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Column: Norfolk is a minor league city. And the Tides proved that isn’t such a bad thing.

jami frankenberry, the virginian-pilot
·4 min read

Norfolk isn’t major league, we’ve been told time and time again.

By the NBA. The NHL. Major League Baseball.

All have flirted with Norfolk to some extent, and the leagues all came to the same conclusion: Norfolk is a minor league city.

But maybe, after three glorious nights last week at Harbor Park, we can all agree: That ain’t so bad.

The Norfolk Tides finished their International League Championship Series on Thursday night against the Durham Bulls before another raucous crowd. Nearly 22,000 fans turned out to watch the Tides win the series 2-1 for the franchise’s first IL title in 38 years.

The crowd was announced at 7,255 for Tuesday’s opener, 8,120 showed up Wednesday and another 6,469 were on hand Thursday for the decisive game — a dominating 7-0 Tides win. Worth noting: Thursday’s weather was drizzly and cool.

Still, the fans streamed through the turnstiles. They paid for parking, bought hot dogs, popcorn, $2 beers (a postseason promotion) and deep-fried Twinkies and cheered on a Norfolk team that features some of the game’s brightest rising stars.

The Baltimore Orioles have stockpiled talent in recent years, and it has been Norfolk’s fortune to serve as a Triple-A pit stop on the way to the major leagues. The Orioles clinched the American League East a few minutes before the Tides stormed the field in celebration. On Saturday, Norfolk won the Triple-A National Championship with a one-game win over Oklahoma City.

The Tides’ playoff roster included infielder Jackson Holliday, rated the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball. The 19-year-old former No. 1 overall draft pick arrived in Norfolk last month and joined an already formidable lineup that included two players who might be in the majors, if not for the talent logjam in Baltimore. Slugging third baseman Coby Mayo had three hits, including a two-run home run, and four RBIs in Game 3, and former first-round pick (fifth overall) Colton Cowser entered the postseason batting .300 after a cup of coffee with the Orioles.

Did the crowd matter?

“It’s always fun to have the fans rooting for you and hearing your name and everything like that,” Austin Voth told The Pilot’s David Hall after tossing four shutout innings of relief Wednesday. “I definitely noticed that a little bit.”

Manager Buck Britton — a former Tides utilityman — steered the club to the best record in the minor leagues, and after Thursday’s win Norfolk was 92-60. The Tides hadn’t reached the playoffs since 2015, and their last championship came in 1985 with guys named Lenny Dykstra, Kevin Mitchell and Rick Aguilera on the roster.

Those Tides — then the Tidewater Tides — stayed in Norfolk before moving on to the major leagues, even if Norfolk’s history of trying to woo any of the major leagues is cringe-worthy:

  • The MLB chose Washington (the Nationals) over Norfolk when the Montreal Expos were searching for a new home.

  • The NHL looked here and — after a downtown arena proposal and meager season-ticket sales — eliminated Norfolk on the first day of expansion meetings in 1997.

  • The NBA’s Charlotte Hornets were looking to relocate, and Norfolk’s bid included a $276 million, 18,500-seat arena in downtown. Alas, New Orleans had a better bid, and after the Hornets chose the Big Easy, Charlotte got another franchise.

Tides GM Joe Gregory, in the heady aftermath of Thursday’s victory, compared the club’s postseason run to the Norfolk Admirals’ record-setting season in 2012. The Ads rolled to the Calder Cup in front of sold-out Scope Arena crowds and won a pro hockey-record 29 consecutive games.

That was more than a decade ago, and let’s hope we don’t wait another decade for a team to take us on another joyride through the postseason. Or nearly 40 years for another IL championship.

“Hopefully, it’s not 38 years till we win another one,” Gregory told The Pilot’s Michael Sauls.

Norfolk has waited even longer for the major leagues. The city’s last taste of a major league team came in 1976 when the Virginia Squires of the ABA high-tailed it out of town as the league imploded.

But who needs the major leagues? The $10.99 beer, $30 parking spots? Let’s raise a $2 beer, and allow Norfolk to take a bow.

You made the minor leagues seem major.

Jami Frankenberry, jami.frankenberry@pilotonline.com