Senate Floor: WILMINGTON BLUE ROCKS WIN CAROLINA LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP

Mr. President, last Wednesday evening, with a 6-4, 11th-inning victory over the Kinston Indians, the Wilmington Blue Rocks captured the Carolina League championship for the second time in their 4-year history. I would like to take this opportunity to join all Delawareans in congratulating Manager John Mizerock, his players and coaches, and the entire Blue Rocks' organization for their oustanding season, and -- again on behalf of all Delawareans -- I'd like to thank them for providing us with yet another summer of enjoyable family entertainment.

For 40 years, up until the spring of 1993, Wilmington was without professional baseball until our late Mayor Dan Frawley, former State Representative Steve Taylor, and dozens of other public officials, businesspersons, and community leaders made a commitment to build a stadium and lure a minor league franchise to the city. Now, "The Boys of Summer" have returned each spring, averaging more than 300,000 fans annually as the Blue Rocks have captured the Northern Division title in each of their 4 years, winning the League Championship in 1994 and again this year.

But for all of their success on the field, the Blue Rocks' real contribution has been the sense of community pride which they have brought to the Wilmington area. The people of Wilmington have welcomed these young men from around the country and from as far away as Latin America into their homes and their hearts, and in droves have brought their families out to Frawley Stadium on spring and summer afternoons and evenings to share a few hours of family fun watching their boys in action. In return, the Blue Rocks players and management have involved themselves in the community, visiting schools and conducting baseball clinics, providing our youngsters with fine role models. What's more, the construction of Frawley Stadium and the activity at the stadium has led to the revitalization of an old neighborhood, with the South Madison Street corridor becoming a prime location for restaurants and community events.

Matt Minker and his partners, including my good friends Frank and Fran Long, have given the club ownership with a local flavor, ensuring that the franchise is more than just a business, but an integral part of community life in Wilmington. Ken Shepard, the vice president of baseball operations, and his fine staff have run a first-rate operation where excellent baseball is played in a stadium that is fan-friendly -- and especially kid-friendly -- and always immaculately clean. A friend of mine remembers hearing Ken Shepard tell his staff just minutes after the Blue Rocks concluded their championship season of 1994, that even though there wouldn't be another game for more than 6 months, he wanted the stadium cleaned up "as if there was going to be a game here tomorrow night" -- and it was. That commitment to excellence has led to national recognition of the Wilmington Blue Rocks' as one of the premier minor-league organizations in the Nation.

Blue Rocks' fans will remember another season of first-rate baseball on the diamond at Frawley Stadium; the dramatic win last Wednesday night on Matt Smith's 11th-inning home run; Sean McNally's ninth-inning scamper around the bases to score all the way from first-base on Michael Evans' hit to right-center field clinching the Northern Division title on Labor Day night; Jimmy Byington playing all nine positions in a single game in June; and countless other late-inning rallies, dramatic home runs, and superb pitching performances.

But they've taken home a lot of other memories this summer as well. Memories of clear blue-sky afternoons when the yard work took a back seat to a couple of hours with the kids in the sun at Frawley Stadium; and of summer evenings with the sun setting beyond the stands down the left-field line as a crowd of 5 or 6,000 stood and cheered as the Blue Rocks' pitcher fired a strike to open the game. There'll be memories of legions of kids trailing along behind Rocky Bluewinkle, the blue moose who is the team's mascot; and memories of the mad scrambles to catch the souvenir frisbees that Rocky threw into the stands; of the hilarious Dizzy Bat Races which every evening left several volunteers from the audience sprawled on the green grass, disoriented, and having the time of their lives; and of The Macarena dance at the end of the fifth inning and thousands of fans moving in unison to "YMCA" during the seventh-inning stretch each evening.

Nor will fans forget some of the characters who highlighted their afternoons and evenings at our "Field of Dreams"; Blue Rocks employee Chris "The Dancing Machine" Parise standing on the third-base dugout and leading the fans in "The Chicken Dance"; stadium organist Mike Mixon playing "McNamara's Band" whenever third-baseman Sean McNally came to bat; Jimmy, the soft-pretzel vendor in the stands whose energy and charisma probably doubled the sale of soft pretzels at the stadium; the "Balloon Man" enchanting the younger children with hats and animals made out of balloons; and countless other players, employees, and fans who made each trip to the ballpark a memorable one.

For most fans, however, the Blue Rocks memories of summer 1996 will revolve around the family and friends who shared those good times with them. It is the sharing of good times like that that binds families and friends together, and as we congratulate the Blue Rocks on their Carolina League championship, we thank them for allowing us to share their success with one another.