ST, PAUL, MN (October 7, 2009) – The St. Paul Saints have received the American Association’s highest honor, Organization of the Year, the league announced Wednesday.  The team led the league in attendance for the fourth consecutive season, garnered national media attention for innovative promotions and continued a tradition of having players signed or drafted by Major League organizations.  These accomplishments led to the club winning the award for the first time since the league’s inception in 2006.

 

            “We’re thrilled to receive this honor as voted on by our peers,” said Saints President Mike Veeck.  “Our fans deserve the bulk of the credit for creating an environment like no other.  Our field manager, George Tsamis, does a wonderful job putting together a talented, competitive team and our hard-working staff is consistently challenged to create memorable promotions while providing the utmost in customer service.”

 

            The Saints will remember the 2009 season for several outstanding achievements.  Since the American Association began in 2006 the Saints have led the league in attendance every year and this continued in 2009 with 267,398 fans attending regular season games.  This led the next closest team by more than 67,000 fans.  The Saints averaged nearly 5,700 people per game and enjoyed their highest one-game total in franchise history when 9,381 fans attended their July 2 game versus Lincoln.

 

            Since the club’s 1992 inception, the Saints have always been known for timely and hilarious promotions.  This season was no different.  The highlight was the “Re” Count doll giveaway on May 23, commemorating Minnesota’s bizarre U.S. Senate race.  While Norm Coleman and Al Franken allowed the courts to decide the winner for senator, the Saints created a whacky doll with Coleman’s face on one side and Franken’s on the other.  The body was that of Count von Count from Sesame Street, a show celebrating its 40^th Anniversary.  The doll was passed out to fans as they entered the gates, and the promotion was featured locally and nationally by news organizations such as Sports Illustrated, CNN, ESPNand Politico.  Other memorable promotions include the Moonwalker Giveaway (celebrating the 40^th Anniversary of the moon landing and the life of the King of Pop), a Souvenir Cup Giveaway (think: athletic supporter) and twitter-my-face, a night devoted to social media.

 

            The Saints entered the 2009 season with 86 players having inked deals to play for a Major League organization.  Four more players received that opportunity this season.  Tanner Scheppers, a right-handed phenom out of Fresno State University and Dan Kaczrowski, a Hamline University graduate, were respectively selected as the 44^th pick by the Texas Rangers and in the 26^th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the June Amateur Draft.  Outfielder Ole Sheldon became a member of the Cleveland Indians organization in June, and All-Star pitcher Brandon Kintzler had his contract purchased by the Milwaukee Brewers following two perfect innings at the American Association All-Star Game.  Before the regular season was a week old, power-hitting first baseman Craig Brazell signed a contract with the Hanshin Tigers, Japanese Major League organization.

 

            The continued on-field success, coupled with innovative promotions and outstanding attendance figures were key to the Saints earning the Award, which is voted on by the 10 American Association field managers and one media representative for each organization.

 

            The Saints will begin their 18^th season in May 2010.  For more information, please contact the Saints at 651-644-6659 or visit saintsbaseball.com.