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	Lexington Legends; Founded in 2001; Lexington, Kentucky;
; Team Logo	; Cap Insignia
	Class-level
	Single-A (2001-present);
	Minor league affiliations
	South Atlantic League (2001-present) Northern Division; ;
	Major league affiliations
	Houston Astros (2001-present);
	Name
	Lexington Legends (2001-present);
	Ballpark
	Applebee's Park;
	Minor league titles
League titles	2001
Division titles	2001, 2006
	Owner(s)/Operated by: Bill Shea / Ivy Walls Management
	Manager: Tom Lawless
	General Manager: Andy Shea

The Lexington Legends, who play in Lexington, Kentucky, are a Class A minor league baseball team affiliated with the Houston Astros, in the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Applebee's Park, located in an industrial area on the northeast side of the city just inside New Circle Road (the city's inner beltway).

The teams mascot is "Big L" a moustachioed ballplayer.

[edit] Team history

[edit] 2001–2005

The Lexington Legends began their inaugural season in 2001 under the guidance of manager J. J. Cannon. That year, the team finished the regular season with an overall record of 92 wins and 48 losses. This was the best record in the sixteen team South Atlantic League. In the postseason, the Legends defeated the Hagerstown Suns in the first round and advanced to play the Asheville Tourists in the League Championship Series. The series however was cancelled due to the September 11 attacks and the Legends and Tourists were each declared Co-League Champions.

J. J. Cannon returned in 2002 and led the team to another successful season. The Legends narrowly missed advancing to playoffs that season.

The Legends made a return trip to the playoffs in 2003 and were defeated by the Lake County Captains in the first round.

In 2004, the Legends finished with a record of 68 and 72 with a winning percentage under .500 for the first time in team history.

The team returned to its winning ways in 2005 when manager Tim Bogar led the way to an overall 81 and 58 regular season record (best in the South Atlantic League).

[edit] 2006

On May 31, 2006, it was announced that Roger Clemens would be coming out of retirement for the third time to pitch for the Houston Astros for the remainder of the 2006 season. Planning to keep himself to a strict 60-pitch count, Clemens returned to baseball with the Legends where his oldest son, Koby, played. Father and son quashed reports that Koby would catch his dad for the return. "He doesn't listen to me," Roger Clemens said. "We'd be shaking each other off and arguing too much."^[1] He threw 62 pitches, allowed no walks and only the one run while striking out six in three innings of work with the Legends, who won the game, leading 5-1. Clemens purchased new carpeting and flat screen televisions for the team's locker room during his stay.^{[citation needed]}

The team came into the national spotlight for a second time as a result of events that occurred during a game with the Asheville Tourists on June 25, 2006. In the fifth inning of that game, Tourists manager Joe Mikulik went on an extended tirade after being ejected from the game following an argument with an umpire. This tirade was shown on various television programs including NBC's The Tonight Show, ESPN's Pardon the Interruption and SportsCenter, and MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann.

[edit] 2007–Present

Back-to-back losing seasons took place from 2007 to 2008. In 2007, the team finished in 13th place overall (the second worst finish in team history) in the South Atlantic League with 59 wins and 81 losses. In 2008, the team finished in 15th place overall (the worst finish in team history) in the South Atlantic League with 45 wins and 93 losses.

[edit] Season-by-season attendances

2001: 451,076
2002: 428,840
2003: 370,656
2004: 401,191
2005: 388,710
2006: 376,702
2007: 377,836
2008: 370,570 (68 openings; 5,450 average per opening; ranked 3rd of 16 SAL teams)

[edit] Season-by-season results

Since its inception in Lexington, Kentucky, the Lexington Legends franchise has played eight seasons (all in the South Atlantic League and all as the Class A affiliate of the Houston Astros).

As of the completion of the 2008 season, the club has played in 1,113 regular season games and compiled a win–loss record of 576–537. This equates to a .517 winning percentage. The team has also compiled a postseason win-loss record of 4–4.

