Brevard County Manatees


The Brevard County Manatees were a minor league baseball team of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League from 1994 to 2016. They were based in Viera, Florida, and played their home games at Space Coast Stadium; built in, the park held 5,346 people and was also the spring training home of Major League Baseball's Florida Marlins, Montreal Expos, and Washington Nationals. The team left Brevard County after the 2016 season for Kissimmee, Florida, where it began play in 2017 as the Florida Fire Frogs.
The team′s mascot was a manatee. From 1994 to 2001, he was named Hugh Manatee, and from 2002 to 2016 he was known as Manny Manatee.

Team history

In 1994, the Manatees won the East Division title, but lost the Florida State League championship series to the Tampa Yankees in four games. They won the East Division again in 2001, but due to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks the league championship series was canceled and the Manatees and the West Division champion, the Tampa Yankees, were declared co-champions. In 2007, the Manatees won the North Division title but lost in the league championship series to the Clearwater Threshers in four games.
On August 12, 2009, the Manatees recorded the 1,000th win in franchise history with an 8–2 win over the Dunedin Blue Jays.
The Manatees were affiliated with the Florida Marlins from 1994 to 2001 and with the Montreal Expos from 2002 through 2004. From 2005 through 2016, they were an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Manatees played their last game on September 4, 2016, losing to the Daytona Tortugas 6–4 before a crowd of 1,573 at Space Coast Stadium. After the 2016 season, the team relocated to Kissimmee, Florida, to play its home games at Osceola County Stadium. The name of the team changed to the Florida Fire Frogs and its affiliation switched from the Brewers to the Atlanta Braves.

Notable promotions

In April 2007, on "World Record First Pitch Attempt Day" the stadium was opened at 6:00 a.m. for the 7:00 p.m. game to allow each fan to throw a ceremonial first pitch. They were still short of the world record by several hundred pitches.

Notable alumni

[Baseball Hall of Fame] alumni