Nashville Sounds Named Baseball America's Triple-A Freitas Award Winner

The Nashville Sounds have been named the 2019 Triple-A winner of Baseball America's Freitas Award. The Freitas Awards have been presented by Baseball America annually since 1989 and recognize franchises for their community involvement, long-term business success and consistent operational excellence. The award will be presented on Monday, December 9 to Sounds General Manager Adam Nuse at the Baseball Winter Meetings in San Diego.
"This is a tremendous honor from Baseball America for our organization," said Nuse. "We strive to be the very best Minor League Baseball team in the country and share this award with our passionate fan base in Middle Tennessee. This would not be possible without their support and the support of the Texas Rangers. Minor League Baseball is alive and well in Nashville and we're excited to continue moving forward with our loyal fans."
The Sounds' Remastered rebranding campaign kicked off the memorable year. Following weeks of teaser campaigns on social media, thousands of fans packed First Tennessee Park on November 15, 2018 to get the first look at the team's complete overhaul of its uniforms, logos and marks. The Remastered event was a rousing success with Rangers ownership, Hall of Famer Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez and current Rangers players present at the highly anticipated reveal.
The 2019 season started in historic fashion for the Sounds and First Tennessee Park with the first Major League exhibition game in Nashville since 1999. The Sunday matinee game on March 24 drew a record-breaking crowd of 11,824.
Attendance at First Tennessee Park continued to surge into the regular season as 578,291 fans passed through the gates during the 2019 campaign. The Sounds drew 23 sellout crowds and finished with an average of 8,631 fans per game, the third-highest mark in Minor League Baseball.
"When picking Freitas Award winners, we are looking to honor clubs that provide excellence throughout the ballpark experience," said Baseball America Executive Editor J.J. Cooper. "The Sounds organization has impressed with its ability to connect with fans in a variety of ways, while also connecting to the unique culture of Nashville. In a very competitive sports market, the Sounds have consistently lived up to very high expectations, which is why they were a logical choice to be our Triple-A Freitas Award winner for 2019."
Off the field, the Nashville Sounds Foundation and community relations department reached new heights in 2019. Once per month during the season, several Sounds players, along with Booster and front office members visited patients at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. On July 22, the Sounds hosted their fourth annual "Hope to Dream" event. The front office, along with several players, and representatives from Ashley HomeStore surprised 30 children from the Boys & Girls Club of Middle Tennessee with new bed sets.
Another rapidly growing program designed by the community relations department continued to develop. Throughout the season the community relations team visited five local elementary schools to play "Pop Up Baseball" games. Front office members, Sounds players and Booster "popped" up at schools with bases, balls and bats. Nashville Mayor David Briley joined the fun for one of the games.
In addition to teaching Nashville's youth about baseball fundamentals, all supplies were donated to the school to further their experience with the game.
The 2020 season begins on Thursday, April 9 when the Sounds host the Iowa Cubs. 2020 season ticket memberships are on sale through the Nashville Sounds ticket office. For more information on membership packages, call 615-690-4487, or e-mail [email protected].