Waterbury Spirit
| North Shore Spirit | |||||
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| League | Can-Am League (2003–07) | ||||
| Location | Lynn, Massachusetts | ||||
| Ballpark | Fraser Field (2003–07) | ||||
| Year founded | 2003 | ||||
| Year folded | 2007 | ||||
| League championships | None | ||||
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| Colors | Red, White, Blue | ||||
| Ownership | Nick Lopardo | ||||
| Manager | John Kennedy, Vic Davilla | ||||
| General Manager | Brent Connolly | ||||
| Media | Lynn Daily Item | ||||
| Website | www |
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The North Shore Spirit was a minor-league baseball team based in Lynn, Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. The Spirit played in the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball (the "Can-Am League," also known as the Northeast League), an independent league that is not affiliated with Major League Baseball or with the Minor League Baseball organization. The team was originally known as the Waterbury Spirit, based out of Waterbury, Connecticut.
The Spirit were owned by Nicholas Lopardo throughout their five-year history in Lynn.
The Waterbury Spirit began play in 1997 in the Northeast League. During the team's four-year stint in Connecticut, they made the playoffs three times, losing in the first round all three times. The team folded following the 2000 season. Originally, the team was to be known as the "Waterbury Wizards" but a potential lawsuit with the Fort Wayne Wizards prompted the team to seek alternate names.
Lopardo acquired the team in 2002 when he purchased the inactive franchise. After the formation of the team was announced in August 2002, Lopardo funded a massive, expensive renovation of Fraser Field. $2 million was put into improvements in seating, comfort, and technology of the field, including the installation of FieldTurf in the infield.
In their first season, 2003, 90,000 people attended Spirit games, a record for pro baseball at Fraser Field. In the 2003 season, the Spirit won the first-half North Division championship and defeated the Quebec Capitales in the first round of the playoffs, 3 games to 0, then were swept by the Brockton Rox, 3 games to 0, in the league championship series, giving Brockton the Northeast League title. Another highlight of the 2003 season was a game against the New Jersey Jackals in which the Spirit set over 15 Northeast League records by scoring 14 runs in one inning. On the field, the team featured two players who were signed by Major League Baseball organizations: outfielder Carlos Sepulveda, by the Florida Marlins and second baseman Marcos Agramonte, by the San Diego Padres. Also in that year the team held a ceremony honoring legendary North Shore baseball player Tony Conigliaro and retiring his number 25.
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