Alexandria Mariners

• Location: Alexandria, VA
• League: Carolina League 1979
• Affiliation: Seattle Mariners 1979
• Ballpark: Four Mile Run Park

Team History

In 1979, the Seattle Mariners signed an affiliation agreement with the independent Alexandria Dukes team of the Carolina League, which were renamed the Alexandria Mariners. At the same time, the league's other independent team, the Kinston Eagles, signed on with the Mariners' brothers in expansion, the Toronto Blue Jays. That made the two teams, and the whole league, much more competitive.

That season, future major league pitchers Bryan Clark, who went 14-5 with a 2.64 ERA, and Karl Best, and catcher Dave Valle played for the team, along with the sixth player chosen in the 1978 amateur draft, outfielder Tito Nanni, who would turn out to be a huge disappointment as a professional. The team was managed by former major league utility infielder Bobby Floyd. The highlight of the season however came from third baseman Gary Pellant, a holdover from the previous year's team, who hit a home run from each side of the plate in the same inning during a 20-7 victory against the Salem Pirates on April 30th. At that time, this was thought to have never been accomplished anywhere in professional baseball and brought the team some great publicity; the feat has since been done at the major league level by Carlos Baerga in 1993 and Mark Bellhorn in 2002. Pellant went on to a long career in organized baseball as a minor league coach and scouting executive. While the association with Seattle was a success in terms of player development, it did not make much sense geographically for the Mariners, and they ended the association after one season, with the team in Alexandria reverting to the Dukes name once again.

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1979	74-62	2nd	Bobby Floyd	none