ZEBULON — The fading summer sun is fiercest on the third-base side of Five County Stadium in August, when kids go back to school and football is already played on Friday nights. That’s the time of year when interest in summer things like minor league baseball starts to wane, even as teams are fighting for playoff berths. This last week of August heading into the Labor Day weekend is a little different at the 34-year-old ballpark that was a minor miracle when it was carved out of tobacco fields at the dusty crossroads of U.S. Highway 264 and N.C. Route 39 for the Carolina Mudcats. After the final game of the homestand Sunday — or maybe in a couple of weeks if they make the Single-A Carolina League playoffs — the Mudcats are leaving their “Field of Dreams” behind, moving to Wilson to become the Warbirds. The last two seasons at Five County have been played with the knowledge this would happen but as the finality of the moment approaches, Mudcats fans and employees, who are also fans, are soaking up what they can. Jerry Sanders is former season ticket holder from Bailey who said he still goes to games every homestand. As he watched the pre-game activities on the field amid the blare of music over the P.A. system, Sanders grimaced when asked about the last game Sunday. “It’s going to be a sad time around here,” he said. How is Sanders dealing with the loss of his team? His face opened up into a grin as he replied: “It ain’t struck yet!” The Mudcats are keeping their diehard fans occupied with their bid to win the Carolina League North Division’s second-half title and slip into the playoffs. Carolina is a game behind Fredericksburg atop the North heading after Friday night’s games. The Mudcats are the guests of the Nationals for the final six games of the regular season starting Tuesday.
The second-half winner will play first-half winner Lynchburg Hillcats in the best-of-3 North Division championship before the Carolina League championship series, also a best-of-3. So there could be more Mudcats baseball at Five County after this weekend, but most everyone is treating Sunday as the finale.
David Lawrence, who has been the Mudcats general manager since 2017, said that as part of the Final Family Sunday at the park, all fans will be invited to come onto the field after the game ends for a big family photo
“It’s certainly emotional because of the people, who make up everything, and because there’s so many who have put their blood, sweat and tears into Five County Stadium here,” said Lawrence.
NO MORE MUDCATS
Five County Stadium’s future is uncertain but the Mudcats future is certain — they’ll be retired as one of the most famous brands in minor league baseball history. That iconic red-and-black logo was a veritable brand unto itself when it debuted in 1991 and opened the door for many more quirky and colorful team names in minor league baseball.
Rick Hening, a Rocky Mount resident who has served as an usher for Mudcats games for five years and has been a fan for a lot longer than that said that losing the nickname, logo and colors was hard to digest.
“I went to the presentation when they made the announcements at the facility,” Hening said of the event at Wilson Industrial Airport last fall when the Warbirds logo and uniforms were unveiled to the public. “And the only thing that disappointed me about the whole thing was they’re taking away the Mudcats name. They could have called them Wilson whatever, but losing the history of the Mudcats name ...”
But Hening isn’t done with the team. He said he’s already made a commitment to be an usher in Wilson next season.
Most of the employees in the front office and with stadium operations will make the move to Wilson, while it remains to be seen if the Mudcats fans who don’t live in Wilson will make the drive.
Sanders thought hard for a few seconds when asked if he was planning to go to Warbirds games in the future.
“I might,” he said after some consideration.
The draw of Five County Stadium lies right in its name. While the owner of the team, Steve Bryant, brought the Mudcats from Columbus, Georgia, to his native North Carolina, he wanted to be part of the Raleigh market. Instead, the fan base seemed to come more from the mostly rural counties of Franklin, Johnston, Nash and Wilson, as well as eastern Wake County with towns like Wendell, Knightdale and Zebulon that were much smaller in 1991 than they are now.
Many of those fans came from rural areas to the “Field of Dreams,” built on former tobacco fields. The water tower painted like a baseball with the Mudcats logo on it is the only hint from 264 there is a baseball diamond just off the highway. Even the first glance at Five County’s grounds looks more like a warehouse with a gravel parking lot in front of a water treatment facility. But once you walk inside the structure, the electric feel of professional baseball is instant, from the perfect green field to the massive scoreboard in left field there is no mistaking that Five County Stadium is a minor league ballpark.
PLACE OF MEMORIES
Numerous memories have been made in those walls over the past 35 springs and summers.
“I think for for me, and for a lot of us that are here in the organization, we’re really focused this week — and hopefully to the playoffs — just on celebrating the 35 years that we’ve been here at Five County Stadium in Zebulon,” said Mudcats broadcaster Chris Edwards. “I still think about coming down here and sitting down the third base line with my dad and my grandpa as an 8-year old kid. And we’re sitting down here in Section 210 and trying to catch foul balls!”
Edwards recently re-joined the Mudcats after 10 years of calling Duke baseball games. Before he spent a year as the Wilson Tobs broadcaster and media relations head, Edwards started his broadcasting career as intern with the Mudcats in 2011.
“So I feel like in a lot of ways, I grew up as a person and as a broadcaster in this ballpark, and to be the one that’s going to be the voice, or be the person that’s going to be part of this last week is kind of humbling and a little overwhelming,” Edwards said.
He revealed that his grandfather passed away in January, so those memories of games at Five County are even more precious.
“And so to come out here, I get to think about him every day, you know?” he said. “And I think that’s the beauty of baseball. It’s not always about the wins and losses. It’s about the core memories that have been created, and that’s anywhere at any ballpark, but for me personally, like the core memories that I have are because of baseball in this place.”
THE FINAL ACT
As the Mudcats move into the proverbial short rows, the memories seem to flow a little richer, Lawrence said. Numerous people have stopped in over the past two homestands to reminisce about some of the times they’ve had at Five County.
“While, certainly, the clock is ticking, it’s done things to rekindle many of the of the great experiences and great times,” Lawrence said.
Hening is steeling himself for the Five County finale, either Sunday or in the playoffs.
“It’s going to be somewhat emotional, because I’ve come here and seen Rocky Mount High School win a state championship here,” he said. “I’ve seen Michael Jordan play here. Seen some of the ups and downs, seen the transition from when the team moved from Kinston to here. … And so seeing some of this, and the players that have come and gone, and the people that have worked here and come and gone. Especially Sunday afternoon after the final out, whether we win or lose, it’s gonna be kind of like college graduation, where you’re not sure if you’re ever gonna see everybody again.”
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