When 96-year-old Greg Crary entered the gates at John Thurman Field on Saturday night, he was the 164,307th fan in 2009, breaking the Modesto Nuts franchise attendance record for the third consecutive season.When Greg Crary entered the gates at John Thurman Field on Saturday night, he was the 164,307th fan in 2009, breaking the Modesto Nuts (High Class A; California League) franchise attendance record for the third consecutive season.
Clary, 96 years old, has been coming to games in Modesto for over 50 years. He received a prize pack that includes a Modesto Nuts game worn jersey, a team autographed baseball and two (2) season tickets for the Modesto Nuts 2010 baseball season.
The Nuts broke the attendance record in the 68th opening of the season. The final regular season game is Sunday against the Bakersfield Blaze.
"The Modesto Nuts are very excited about breaking our attendance record for the 3rd consecutive year," said vice president Mike Gorrasi. "It would not have been possible without outstanding support from the best fans in the California League and the hard work of the front office staff.
"Mr. Crary has been a long-time supporter of professional baseball in Modesto and just celebrated his 96th birthday at the ballpark. We're happy to see his name go in the record books," said Gorrasi.
The 2009 season has seen several Nuts attendance related records fall. On May 9th, the team set a single-game attendance record as 5,083 fans came to the ballpark for the annual Breast Cancer Awareness Night. That record did not last long as 5,424 fans joined the Nuts for the Independence Day celebration on July 3rd. The top three, and four of the top seven, attended games in the history of professional baseball in Modesto have occurred in 2009.
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