Lightning by the Numbers
by Frank Jolley - Guest Columnist
Baseball’s history is its numbers.
Statistics.
Benchmarks.
It is the language fans use as they banter back and forth between pitches.
Fodder for shaping arguments – friendly and good-natured, of course – comparing players, teams, and eras.
For instance, conversations involving the number “755” almost surely evoke memories of Hank Aaron and home runs. If “511” comes up, Cy Young’s name usually follows, and if “1.12” or “56” are brought up over breakfast or beers, then Bob Gibson’s record low earned run average from the 1968 season or Joe DiMaggio’s consecutive games hit streak, respectively, are in play.
And that applies to every level of the game.
Even the Leesburg Lightning.
As the Lightning prepares for its 19th season in the Florida Collegiate Summer League it’s time to look at a few of the numbers that frame the franchise. They might not contain the luster or mystique of Aaron’s career accomplishments or Gibson’s dominance on the mound, but these digits hold significance for the Lightning Nation.
300, 233, 557
The career victory totals of longtime Lightning manager Rich Billings.
Leesburg’s ultimate “dugout rat” recently secured his 300th win as manager at Lake-Sumter State College, and begins the 2025 FCSL season with 233 as Lightning skipper. In addition, he also has 24 wins (combined) in one-year stints as skipper of the Leesburg Storm and at Leesburg High School.
In a nutshell, Billings is the winningest manager in Lake-Sumter State College and Lightning history.
Billings has 557 career wins – thru April 15. He is second among all baseball managers/coaches in Lake County history, trailing only Leesburg’s legendary Buddy Lowe, who fashioned a 599-246 mark and for whom Billings’ played at Leesburg High School.
An unassuming man more apt to shine the limelight on his players than himself, Billings likely cannot single out many specific wins in his career. However, his career is also approaching legendary status and is worthy – and deserving – of recognition.
So, for the record, here are the landmark wins in Billings’ career at LSSC:
- Win 1 as LSSC manager … Jan. 26, 2008 against South Florida Community College.
- Win 100 … March 9, 2012 against Daytona State College.
- Win 200 … Feb. 8, 2021 against Hillsborough Community College.
- Win 300 … April 12, 2025 against St. Johns River State College.
Billings holds another distinction in Leesburg baseball lore. He is the only player, coach or manager to be in uniform for the Lightning’s first game – June 7, 2007 – and its most recent, a 3-2 win at DeLand on July 28, 2024 that clinched the team’s fifth FCSL championship.
5
Florida College Summer League championships in Lightning franchise history.
Leesburg wasted little time announcing its presence in the FCSL by winning a league title in 2007 – its first season in the circuit. The Lightning then backed that up two years later with a second Whiting Cup – named for league founder Sara Whiting and presented annually to the FCSL champion.
After that, it was quite the wait for the city’s third FCSL title – 2021 to be exact. Leesburg then reached another level and fashioned its current run of five straight appearances in the FCSL Championship Series and three titles in a four-year span, including back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024.
Next up is a run at a third straight league title, the infamous three-peat. A daunting challenge, no doubt, since no team in the FCSL’s 21-year history has ever raised three Whiting Cups in as many seasons.
424
Wins by the Lightning heading into the 2025 season.
Including the postseason, Leesburg has averaged 23.6 wins per season since the franchise’s inaugural campaign in 2007. It begins this season just 11 wins behind the Sanford River Rats (435 wins) for the most in league history, and enjoys a three-win advantage over third-best Winter Park (421).
Leesburg’s first win came in its third-ever game – a 5-3 decision at Winter Springs on June 9, 2007 in the nightcap of the team’s first doubleheader. The Lightning’s first win in the familiar confines of Pat Thomas Stadium-Buddy Lowe Field – 7-5 against Sanford – didn’t occur until June 16.
5,610
Hits produced – all time – by Lightning hitters.
Since its founding, Leesburg has averaged 311.7 hits per season. The team’s high-water mark came in 2016 with 410 singles, doubles, triples and homers.
The team managed only 189 hits in 2020, but was limited to just 23 games that season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
687,240
The number of feet needed by Lightning hitters to traverse the bases on all the hits – 4,243 singles, 996 doubles, 83 triples, and 288 home runs – in franchise history.
That total accounts for 90 feet to reach first base on a single, 180 feet to end up at second base on a double, 270 feet to reach third on a triple, and 360 feet to round the bases on a home run.
The distance is equivalent to 130.2 miles. That covers, roughly, the distance of four trips – there and back – from Pat Thomas Stadium-Buddy Lowe Field to David Lee Diamond at Stuart Cottrell Field in Eustis, with a few miles left for sightseeing.
3,657
Runs scored by the Lightning.
Leesburg has scored an average of 203.2 runs per season since 2007, topping out with 317 runs in 2012. Except for the 2020 season, when the Lightning scored 146 runs in 23 games, the fewest runs scored in a season was in the inaugural season with 151 runs.
1,161
Stolen bases by Lightning base runners since 2007.
Leesburg has never been a team that sat back on the basepaths and waited solely for base hits to move runners around the diamond. The Lightning average 64.5 stolen bases a season, roughly two per game, depending on how many games are played in between the oh-so-common thunderstorms that typically wreak havoc with the schedule.
The team record is 125 steals in 2022, followed by 117 in 2023. The Lightning was least likely to steal a base in 2014, when they managed only 32 stolen bags.
It's interesting to note that if the Lightning were an amalgamation of sorts - combining the franchise roster into single (albeit imaginary) major leaguer - that 'player' would rank second among Major League Baseball's all-time stolen base leaders. 'Leesburg Lightning' would rank behind Rickey Henderson (1,406 stolen bases) and ahead of Lou Brock (938).
And for those who like tinkering with numbers, the Lightning's 1,161 stolen bases is equal to 106,290 feet, or 20.1 miles worth of stolen bases.
288
Home runs hit by Lightning alumni over the past 18 campaigns, an average of 16 per season.
Season totals have varied wildly. For instance, Leesburg hit just 3 roundtrippers in 2007, while the wallbangers in 2012 blasted 35, a total the team has never approached since.
Again, if 'Leesburg Lightning' were an actual MLB standout, he would rank 175th on the all-time home run list, tied with Bobby Abreu, Hank Sauer, Del Ennis and Bob Johnson. He would be one homer ahead of Bobby Bonilla - he of seemingly eternal-contract fame - and six blasts in front of hall of famer Ryne Sandberg.