(/)

ADVANCED (/SEARCH.HTML)

CONTACT US (/CONTACT/) | LOG IN (/LOGIN.HTML) | ADVERTISE (/ADVERTISE/) | NEWSLETTER

(/NEWSLETTER/) |

I’m from Alabama.I’m not a Pedro, it’sreally Pee-dro.”

PETER “PEDRO” BRAGAN JR.

FOLIO COMMUNITY

FOLIO NEWS

THE LAST WALTZOne final homestand for Suns’ owner

Posted: Wednesday, September 2, 2015 12:00 pm

by JORDAN FERRELL (mailto:mail@folioweekly.com)

In the belly of the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, Peter “Pedro” BraganJr., soon-to-be-ex-owner of the Jacksonville Suns, still has an office.

His desk is littered with paperwork, newspaper clippings, stat columns andthe beginnings of an untitled autobiography. On the wall behind him hangframed photos of family, friends and past players. One stands out amongthem, though — it’s of him, age six or so, in a St. Louis Cardinals uniform,attempting to portray his favorite left-handed first baseman, Stan Musial.

This season makes 31 years that Bragan has been a part Jacksonville’soldest sport’s mainstay, Minor League Baseball. This week marks Pedro’slast as the Suns owner, with the final game on Sept. 7.

Prior to Bragan’s bottom of the ninth, so to speak, Folio Weekly sat downwith him to talk business, success and, most important, baseball.

Folio Weekly: I have to know — where did the name “Pedro” come from?Peter Bragan: It all started with my dad’s brother, Bobby Bragan Jr., whoeverybody in the family called “Juno.” I had a cousin named Jimmy Bragan

Jr. and they called him “Jimbo,” which is more common. So, everybody just started calling me “Pee-dro,” but thefirst year [The Suns] did the program, they put Pedro instead of Pee-dro and so, that first summer, people keptsaying, “Pedro? You don’t sound like a Pedro. Where are you from?” I’d say, “I’m from Alabama. I’m not a Pedro,it’s really Pee-dro.” I did that for about 500 people and, by the end of the first summer, I’d just say, “Yes, it’sPedro, what can I do for you?”

Out of the 31 seasons you’ve spent with this team, which one stands out the most for you?The ’87 team was the best team, I think, on the field; it was the first year we were able to get it in the black. I

DOWNLOAD OUR DOJAX APP

THE EYE MORE PHOTOS (/THE-EYE/) | SUBMIT A PHOTO

(/TYPE/PHOTOS/POST.HTML)

(http://folioweekly.ads.communityq.com/www/delivery

/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=354__zoneid=37__cb=b4f19b73fd__oadest=http%3A%2F%2Fwhiskeyjax.com%2F)

CALENDAR MORE EVENTS (/CALENDAR.HTML) |SUBMIT AN EVENT (HTTPS://WWW.SPINGO.COM

/SUBMIT?AFFILIATEID=913)

(https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.folioweekly.android)

(https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id731298417?mt=8)

(/A-Selfless-LEAP-in-Action,13308)

A Selfless LEAP inAction (/A-Selfless-LEAP-in-Action,13308)

(/MODEST-MOUSE,13122)

MODEST MOUSE(/MODEST-MOUSE,13122)

(/More-Faces-of-The-Homeless,13051)

More Faces of TheHomeless (/More-Faces-of-The-Homeless,13051)

(/Coming-Out-Monologues,12884)

Coming Out Monologues(/Coming-Out-Monologues,12884)

Tuesday Sep 15

4:00 pm

Chocolate Apple Class

(http://folioweekly.com/calendar.html#/event/4851990)(http://folioweekly.com/ca…

Mark Hart

THE LAST WALTZ - Folio Weekly http://folioweekly.com/THE-LAST-WALTZ,13503

1 of 2 9/15/15 4:41 PM

© COPYRIGHT 2014 FOLIO WEEKLY | PRIVACY POLICY (/PRIVACY/) | BACK ISSUES (HTTP://ISSUU.COM/FOLIOWEEKLY/DOCS) | WHERE TO FIND FOLIO (HTTP://FOLIOWEEKLY.COM/FIND-THE-FOLIO/) | POWERED BY: CREATIVE CIRCLE MEDIA SOLUTIONS ()

PRINT EMAIL (/SEND_ITEM.HTML?SUB_ID=13503&REFERRING_URL=%2FTHE-LAST-WALTZ%2C13503) TweetTweet 2 0

think we made $10,000 at the end of that year ... The team was great and we got some more publicity becauseof it.

