GreenJackets vice president talks baseball to Rotary Club of Aiken
Jun. 6—The Rotary Club of Aiken got a taste of the nation's pastime Monday as the vice president of the Augusta GreenJackets came out to talk baseball.
Tom Denlinger is in his eighth season with the team, which is the Low-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves.
The team signed a 10-year agreement with the Braves in 2021, after being a San Francisco Giants affiliate from 2005-2020.
Denlinger has spent 19 years total working in Minor League Baseball, having been with the GreenJackets since 2014 when he started as the general manager.
Baseball has a history in Augusta, with the city having had a baseball team for over 130 years under various names and affiliations. A winning tradition has followed, with the team winning four league titles over the years.
The team has also had several players reach Major League Baseball, including Atlanta Braves pitcher Spencer Strider, who pitched at SRP Park as both a Clemson Tiger and a GreenJacket.
Strider, Denlinger noted, was the first GreenJacket to start the season in Augusta and make it to the majors within the same season, an extremely rare feat.
Denlinger said that while the average baseball fan may not need any incentives to come to the park besides the game itself, the GreenJackets run several special promotions throughout the year, plus daily promotions, to attract others.
The daily promotions include honoring first responders every Tuesday and military members on Wednesdays, $1 beer on Thirsty Thursdays, fireworks after some Saturday games and kids running the bases after Sunday games.
The team was first in its league in attendance for the 2021 season, averaging around 3,700 fans a game. That number ranks 20 out of 120 total minor league teams across the country.
So far this season, Denlinger said the team is again at the top of the roost in its league, averaging 4,089 fans a game.
While GreenJackets baseball is played at SRP Park, it is also an event space. Denlinger said there is a 4,500 square-foot club space for meetings, and the park has also hosted a graduation, weddings, concerts and other special events.
"At the end of the day, we're a year-round venue," he said.
The GreenJackets' season runs through Sept. 4. For more information, visit milb.com/augusta.
