JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For all of the excitement and fanfare than comes with changing the team name from the Jacksonville Suns to Jumbo Shrimp, at the end of the day they’re still a baseball team. On Tuesday the Jumbo Shrimp held their media day, ahead of Thursday’s season opener against Mississippi.
The Miami Marlins Double A affiliate is coming off back to back losing seasons. This year Randy Ready takes over as manager and although he would love for their record to improve, that’s not their ultimate goal.
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“I learned a lot of things through trial and error,” said Ready. “With Storm (Davis) and the rest of our staff we’re sitting on over 100 years of professional experience. We’re trying to give these players the shortcuts in order to perform at their highest level and compete. The name of the game is consistency and hopefully the Southern League isn’t their last stop.”
Joining Ready on his staff is Storm Davis who will be the pitching coach for the Jumbo Shrimp. Davis spent 12 years pitching in the major leagues and is a two-time World Series champion. Davis also spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons as the head baseball coach at The Bolles School. With so much experience at various different levels of baseball, Davis’ word carries weight in the clubhouse.
“I tell the kids it’s not about being great, it’s about being good every day,” said Davis. “You have to be just a little bit better than your opponent. If we can do that, hopefully we can get these guys ready to go.”
The Jumbo Shrimp have several players who are ranked in the top 30 prospects for the Miami Marlins. Davis said his number one job is to prepare his players mentally and physically for a chance to get call up to the majors.
“Everything we do is for the big league club,” said Davis. “When I got back into coaching pro ball, seven years ago I know that’s what we do. It’s not about us, it’s about the Miami Marlins and everything we can do to help them on a daily basis.”