The 2004 Whitecaps, minus a few who were promoted up to Erie, tore up the Florida State League this year. Although they lost the championship game, the fifth game in a best of five, in 10 innings- it sounds like they had a helluva year.
When they started here in 2004, they were one of the worst Whitecaps teams I have ever seen.
Offensively, the Tigers finished second in home runs (129), second in runs scored (700), and third in team batting average (.276). They had six players belt 15 or more homers and hit six in a game twice, both times against teams that wound up in the playoffs.
And if their pitching, defense and hitting were not already impressive enough, consider this team's speed and baserunning prowess. Tiger runners put constant pressure on opposing defenses by stealing 166 bases during the regular season. Vince Blue stole more by himself (40) than the entire Dunedin team (30).
Overall, Lakeland finished in the top three in 15 different team defensive, offensive, and pitching statistical categories.
Lakeland has never had a team with a higher fielding percentage (.978), team batting average (.277), home run total (129) or saves by its closer (29).
When the regular season ended on Sept. 4, not only did the 2005 L-Tigers also have the highest winning percentage in franchise history (.639), but the best record of any of the 150 teams playing any level of full-season professional baseball in North America. In addition, they had the best record in pro ball within their own division (60-27), as well as on the road (46-23).
Good luck next year guys. The log jam of players starts at AA.