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GREENSBORO - Pardon Donald Moore if he feels he's beating the system.

"It'll be the first time I've won anything in my life in Las Vegas," the president of the Greensboro Grasshoppers said.

His bounty will come not from the book-turned-movie about card-counting college kids but from Baseball America, the definitive source on the business of the sport. When 1,500 executives gather at the Las Vegas Hilton for the Winter Meetings next week, the Durham-based magazine will honor the Hoppers as the best full-season Class A franchise in Minor League Baseball.

The distinction, the Bob Freitas Award, is considered the Oscars of the industry. With 60 full-season teams, Class A is twice the size of Double-A or Triple-A, which means it's numerically twice as difficult to claim the prize at the Hoppers' level.

"It's something we're proud of and something we think the community should be proud of," Moore said. "If we didn't have great fans, it wouldn't have been possible."

The Freitas citation, named for a longtime administrator and promotions guru who died in 1989, is conferred at each level of play. Organizations must be in existence for at least five years to qualify.

The Grasshoppers have won or shared the South Atlantic League's award for general excellence in every year since moving into $21.5 million NewBridge Bank Park in 2005. In 2008, they led the league and placed third among all full-season Class A franchises in total attendance with 440,787 fans - 319 short of the club record set a year earlier.

Ownership has made two major improvements - a left-field concourse and an extension of the party deck - since the privately financed facility's opening.

"Two of the most important things we try to honor with our Freitas Awards are franchise stability and commitment to the community," said Will Lingo, Baseball America's editor. "Greensboro made the best of its situation in War Memorial Stadium, which was one of the oldest ballparks in professional baseball. Opening the new ballpark not only energized the franchise but also the community and they have become one of the best draws in the minors. It was a great opportunity for us to recognize a franchise that has been a steady presence for almost three decades, yet has taken a quantum leap forward in the last few years."

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