West Palm Beach Expos
The West Palm Beach Expos were a Florida State League minor league baseball team which existed from 1969 through the 1997 season in West Palm Beach, Florida.
| West Palm Beach Expos | |
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| Minor league affiliations | |
| Previous classes |
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| League | Florida State League (1965–1997) |
| Major league affiliations | |
| Previous teams |
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| Minor league titles | |
| League titles | 2 (1974, 1991) |
| Team data | |
Previous names |
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Previous parks |
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History
The West Palm Beach Expos were a Class A affiliate of the Montreal Expos and played their home games at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium.[1]
Evolving from the West Palm Beach Indians and directly from the West Palm Beach Braves (1965–1968), they were one of the longest existing Florida State League teams. In 1998, the team moved to nearby Jupiter and became today's Jupiter Hammerheads.
Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Gary Carter (1972), Vladimir Guerrero (1996–1997), Randy Johnson (1986), Tim Raines (1978) and Larry Walker (1986) played for West Palm Beach.
The 1990 Expos were recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time.[2]
The ballpark
The Expos played at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium, located at 755 Hank Aaron Drive. The stadium was the longtime spring training home of the Atlanta Braves. It was demolished in 2002 and is now the site of retail stores.[3][4]
Notable alumni
Baseball Hall of Fame alumni
- Gary Carter (1972) Inducted, 2003.
- Vladimir Guerrero (1996–1997) Inducted, 2018.
- Randy Johnson (1986) Inducted, 2015.
- Tim Raines (1978) Inducted, 2017.
- Larry Walker (1986) Inducted, 2020.
Notable alumni
- Felipe Alou (MGR, 1977, 1986–1991) 3× MLB All-Star; 1994 NL Manager of the Year
- Dusty Baker (1968) 2× MLB All-Star; 3× NL Manager of the Year (1993, 1997, 2000)
- Michael Barrett (1997)
- Miguel Batista (1992)
- Tony Bernazard (1975)
- Mike Blowers (1987)
- Geoff Blum (1995)
- Kent Bottenfield (1988) MLB All-Star
- Orlando Cabrera (1995, 1997)
- Ivan Calderon (1992) MLB All-Star
- Jamey Carroll (1997)
- Norm Charlton (1984–1985) MLB All-Star
- Greg Colbrunn (1989, 1993)
- Wil Cordero (1989) MLB All-Star
- Wayne Garrett (1967)
- Cito Gaston (1965) MLB All-Star; Manager: 2× World Series Champion Toronto Blue Jays (1992, 1993)
- John Wetteland (1993) MLB All-Star
- Bill Gullickson (1977–1978)
- Cliff Floyd (1992) MLB All-Star
- Barry Foote (1971)
- Andrés Galarraga (1979, 1982–1983) 5× MLB All-Star; 1993 NL Batting Title
- John Hart (1969–1970)
- Jeff Huson (1987)
- Marcel Lachemann (1974)
- Charlie Lea (1987) MLB All-Star
- Dale Murray (1971-1972)
- David Palmer (1977–1978, 1981)
- Larry Parrish (1973) 2× MLB All-Star
- Tony Phillips (1978–1979)
- Ron Reed (1965) MLB All-Star
- Shane Rawley (1975) MLB All-Star
- Alberto Reyes (1990)
- Gary Roenicke (1974)
- Mel Rojas (1988)
- Scott Sanderson (1977) MLB All-Star
- Dan Schatzeder (1976)
- Tony Scott (1970–1971)
- Bryn Smith (1987)
- Matt Stairs (1989-1990)
- Ugueth Urbina (1995–1996) 2× MLB All-Star
- Ellis Valentine (1973) MLB All-Star
- John Vander Wal (1988)
- Jose Vidro (1995) 3× MLB All-Star
- Jerry White (1971)
- Rondell White (1992, 1996) MLB All-Star
- John Wetteland (1993) 3× MLB All-Star
- Earl Williams (1967) 1971 NL Rookie of the Year
- Esteban Yan (1995)
Year-by-year records
| Year | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 56-73 | 10th | Ed Sadowski | Did not qualify |
| 1970 | 79-50 | 2nd | J.W. Porter | Lost in 1st round |
| 1971 | 58-81 | 11th | Bobby Malkmus | Did not qualify |
| 1972 | 64-65 | 7th | Lance Nichols | Did not qualify |
| 1973 | 80-58 | 1st | Lance Nichols | Lost League Finals |
| 1974 | 79-53 | 2nd | Walt Hriniak | League Champs |
| 1975 | 58-77 | 7th | Gordon Mackenzie | Did not qualify |
| 1976 | 63-79 | 7th | Gordon Mackenzie | Did not qualify |
| 1977 | 77-55 | 3rd | Felipe Alou | Lost in 1st round |
| 1978 | 67-77 | 10th | Larry Bearnarth | Did not qualify |
| 1979 | 79-65 | 4th | Larry Bearnarth | Did not qualify |
| 1980 | 64-73 | 7th | Bob Bailey | Did not qualify |
| 1981 | 65-71 | 7th | Bob Bailey | Did not qualify |
| 1982 | 54-80 | 9th | Junior Miner | Did not qualify |
| 1983 | 75-57 | 4th | Tommy Thompson | Did not qualify |
| 1984 | 72-72 | 6th | Tommy Thompson | Did not qualify |
| 1985 | 74-66 | 6th | Junior Miner | Did not qualify |
| 1986 | 80-55 | 3rd | Felipe Alou | Lost League Finals |
| 1987 | 75-63 | 5th (t) | Felipe Alou | Did not qualify |
| 1988 | 71-63 | 7th | Felipe Alou | Lost in 2nd round |
| 1989 | 74-64 | 7th | Felipe Alou | Did not qualify |
| 1990 | 92-40 | 1st | Felipe Alou | Lost League Finals |
| 1991 | 72-59 | 5th (t) | Felipe Alou | League Champs |
| 1992 | 76-61 | 4th | Dave Jauss | Lost in 1st round |
| 1993 | 69-67 | 8th | Rob Leary | Did not qualify |
| 1994 | 71-60 | 3rd | Rob Leary | Lost in 1st round |
| 1995 | 54-81 | 14th | Gomer Hodge (19-35) / Rick Sofield (35-46) | Did not qualify |
| 1996 | 68-67 | 7th | Rick Sofield | Did not qualify |
| 1997 | 69-66 | 6th | Doug Sisson | Did not qualify |
References
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.
- "Top 100 Teams". MiLB.com. 2001. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- Dolch, Craig. "Remembering the last spring-training game at West Palm Beach's Municipal Stadium". The Palm Beach Post.
- "» West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium". Deadball Baseball.