Clinched Post-season Berth ♦	Advanced to Championship Round †	League Champions ‡

Season	Manager	Record^[a]	Win %	League^[b]	Division^[c]	GB^[d]	Post-season record^[e]	Post-season win %	Result	MLB affiliate
2001 ♦ ‡	J. J. Cannon	92–48	.657	01.0 1^st	1^st	00.0 —	4–0	1.000	Defeated Hagerstown Suns 2-0 in first round Led Asheville Tourists 2-0 in League Championship Series Declared Co-League Champions^[f]	Houston
2002	J. J. Cannon	81–59	.579	02.0 2^nd	2^nd	02.5 2½	—	—	—	Houston
2003 ♦	Russ Nixon	75-63	.543	07.0 7^th	2^nd	25.0 25	0–2	.000	Lost to Lake County Captains 0-2 in first round	Houston
2004	Iván DeJesús	68–72	.486	10.0 10^th	7^th	17.0 17	—	—	—	Houston
2005	Tim Bogar	81–58	.583	01.0 1^st	1^st	00.0 —	—	—	—	Houston
2006 ♦	Jack Lind	75–63	.543	05.0 5^th	3^rd	08.5 8½	0–2	.000	Lost to Lakewood BlueClaws 0-2 in first round	Houston
2007	Gregg Langbehn	59–81	.421	13.0 13^th	7^th	25.0 25	—	—	—	Houston
2008	Gregg Langbehn	45-93	.326	15.0 15^th	7^th	36.5 36½	—	—	—	Houston

[edit] Notes

^a This column indicates overall wins and losses during the regular season and excludes any postseason play.
^b This column indicates overall position in the league standings.
^c This column indicates overall position in the divisional standings.
^d Determined by finding the difference in wins plus the difference in losses divided by two, this column indicates "games behind" the team that finished in overall first place in the division.
^e This column indicates wins and losses during the postseason.
^f Due to the September 11 attacks, the 2001 best-of-five League Championship Series against Asheville was cancelled. Asheville and Lexington were declared SAL Co-Champions.

[edit] 2009 roster

Lexington Legends roster

Players

Coaches/Other

Pitchers

34 Robert Bono
15 David Duncan
22 Brad Dydalewicz
27 Kyle Godfrey
37 Kyle Greenwalt
10 Michael Hacker
32 Arcenio Leon
20 Jordan Lyles
40 Antonio Noguera
19 Kirkland Rivers
25 Ross Seaton
35 Jose Trinidad †
33 Patrick Urckfitz
31 Henry Villar
36 Brian Wabick

Catchers

46 Federico Hernandez
14 Pedro Gonzalez
27 Maxwell Sapp †

Infielders

9 Ricardo Bonfante †
3 Albert Cartwright
4 Michael Diaz
7 Phil Disher †
13 Jeff Hulett
11 Christopher Jackson
45 Brian Pellegrini
26 Jacob Priday ‡
8 Andrew Simunic
21 Brandon Wikoff

Outfielders

2 Jay Austin
24 Steve Brown
7 Eric Suttle
26 Marques Williams †

Manager

12 Tom Lawless

Coaches

5 Pete Rancont (batting)
44 Travis Driskill (pitching)

† Disabled list
* On Houston Astros 40-man roster
∞ Reserve list
§ Suspended list
‡ Restricted list
# Rehab assignment
Roster updated 2009-08-02

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Legends Hall of Fame

Josh Anderson, Outfielder in 2004, Inducted in 2005
John Buck, Catcher in 2001, Inducted in 2005
J. J. Cannon, Manager from 2001 to 2002, Inducted in 2006
Félix Escalona, Second baseman in 2001, Inducted in 2005
Mike Gallo, Pithcer in 2002, Inducted in 2007

Kirk Saarloos, Pitcher in 2001, Inducted in 2006
Alan Stein, Team President/COO, Inducted in 2005
Charley Taylor, Pitching Coach, Inducted in 2005
Jon Topolski, Outfielder in 2001, Inducted in 2005
Tommy Whiteman, Shortstop from 2001 to 2003, Inducted in 2007

[edit] References

General

"South Atlantic League (1992–)." Baseball-Reference. December 16, 2008.
"Lexington Legends seasons: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008" Baseball-Reference. December 16, 2008
"Lexington Legends seasons." The Baseball Cube. December 16, 2008.

Specific

^ Bailey, Rick “Pitch and catch at the park, Clemens style FATHER, SON 'GET AT IT' IN 90-MINUTE SESSION” Lexington Herald-Leader June 2, 2006

[edit] External links

Lexington Legends official website

[HERALD-LEADERClemens-0] Bailey, Rick “Pitch and catch at the park, Clemens style FATHER, SON 'GET AT IT' IN 90-MINUTE SESSION” Lexington Herald-Leader June 2, 2006

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