# 2004 Southern League season

The 2004 Southern League was a Class AA baseball season played between April 8 and September 6. Ten teams played a 140-game schedule, with the top team in each division in each half of the season qualifying for the post-season.
The Mobile BayBears and Tennessee Smokies were co-champions of the Southern League championship.

## Team changes

* The Orlando Rays relocated to Montgomery, Alabama and were renamed to the Montgomery Biscuits. The club moved from the East Division to the West Division. They remained affiliated with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
* The Chattanooga Lookouts moved from the West Division to the East Division.

## Teams

2004 Southern League :
| Division | Team | City | MLB Affiliate | Stadium |
| East | Carolina Mudcats | Zebulon, North Carolina | Florida Marlins | Five County Stadium |
| East | Chattanooga Lookouts | Chattanooga, Tennessee | Cincinnati Reds | Bellsouth Park |
| East | Greenville Braves | Greenville, South Carolina | Atlanta Braves | Greenville Municipal Stadium |
| East | Jacksonville Suns | Jacksonville, Florida | Los Angeles Dodgers | Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville |
| East | Tennessee Smokies | Sevierville, Tennessee | St. Louis Cardinals | Smokies Park |
| West | Birmingham Barons | Birmingham, Alabama | Chicago White Sox | Hoover Metropolitan Stadium |
| West | Huntsville Stars | Huntsville, Alabama | Milwaukee Brewers | Joe W. Davis Stadium |
| West | Mobile BayBears | Mobile, Alabama | San Diego Padres | Hank Aaron Stadium |
| West | Montgomery Biscuits | Montgomery, Alabama | Tampa Bay Devil Rays | Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium |
| West | West Tenn Diamond Jaxx | Jackson, Tennessee | Chicago Cubs | Pringles Park |

## Regular season
### Summary

* The Chattanooga Lookouts finished the season with the best record in the league for the first time in franchise history.

### Standings

East Division :
| Team | Win | Loss | % | GB |
| Chattanooga Lookouts | 87 | 53 | .621 | – |
| Carolina Mudcats | 73 | 66 | .525 | 13.5 |
| Tennessee Smokies | 69 | 71 | .493 | 18 |
| Jacksonville Suns | 66 | 71 | .482 | 19.5 |
| Greenville Braves | 63 | 76 | .453 | 23.5 |
| West Division |||||
| Birmingham Barons | 73 | 66 | .525 | – |
| Mobile BayBears | 73 | 67 | .521 | 0.5 |
| West Tenn Diamond Jaxx | 70 | 68 | .507 | 2.5 |
| Huntsville Stars | 65 | 75 | .464 | 8.5 |
| Montgomery Biscuits | 57 | 83 | .407 | 16.5 |

## League Leaders
### Batting leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Napoleon Calzado, Greenville Braves | .359 |
| H | Skip Schumaker, Tennessee Smokies | 163 |
| R | Michael Spidale, Birmingham Barons | 87 |
| 2B | Edwin Encarnación, Chattanooga Lookouts Kelly Johnson, Greenville Braves Rickie Weeks Jr., Huntsville Stars | 35 |
| 3B | Dwaine Bacon, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx | 11 |
| HR | Greg Sain, Mobile BayBears | 28 |
| RBI | Josh Barfield, Mobile BayBears | 90 |
| SB | Dwaine Bacon, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx | 60 |

### Pitching leaders

| Stat | Player | Total |
| W | Steve Kelly, Chattanooga Lookouts Heath Phillips, Birmingham Barons | 12 |
| ERA | Renyel Pinto, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx | 2.92 |
| CG | Bobby Brownlie, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx Jason Cromer, Montgomery Biscuits Jeremy Cummings, Tennessee Smokies Clay Hensley, Mobile BayBears Brad Thompson, Tennessee Smokies | 2 |
| SHO | Brad Thompson, Tennessee Smokies | 2 |
| SV | Brad Baker, Mobile BayBears | 30 |
| IP | Steve Kelly, Chattanooga Lookouts Nic Ungs, Carolina Mudcats | 161.1 |
| SO | Renyel Pinto, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx | 179 |

## Playoffs

* Due to Hurricane Ivan, the final round of the playoffs was canceled. The Mobile BayBears and Tennessee Smokies were declared co-champions.
* The Mobile BayBears won their second Southern League championship.
* The Tennessee Smokies won their third Southern League championship.

### Playoff bracket

| Division finals | Division finals | Division finals | Finals | Finals |
| E1 | Chattanooga | 1 | | |
| E2 | Tennessee | 3 | | |
| E2 | Tennessee | 3 | E2 | Tennessee |
| | | | W2 | Mobile |
| W1 | Birmingham | 1 | W2 | Mobile |
| W2 | Mobile | 3 | | |

## Awards

Southern League awards :
| Award name | Recipient |
| Most Valuable Player | Richard Lewis, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx |
| Pitcher of the Year | Brad Baker, Mobile BayBears |
| Manager of the Year | Jayhawk Owens, Chattanooga Lookouts |