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GREENSBORO -- From the house to the curtain to a hanging slider, Tom Hickman brought it all down Monday afternoon.

After some teammates had already left to catch flights home, Hickman ended the Grasshoppers' eventful season when he smacked a leadoff homer in the bottom of the 12th inning to deliver a 7-6 victory over the Lexington Legends before the third-largest crowd in NewBridge Bank Park history.

The Labor Day turnout of 10,103, lured in part by $1 prices on lawn tickets, hot dogs, soda and beer, left the Hoppers 331 fans shy of breaking their attendance record for the fourth straight year.

"I didn't want to play another inning," he said. "We're all ready to get the heck out of here."

Nothing against the city, mind you. It's just that a 138-game schedule is a grind. Even if it's fun.

And this one surely was. Although the Grasshoppers finished 66-72 and missed the playoffs, they led the South Atlantic League in attendance; they hosted a wildly successful All-Star Game; and they witnessed one of the greatest individual seasons in Greensboro's pro baseball history, which began in 1905.

That belonged to center fielder Mike Stanton, who, at age 18, became the youngest American-based professional to hit 35 or more home runs in a season since at least 1962. His third-inning blast Monday gave him 39 for the year and a shot at the league record of 40. He had to settle for a second-place tie when the Legends walked him in his final three plate appearances.

If that killjoy named Hickman hadn't gone deep, Stanton would have had one more shot. Stanton was on deck when the game-winning blast cleared the Mercedes-Benz sign in right-center.

A month ago, his name came up in trade talks involving Manny Ramirez. The Marlins were interested in acquiring the mercurial slugger from Boston. When the Red Sox insisted on Stanton, the Marlins backed out.

"Kind of overwhelming to be in the same sentence with Manny," Stanton said.

Third baseman Matt Dominguez, the Marlins' top draftee in 2007, didn't start the season on time. Mononucleosis took care of that. But when he did get here, he hit .296 with 18 homers and 70 RBI in 88 games.

If you prorate that over a full big-league season, it works out to 33 home runs and 129 runs driven in.

"I came out swinging fine and felt good right away," said Dominguez, who turned 19 last Thursday. "I can't say it took a while for me to get back into things. I wasn't trying to pressure myself."

Although they barely missed another attendance mark, the Hoppers exceeded budgetary expectations in a summer of economic downturn.

"Shoot, it's been a great year," said Donald Moore, the team's chief operating officer. "Can't break records every year."

As for Monday, the guys on the field overcame a 6-2 deficit with the help of three Legends errors and forced extra innings, a development that probably caused a few of them some consternation. Shortstop Daniel Garcia of Covina, Calif., couldn't wait, and he received the OK to leave to catch his flight before the game ended. Pitcher Adam Campbell, who maintains a residence in New Orleans, headed there on Sunday in advance of Hurricane Gustav.

When Hickman went deep, his teammates greeted him at the plate and celebrated.

"I would have liked to see Mike Stanton come up one more time," manager Edwin Rodriguez admitted. "But it was good for Hickman, good for the team and good for the city."

Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rob.daniels@news-record.com