the SL All-Star Game that season.

The 2000 team was managed by Dave Bialas and featured such future major league stars as Carlos Zambrano and Corey Patterson. The team also won its first, and only, SL Championship. They defeated the Birmingham Barons (3–2) to win the West Division title, and then beat the Jacksonville Suns (3–2) to take the league title.

The Diamond Jaxx's worst season came in 2001 when the team won only 59 games and lost 80, finishing with a .424 average, their worst average to-date. In 2002, the team lost the West Division Championship to the Birmingham Barons, two games to three.

In 2005, Nomar Garciaparra played in four games for the Diamond Jaxx. The team, managed by Bobby Dickerson, returned to post-season action for the first time since 2002. They won the North Division Championship versus the Carolina Mudcats before losing the league championship to the Jacksonville Suns, one game to three.

After the 2005 season, the team considered a move to South Carolina, citing financial problems, but team owner Bob Lozinak was denied permission by Major League Baseball.^[1] They later signed a three-year lease to play at Pringles Park through the 2008 season.

Following the 2006 season, the Diamond Jaxx ended their affiliation with the Cubs. Team ownership made an attempt to sell the team to a group of investors in Florida which was approved by the city, but failed to meet deadlines for approval by MLB, Minor League Baseball, and the Southern League.^[1]

Seattle Mariners (2007–present)

The Diamond Jaxx began their affiliation with the Seattle Mariners in 2007. They finished the season with a .432 winning percentage.

On October 2, 2007, The Tennessean, reported that the team's owners entered into an agreement to sell the team to a group of Nashville-based investors. Low attendance and financial problems were cited as reasons for the sale. One of the new owners is Reese Smith III, who is also a minority partner in the Triple-A Nashville Sounds. The new owners planned to keep the team in Jackson for the 2008 season in an attempt to increase attendance and break even (financially).^[1] The sale was approved by the Southern League during the 2007 Baseball Winter Meetings.^[2] The majority owner will be David Freeman, who is also the majority owner of the Nashville Predators.^[3]

On September 6, 2010, the team announced that they were retiring the Diamond Jaxx nickname after the 2010 SL playoffs, rebranding as the Jackson Generals for 2011 and beyond.^[4]

Season-by-season record

West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (Southern League)
Year	Regular Season			Post-season
	Record	Win %	Finish*	Record	Win %	Result
1998	66–74	.471	3rd	–	–
1999	84–57	.596	1st	4–4	.500	Won West Division Championship vs Chattanooga Lookouts, 3–1 Lost SL Championship vs Orlando Rays, 1–3
2000	80–58	.580	1st	6–4	.600	Won West Division Championship vs Birmingham Barons, 3–2 Won SL Championship vs Jacksonville Suns, 3–2
2001	59–80	.424	5th	–	–
2002	73–67	.521	3rd	2–3	.400	Lost West Division Championship vs Birmingham Barons, 2–3
2003	65–73	.471	4th	–	–
2004	70–68	.507	3rd	–	–
2005	83–56	.597	1st	4–3	.571	Won North Division Championship vs Carolina Mudcats, 3–0 Lost SL Championship vs Jacksonville Suns, 1–3
2006	75–65	.536	2nd	–	–
2007	60–79	.432	4th	–	–
2008	70–68	.507	3rd	0–3	.000	Lost North Division Championship vs Carolina Mudcats, 0–3
Totals	776–745	.510	–	16–17	.485	1 League Championship
Note: * Finish denotes their position in their divisional standings.

Current roster

Jackson Generals rosterview · talk · edit
Players				Coaches/Other
Pitchers 38 Andrew Carraway 27 Steve Delabar 16 James Gillheeney 17 Steven Hensley 55 Moises Hernandez -- Nick Hill 40 Bobby LaFromboise 19 Brian Moran 41 Edward Paredes 25 James Paxton 44 Stephen Penney 50 Stephen Pryor  4 Taylor Stanton		Catchers  8 Brandon Bantz 11 Jesus Sucre Infielders 21 Vincent Catricala -- Edilio Colina  9 Nick Franklin 15 Luis Antonio Jiménez 24 Francisco Martinez -- Eddy Martinez-Esteve  5 Rich Poythress  7 Scott Savastano 13 Nate Tenbrink  2 Carlos Triunfel Outfielders 12 Johermyn Chávez * 31 Chih-Hsien Chiang  3 Brandon Haveman 11 Kuo Hui Lo 18 Jake Shaffer		Manager 20 Jim Pankovits Coaches 27 Lance Painter (pitching) 28 Cory Snyder (hitting) 7-day disabled list * On Seattle Mariners 40-man roster ∞ Reserve list § Suspended list ‡ Restricted list # Rehab assignment Roster updated August 2, 2011 Transactions → More rosters

Notable former players

Many current and former major leaguers have played for the Diamond Jaxx/Generals. A list of notable players includes:

• David Aardsma
• Micah Bowie
• Ronny Cedeño
• Hee-seop Choi
• Dan Cortes
• Scott Downs
• Kyle Farnsworth
• Nomar Garciaparra
• Adam Greenberg
• Ángel Guzmán
• Greg Halman
• Eric Hinske
• Shawn Kelley
• Josh Lueke
• Carlos Mármol
• Wade Miller
• Sergio Mitre
• Adam Moore
• Scott Moore
• Matt Murton
• Ricky Nolasco
• Corey Patterson
• Carlos Peguero
• Michael Pineda
• Renyel Pinto
• Mark Prior
• Arthur Rhodes
• Jae Kuk Ryu
• Michael Saunders
• Sammy Sosa
• Geovany Soto
• Ryan Theriot
• Luis Valbuena
• Jack Wilson
• Mike Wilson
• Carlos Zambrano

Ballpark

Main article: Pringles Park

The Generals' current, and only, ballpark is Pringles Park. The park, which is owned by the City of Jackson, was opened in 1998 and seats 6,000 fans.

References

• West Tenn Diamond Jaxx. October 2, 2007. <http://www.diamondjaxx.com>.
• "West Tennessee (sic) Diamond Jaxx." The Baseball Cube. October 2, 2007. <http://www.thebaseballcube.com/teams/team_10433.shtml>.

1. ^ ^{a b c} Sisk, Chris. "Nashville group buys Jackson baseball clube." The Tennessean. October 2, 2007: 1B.
2. ^ "Marlins to deal Willis, Cabrera to Tigers." The Tennessean. December 5, 2007.
3. ^ http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080501/SPORTS04/805010359/1002/SPORTS
4. ^ http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100906&content_id=14376552&vkey=news_t104&fext=.jsp&sid=t104 Jackson Generals Unveiled as 2011 Team Name

External links

• Official Jackson Generals website
• Jackson Generals statistics at The Baseball Cube