The organization has seen a lot of talent come through the doors over the years: Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez,Giancarlo (formerly Mike) Stanton. In your mind, who’s most memorable player?Going back to that ’87 team, Larry Walker, who won a lot of batting titles with the Rockies and Montreal. I was33 years old at the time, see, and he was probably 24, so we weren’t that far apart. He played golf left-handedbut he didn’t bring any clubs with him. So he’d play out of my bag; we played golf a good bit that summer andgot to be good friends.

What makes Minor League Baseball so special?I think it’s the fact that it’s so affordable. You can bring little kids, you can bring bigger kids and grandparents.It just kind of crosses the generations. Most people who go to a minor league game probably can’t tell you ifthe Suns won or not, but they can say, “We had a good time.”

Why is now the right time to sell the team?My dad died in 2012 and I had some people come up to me right after wanting to buy the team, but myaccountants and advisors said I needed to wait at least two years. I really wasn’t even looking to sell when Mr.[Ken] Babby showed up, but it’d been long enough. My dad had to die owning the Jacksonville Suns. When hegot into his 80s, money didn’t make a difference to him. He just loved coming to the park. But I don’t have anykids to pass it on to, like he did me, so I don’t have to die [owning the team] and I’m not going to.

This season has been billed as “Pedro’s last dance.” That’s kind of a sad thought — is this finale bittersweet or areyou happy to be retiring?I’m happy. It’s a little bittersweet, sure, because I’ve been doing this for so long. I’m not going to know what todo with myself once it’s over but, like I said, my foot hurts all the time, I’m too old and fat and I’ll never losethis belly if I don’t get away from the ballpark. It’s just my time to move on. I’m thrilled and excited with theopening of the rest of my life.

KeywordsPeter “Pedro” Bragan Jr. (/search_mode/keyword/browse.html?search_filter=Peter “Pedro” Bragan Jr.), Baseball (/search_mode/keyword/browse.html?search_filter= Baseball), Jacksonville Suns owner (/search_mode/keyword/browse.html?search_filter=Jacksonville Suns owner), jacksonville (/search_mode/keyword/browse.html?search_filter= jacksonville), florida (/search_mode/keyword/browse.html?search_filter= florida)

Other stories that might interest you

NO COMMENTS ON THIS STORY | ADD YOUR COMMENT

94ShareShare Share

KEEPING PACE(/KEEPING-PACE,13594)

(/KEEPING-PACE,13594)

Yet another St. Johns Countydevelopment project has …

The Power Meter(/The-Power-Meter,13593)POWER UP: HANDOUTS! TheFlorida Legislature is …

The Power Meter(/The-Power-Meter,13592)POWER UP: RESIST 450 Lastweek, Greg Parlier …

(http://folioweekly.ads.communityq.com/www/delivery

/ck.php?oaparams=2__bannerid=15__zoneid=4__cb=26ca90051c__oadest=http%3A%2F%2Fjaxlive.com)

5:00 pm(http://folioweekly.com/calendar.html#/event/4520842)(http://folioweekly.com/ca…

6:00 pm

Jazz Jam Sessions

(http://folioweekly.com/calendar.html#/event/4262853)(http://folioweekly.com/ca…

Wednesday Sep 16

Thursday Sep 17

THE LAST WALTZ - Folio Weekly http://folioweekly.com/THE-LAST-WALTZ,13503

2 of 2 9/15/15 4:41 PM