the first-half North Division Championship, in record fashion, shattering the league record for first half winning percentage with 35 wins in the 46 game half. The Spirit also once again defeated the Quebec Capitales in the first round of the playoffs, 3 games to 2. However, just as in 2003, the Spirit fell in the league championship series, this time to the New Jersey Jackals. The Spirit won the first two games of the series at Yogi Berra Stadium, but dropped the three games at Fraser Field (two after blowing late inning leads and losing in extra innings). In 2004 the Spirit honored another local baseball legend, Johnny Pesky, affectionately known as "Mr. Red Sox." The team featured two more players who would be picked up by Major League Organizations, this time, two pitchers: John Kelly and Jeremy Sugarman, who were signed by the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, respectively. 2005 was the first year that the Spirit failed to make the playoffs, but nonetheless they had a good season, finishing with the 2nd best record in the league behind Quebec and drawing over 100,000 fans to Fraser Field for the second consecutive season. On September 3, 2005, the last home game of the season, owner Nick Lopardo responded to rumors of the franchise's demise with an emphatic assurance that the Spirit would be back for their fourth season at Fraser Field. Can-Am League and North Shore Spirit history was made in April 2006 as ex-Spirit player Ken Ray made his team debut for the Atlanta Braves, striking out Barry Bonds as part of a 1-2-3 inning against the San Francisco Giants. Ray became a mainstay in the Atlanta bullpen that season and even served as the team's closer for a time. On July 12, 2006, the Spirit won their third first-half championship in franchise history, qualifying for the 2006 Can-Am League Playoffs. They went on to have the most successful regular season in Can-Am League history. In the 2006 playoffs, the Spirit were defeated in the first round by the Quebec Capitales, 3-2, splitting the first two games at Fraser Field and then losing two out of three in Quebec City. Rumors were rampant in late 2006 that the Spirit would leave Lynn, but in November the team confirmed that it would return for a fifth season at Fraser Field, set to begin on May 25, 2007. In September,