Albany hosts minor league baseball again

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Posted 2:06PM on Tuesday, April 2, 2002

ALBANY - There was no beach in sight, but the Waves rolled into Albany anyway. The South Georgia Waves - the city's latest minor league baseball team - arrived at the Paul Eames Sports Complex this week to prepare for their Thursday opener in Asheville, N.C. The first home game is Monday night against the Savannah Sand Gnats. ``We're extremely happy to be here, and hopefully we can get off to a good start and draw some good crowds when we start playing here,'' first-year Waves manager Scott Little said. The Waves, the Class A South Atlantic League affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, moved from Wilmington, N.C., in the offseason. The coastal city gave the team its nickname, which has remained after relocation to this landlocked community. However, owner David Heller said fans can expect the team to hold a contest during the season for a new, more fitting nickname. Heller shares ownership of the Waves with Mandalay Sports Entertainment, which owns several other minor league teams, including the Dayton (Ohio) Dragons of the Class A Midwest League, the Class AAA Las Vegas 51s and the Class AA Shreveport (La.) Swamp Dragons. This will be Albany's second venture into the South Atlantic League after the Albany Polecats left in 1995. The city also provided a home last year for the Albany Alligators of the All American Association, an independent minor league. Brian Pilkington, who will be the Waves' starting pitcher Thursday night against the Asheville Tourists, tried on his new uniform Monday after the team's six-hour-plus charter bus ride from spring training in Vero Beach, Fla. ``I'm just happy to have earned the right to wear this jersey,'' the Garden Grove, Calif., native said. ``If it fit me, that was fine, and if it didn't, that was fine.'' ``It's very exciting to have the team here,'' Waves general manager Gerry McKearney said. ``We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but we'll get it done. It's a fun challenge.'' Jared Price, a catcher from Rupert, Idaho, is just eager to play ball, wherever he is. ``It's nice just to get things going,'' Price said. ``We know where we are going to be now, and it's time to start the season.'' Now, if only the players knew where they were going to live. Their search for lodging in the Albany area also began this week.