Jacksonville Blayze are an OTBA Professional Baseball Team. The team was established in 2004 (game time) and has been owned by the same owner the entire time. Jacksonville has made the playoffs only 3 times and has won only one playoff series. Yet the team's longevity in the league allows the owner, Jaxmagicman, to be part of the Hall of Fame Veteran's Committee.
First Alert Field[]
Jacksonville has played in the same stadium for
the entirety of their existence. First Alert Field was built in 2003 with tax dollars of the local community. Gregg Coughlin, Mayor of Jacksonville at the time promised the fans a 'great oppurtunity to see great baseball.'
The stadium has a capacity of 52,500 people.
The average yearly attendance has been 2,023,527. With high coming in 2006 (3,372,634) and the low in 2028 (1,225,455).
The team has tried many promotional nights that have not gone over too well:
- Skip Work Day- Fans were invited to skip work and come to the ball field. If they could present a current pay stub they got free beer. Problems occurred when the game became a blow out with Jacksonville losing to DeKalb 12-5. The drunk fans decided to return to work.
- Fire Retardant Night- Fans were told to wear flame resistant clothing to get in free. It was meant to promote fire safety. However, it was an unusually hot in Jacksonville, FL that night and 12 fans were taken to the hospital.
- Fire Hose Down Day- Again, another promotion aimed at fire safety went awry. The promotion was to allow kids to be hosed down with a fire hose after a day game. The local paper mislabeled the night as Fire Hoes Down Day and many women showed up with provocative clothes to the game. A promotion meant for children was turned into a practical X-rated affair.
- Robert Gage Night- The team's beloved Shortstop was to be the center of this promotion. The fans were encouraged to bring their Robert Gage gear into the stands. Anybody wearing a jersey or shirt would get $10 off admission. The promotion night was set for the 7/2/2019. Problem with that was that he was traded on the day before to Cheddar Bay[1][2]. The fans came to the game in their gear, and began to protest the team sending one of their best players away. Before the game was over the fans had started to burn the gear in trash cans and even lit one on fire and threw it onto the field.
Currently the team is averaging 41,198 fans a night.
Team History[]
Inaugural Draft[]
Hoping to take the league by surprise, Jacksonville set out to draft high contact, high speed guys. They also looked for defense. The first player drafted by the team was SS Robert Polly. The team then used 2 or the next 3 picks to put a second baseman and catcher on the team. The Blayze neglected starting pitching and planned to use the bullpen to hold leads.
The strategy did not work. The team finished 81-81 the first year, in third place.
Early History[]
Jacksonville finished the first season
Playoff Woes[]
Perennial Loser[]
Trade Controversy[]
This is saved for later
Team Leaders[]
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