Macon Bacon

The Macon Bacon is a Georgia based wood-bat collegiate summer baseball team that began playing in the Coastal Plain League (CPL) in 2018. They have appeared in the league playoffs twice, and finished as the runner-up after a Championship appearance in their second season.

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Information
LeagueCoastal Plain League (West)
LocationMacon, GA
BallparkLuther Williams Field
Year founded2018
Petitt Cup championships1 Appearance
ColorsRed, Black
MascotKevin Bacon
OwnershipSteve DeLay and Jon Spoelstra
ManagementBrandon Raphael (President)
ManagerJimmy Turk
PresidentBrandon Raphael
Websitehttps://www.maconbaconbaseball.com/

History

In 2017, the Macon-Bibb County Commission announced that a Coastal Plain League franchise would be coming to Macon. It would be owned by sports marketing firm SRO Partners, and would begin play in the 2018 season.[1] On July 6, 2017, SRO Partners and Macon-Bibb County signed a ten-year lease agreement for Luther Williams Field, which is currently set to expire on December 31, 2027.[2]

Later in 2017, a contest was announced to select a name for the team.[3] After receiving over 1,500 submissions, five finalists were selected: Macon Bacon, Macon Soul, Macon Hits, Macon Heat, and Macon Noise.[4] A vote was held, with the name Macon Bacon being announced as the winner.[5]

Location

The team is based in Macon, Georgia and plays its home games at Luther Williams Field in Macon.

Prior to the inaugural 2018 season, the team announced plans to complete major renovations and updates to Luther Williams Field, in partnership with Macon-Bibb County. At a cost of approximately $2.5 million, the renovations would be funded by revenue from the 2016 Special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST).[6]

Further changes were made before the 2019 season[7] and before the 2020 season.[8][9][10][11]

Coaching staff

Danny Higginbotham managed the team for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. At the end of the 2019 season, he announced plans to leave the team after being named as an Assistant Coach at Des Moines Area Community College.[12][13] On September 10, 2019, the team named Jimmy Turk, an assistant coach at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona as the new manager.[14] On October 2, 2020, the team announced that Kyle MacKinnon had been named the head coach for the 2021 season.[15]

Attendance

In 2018, the team was named the Coastal Plain League's Organization of the year after selling out 11 out of 23 home games. It finished the 2018 season 2nd in attendance in the Coastal Plain League and 10th overall for the entire summer league, with an estimated home total attendance count of over 47,000.[16]

Yearly records
Season Manager Record
2018 Danny Higginbotham 22-25
2019 Danny Higginbotham 29-21
2020 Jimmy Turk 24-25
2021 Kyle MacKinnon TBD
Overall Record: 75-71

Players in the pros

These former players have been selected in the MLB Draft or have gone on to sign contracts with professional baseball teams:[17][18]

Player School Drafted Drafted/Signed with Season(s) with Bacon
1. Dylan Spacke Georgia Round 21, 641st overall (2019) Boston Red Sox 2018
2. Matthew Minnick Long Beach State Round 23, 705th overall (2019) New York Yankees 2018
3. Riley King Mercyhurst Round 26, 787st overall (2019) Atlanta Braves 2018
4. Keaton Weisz Coastal Carolina Round 36, 1081st overall (2019) Los Angeles Angels 2018
5. MJ Rookard Middle Georgia State University Undrafted Gary RailCats (Independent) 2019

Post-season appearances

During their first season in 2018, the team advanced to the league playoffs.[19] On August 5, they were eliminated in the first round after a 4-15 loss to the Savannah Bananas.[20]

In the 2019 season, the team advanced to the League Championship, the Petitt Cup, for the first time, where they faced the Morehead City Marlins in a 3 game series for the Petitt Cup, where they finished as the runner up, losing by a margin of 1-2.[21] Game 1 of the series resulted in a 3-0 loss to Morehead City.[22][23] In game 2, Macon scored an 11-4 victory over Morehead City.[23] Game 3 resulted in a 2-6 loss by Macon to Morehead City.[23]

References
  1. Dunlap, Stanley (February 2, 2017). "Macon-Bibb baseball proposal sails through committee". The Macon Telegraph.
  2. "Luther Williams Field Lease Agreement" (PDF). July 6, 2017.
  3. "Macon Bacon? Gwinnett Braves aren't only Georgia team looking for a name". Gwinnett Daily Post. August 9, 2017.
  4. Dunlap, Stanley (August 7, 2017). "Five team names make the cut for the new Macon baseball franchise". Macon Telegraph.
  5. McGlamry, Maggie (September 27, 2017). "Macon Bacon chosen as new baseball team name". WGXA News.
  6. Shepard, Katherine (August 24, 2017). "Macon Baseball, county leaders unveil plans to renovate Luther Williams Field". WGXA News.
  7. "Macon Bacon adding tiki bar, Kids Zone to Luther Williams Field". 13WMAZ Eyewitness News. December 11, 2018.
  8. Staff (October 8, 2019). "Macon Bacon officials ask county for investment for cooling fans at stadium". WGXA News.
  9. Fabian, Liz (October 8, 2019). "Macon Bacon plan for cooling fans at Luther Williams field draws heat from Commissioner Lucas". Center for Collaborative Journalism.
  10. Helm, Claire (October 15, 2019). "Bibb leaders approve Macon Bacon rent money for electric fans at Luther Williams". WGXA News.
  11. "Luther Williams Field Lease Agreement" (PDF). July 6, 2017.
  12. "Danny Higginbotham named DMACC assistant baseball coach". Des Moines Area Central Community College. October 9, 2019.
  13. Garrett, Miles (August 21, 2019). "Macon Bacon head coach leaving team for new position". WGXA News.
  14. "Macon Bacon announce Jimmy Turk as new manager". WGXA News. September 10, 2019.
  15. Hines, Whitney (October 2, 2020). "Macon Bacon names Kyle MacKinnon as head coach for 2021 season". WGXA News. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  16. "The Macon Bacon Named 2018 Coastal Plain League Organization of the Year". Coastal Plain League. August 23, 2018.
  17. Garrett, Miles (June 7, 2019). "Macon native takes unique path to being selected in MLB Draft". WGXA News.
  18. Baxley, Justin (June 6, 2019). "These Georgia athletes were selected in MLB Draft. Here's what to know". The Macon Telegraph.
  19. Gaskins, Cam (August 4, 2018). "Bacon are playoff bound in inaugural season after Bananas eliminate Red Wolves". WGXA News.
  20. Heath, Donald (August 6, 2018). "Bacon done: Savannah Bananas advance with 15-4 win in first round of CPL playoffs". Savannah Morning News.
  21. Cox, Jeff (August 6, 2019). "Macon Bacon advance to championship in the Coastal Plain League". WGXA News.
  22. Cox, Jeff (August 8, 2019). "Macon Bacon fall in Game 1 of Championship Series". WGXA News.
  23. "2019 Petitt Cup Playoffs". Coastal Plain League.
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