Baseball in Tampa Bay

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Baseball in Tampa Bay has had a long and storied history, despite the area's Major League Baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays, being one of the youngest franchises.

Contents

[edit] Spring Training

In 1913, the Chicago Cubs moved their spring training site to the city of Tampa. St. Petersburg soon followed, becoming a spring training host for the first time in 1914 when the St. Louis Browns came to town.

[edit] St. Petersburg

Since 1914, more Major League spring training games have been played in St. Petersburg than any other city.

Team Year(s) Facility
St. Louis Browns 1914 Coffee Pot Park
Philadelphia Phillies 1915-18 Coffee Pot Park
Boston Braves 1922-37 Coffee Pot Park
New York Yankees 1925-42, 1946-50*, 1952-61 Al Lang Field
St. Louis Cardinals 1938-42, 1946-97 Al Lang Field
New York Giants 1951* Al Lang Field
New York Mets 1962-87 Al Lang Field
Baltimore Orioles 1992-95 Al Lang Field
Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays 1998-2008 Al Lang Field

*Note: In 1951, the New York Giants, whose normal Spring Training site was in Phoenix, AZ, and New York Yankees swapped Spring Training locations so Yankees' co-owner Del Webb could oversee both his team and a growing real estate business concurrently. The teams returned to their typical Spring Training sites in 1952.

[edit] Tampa

Tampa has hosted spring training for seven teams: the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators, and the New York Yankees, who currently call Tampa their spring training home.

Team Year(s) Facility
Chicago Cubs 1913-16 Plant Field
Boston Red Sox 1919 Plant Field
Washington Senators 1920-29 Plant Field
Detroit Tigers 1930 Plant Field
Cincinnati Reds 1931-42, 1946-87 Plant Field
Al Lopez Field (1955-87)
Chicago White Sox 1954-59 Plant Field
New York Yankees 1996-Present George M. Steinbrenner Field

[edit] Clearwater

Team Year(s) Facility
Brooklyn Robins (Dodgers) 1923-32 Green Field
Cleveland Indians 1942 Green Field
Philadelphia Phillies 1947-Present Jack Russell Memorial Stadium (1955-2003)
Bright House Field (2004-Present)

[edit] Dunedin

Dunedin has been the only Spring Training home to the Toronto Blue Jays since the franchise's inception.

Team Year(s) Facility
Toronto Blue Jays 1977-Present Knology Park

[edit] Tarpon Springs

Team Year(s) Facility
St. Louis Browns 1925-27

[edit] Plant City

Team Year(s) Facility
Cincinnati Reds 1988-97 Plant City Stadium

[edit] Minor Leagues

The area also has been the home to many minor league franchises since 1919 when Tampa entered the Class D Florida State League (FSL). St. Petersburg also fielded a team in the league in 1920. Both cities were mainstays in the FSL, which is now a Class A league, throughout the 20th century. Past local minor league teams included the Tampa Tarpons, Tampa Smokers, and St. Pete Saints.

Today, the Tampa Yankees still play in the FSL. Other cities in the Tampa Bay region, including Clearwater, Dunedin, and Lakeland have also had long histories in the league and still have teams. In addition, several past and present teams in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League have called the Tampa Bay region home.

[edit] Other Professional Leagues

St. Petersburg was the home of the St. Petersburg Pelicans in the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989-1990. The league featured former major league players who were age 35 or older. The Pelicans won the only league championship.

[edit] College Baseball

Several notable ballplayers have come from the college and university baseball programs in the Tampa Bay Area. Players and managers have reached the Major Leagues from the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg College and Eckerd College. Other schools in the area with baseball programs include Pasco-Hernando Community College, Saint Leo University, University of Tampa, Hillsborough Community College, and Clearwater Christian College

[edit] Amateur Baseball

Amateur baseball also has a long tradition in the Tampa Bay area. This tradition began in the ballfields of Ybor City, a community of mainly Latin immigrants in Tampa. Ybor was home to many social clubs, each of which sponsored highly competitive teams.

Little League Baseball's headquarters for the Southern Region is located in Gulfport.

[edit] Notable Baseball Players from Tampa Bay

Al Lopez, the first area resident to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, came out of the Ybor City environment. Since then, many current and former major league players and managers such as Mike Shenk, Louis DeRosa, Gary Sheffield, Tino Martinez, Luis Gonzalez, Dwight Gooden, Brad Radke, Tony LaRussa and Hall of Famer Wade Boggs (among many others) have gotten their start in Little League, PONY League Baseball, and high school baseball programs of the Bay Area.

[edit] References