Chattanooga Lookouts logoHad the Chattanooga Lookouts lost on Aug. 1, they would have been 30 games under .500 at 40-70.
They didn’t lose that night, nor did they lose many games the rest of the regular season. Their 21-8 surge to close the Southern League’s second half resulted in an unexpected North Division title, and they weren’t through.
Chattanooga outlasted Huntsville in a best-of-five series to reach the Southern League championship series for the first time since 1996, and though the Lookouts were swept by Jacksonville, their appreciation for the past five months was by no means diminished.
“This is probably the most enjoyable season I’ve had as a manager,” Razor Shines said, quickly crediting the assistance of pitching coach Scott Radinsky and hitting coach Shawn Wooten. “When you’ve got kids who were beat up — we took a beating early — and to see those same kids respond and get to the championship series is so rewarding.”
The Lookouts finished last in the first half with a 26-44 record, and they were last with a 14-25 mark at the end of July. That’s when Chattanooga embarked on an 11-game winning streak, the longest for the Class AA franchise in at least a quarter century.