Bobby Cox was back in uniform as Braves manager on Tuesday night. Well, not quite, but the former Atlanta skipper was in the dugout, managing a group of minor league stars from the Braves farm clubs in the inaugural ‘Future Stars’ game against the Atlanta Braves at Gwinnett‘s Coolray Field. The final spring training tune-up for Atlanta ended with the parent club taking a 4-3 win in seven innings.
The game ended due to rain, but the fans of Gwinnett enjoyed the chance to see major league talent. A Coolray Field record crowd of 10,568 gave Bobby Cox a huge ovation during the pre-game introductions and he appreciated the warm reception. “That was very nice of them,” said Cox. “I’m glad they all came out and I think they all had fun.”
Mike Minor started on the mound for Atlanta and struggled in the first inning, walking the first batter he faced and later gave up a run. The 24-year-old lefty settled in nicely after that and pitched three solid innings, allowing one hit, one run with four strikeouts.
“It was a slow start, I couldn’t really tell you what it was, but I had a few bad pitches to start,” said Minor. “It was fun facing those guys (future stars), because I played with those guys throughout the spring and even last year, so it was fun to see what they had.”
Minor is scheduled to start on Sunday against the New York Mets.
Braves manager Freddie Gonzalez liked what he saw from both sides, especially from the minor leaguers. “The arms out of the bullpen looked really good and (Sean Gilmartin) was great,” said Gonzalez.
Gilmartin struck out two and gave up one long homerun to Dan Uggla in two innings of work.
Overall, both Gonzalez and Cox were pleased with the progress of the players on both sides and believe that this game may become a tradition.
“If they ask us to do this again next year, I would love to do it,” said Gonzalez. The rain ended things early for the fans, but the game seemed to be a rousing success.
“It was a fun ballgame. The fans got a great show,” said Cox. “North Johnson and his staff did a fantastic job taking care of everybody and this may become a tradition.”
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