Minor League Items: Michael Chavis And Bacon-Themed Fireworks

April 11: The Miami Marlins were outdrawn by their AA affiliate, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. The Marlins drew 6,150, while Jacksonville (playing its home opener) had a crowd of 6,960.
(Somewhat related: The official attendance for the Rays/White Sox game on April 9 was 10,377. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported the actual attendance was 974 (see photo).)

April 12: With two outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the 10th inning, Joel Booker of the Winston-Salem Dash (White Sox, Class A) attempted a straight steal of home...

Coming, June 2: The Lehigh Valley IronPigs will be shooting off "Bacon-themed" fireworks. (The LVIP like bacon. Back in 2014, players wore uniforms featuring "a bacon pinstripe on the side of the pants and a giant slice of bacon on the hat".)

Michael Chavis, the Red Sox's top positional prospect, according to Sox Prospects, was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone (info). In a statement posted to Twitter, Chavis, a 22-year-old third baseman, said that he "fully support[s] the drug testing programs" in both the major and minor leagues and that his positive test is "frustrating".

Equally frustrating is that everything I've accomplished in professional baseball will now be questioned ... I cannot sufficiently verbalize how this entire situation has left me with feelings ranging from anger, fear, frustration, sadness, confusion and complete despair. ... I will continue to stay true to who I am and what I know, and I promise each of you to win back any respect you might have lost in me because of this situation.

Chris Colabello (who played with the Twins and Blue Jays from 2013-16) was suspended for 80 games in 2016 for the same performance-enhancing drug. Colabello maintained his innocence and said recently he believes Chavis:

One hundred percent. I know exactly what he's going through. There's not a question in my mind, and that's without having even spoken with him. Obviously, I could be proven wrong at some point. I know what I know. I know what I went through. So I have no reason to doubt he's not telling the truth.