SPBA – Winter Fun While It Lasted

The fall of winter on Minnesota – finally getting those anticipated sub-zero days – brings back fond memories of a season (season-and-a-half, really) of very unique Winter Ball.  It was a season in a league that:

The League has its own logo and …

– featured the teams like the St. Petersburg Pelicans and West Palm Beach Tropics – the Divisional winners;

– played in Florida (and briefly Arizona and California) from early November to the opening of MLB Spring Training;

– allowed no players under the age of 35 (32 for catchers);

– attracted former players like future Hall of Famers (Rollie Fingers and Fergie Jenkins), MVP winners (Vida Blue, Fingers, George Foster), Cy Young Award recipients (Blue, Fingers, Mike Cueller) and Rookies of the Year (Jon Matlock, Bake McBride, Al Bumbry) to name just a few of the marquee names found on the league’s rosters.

… an official ball signed by Commissioner Curt Flood and …

The SPBA’s bevy of managers/player-managers included such baseball men as Earl Weaver, Dick Williams, Clete Boyer, Bobby Tolan, Pat Dobson, Bill Lee, Graig Nettles and Gate Brown.

I’m talking about the 1989-90 (and abbreviated 1990-91) seasons of the Senior Professional Baseball Association (SPBA).  The league, which opened play in November of 1989, had eight teams in two divisions – playing a 72-game schedule.

The teams, and their 1989-90 finishes, were:

Northern Division

St. Petersburg Pelicans            42-30

Brandenton Explorers             38-34

Orlando Juice                          37-35

Winter Haven Super Sox        29-43

Southern Division

West Palm Beach Tropics       52-20

Fort Meyers Sun Sox              37-35

Gold Coast Suns                     32-39

St. Lucie Legends                   20-51

… even a set of baseball cards.

Among the league leaders were:  Tim Ireland (.374 batting average); Jim Morrison (17 home runs); Ron Washington (73 RBI); Kim Allen (33 steals); Milt Wilcox (12 wins); Bill Campbell (2.12 ERA); and Rick Lysander (11 saves).

In the first weekend of February 1990, the league’s top four teams participated in league championship (single elimination) playoffs, with the St. Petersburg Pelicans (managed by Bobby Tolan) ultimately defeating the West Palm Beach Tropics (managed by Dick Williams) 12-4 to take the SPBA’s first and only championship.

For its second (1990-91) season, four of the league’s eight teams (Orlando, Winter Haven, St. Lucie and Gold Coast) folded, the Brandenton team moved to Daytona Beach and the SPBA added one team each in Arizona (Sun City Rays) and California (San Bernardino Pride).  Low attendance continued and, on December 28, less than halfway the season, the league was disbanded.

BBRT still thinks it was a fun – if impractical – idea.  And, it did attract some big “name” (former) players – even if it didn’t attract enough fans.  (The sports page coverage was minimal, which also didn’t help.)  To provide an indication of the quality or  former players in the SPBA, BBRT has put together a career-based starting lineup drawn from the SPBA rosters:

Catcher

Jerry Grote … MLB career 1968-81, two-time All Star, age at start of 1989 SPBA season – 37

First Base

Cecil Cooper … MLB career 1971-87, five-time All Star, two-time home run champion, two-time RBI champion, age at start of 1989 SPBA season – 39

Second Base

Bill Madlock … MLB career 1973-87, three-time All Star, four-time batting champion,  age at start of 1989 SPBA season – 38

Third Base

Graig Nettles … MLB career 1967-88, six-time All Star, one-time home run champion, two Gold Gloves, age at start of 1989 SPBA season – 45

Shortstop

Bert Campaneris … MLB career 1961-81, five-time All Star, six times led the league in stolen bases, once led the league in hits, age at start of 1989 SPBA season – 47

Left Field

Bobby Bonds … MLB career 1968-81, three-time All Star, three gold gloves, twice led the league in runs, age at start of 1989 SPBA season – 43

Center Field

Amos Otis… MLB career 1967-84, five-time All Star, three gold gloves, one time led league in stolen bases, twice led league in doubles, age at start of 1989 SPBA season – 42

Right Field

George Foster … MLB career 1969-86, five-time All Star, 1977 NL MVP, two-time home run champion, three-time RBI leader, one-time runs scored leader, age at start of 1989 SPBA season – 40

RH Starting Pitcher

Fergie Jenkins … MLB career 1965-83, BB Hall of Fame 1991, 1977 Cy Young Award, three-time All Star, seven-time 20-game winner, twice led league in wins, four times led league in complete games, age at the start of 1989 SPBA season – 46

LH starting pitcher

Mike Cueller … MLB career 1965-83, 1969 Cy Young Award, four-time All Star, four-time 20-game winner, led league in wins and complete games once each, twice led league in winning percentage, four times lead league in complete games, age at the start of 1989 SPBA season – 52

RH Reliever

Rollie Fingers … MLB career 1968-85, 1981 Cy Young Award, 1981 AL MVP, seven-time All Star, three times led the league in saves

LH Reliever

Al Hrabosky … MLB career 1970-82, led the league in saves and winning percentage once each, age at start of 1989 SPBA season – 40

Just a few other SPBA player names that might ring a bell: Bill “Spaceman” Lee; Al Bumbry; Jim Rice; Toby Harrah; Dave Kingman; Blue Moon Odom; Vida Blue; Hal McCrae; Steve Busby; Mickey Rivers; Wayne Garland; Louis Tiant; Cesar Cedeno – and the list could go on and on.

Notably, several of the SPBA players eventually signed “second chance” major league contracts, including Ron Washington, Joaquin Andujar, Paul Mirabella, Dave Collins, Dan Boone, Ozzie Virgil, Jr., and Tim Stoddard.

All in all, I wish the idea had worked – it gave fans some “old, but new” baseball to  help warm our hearts in the dreary winter months between the World Series and Spring Training.  BBRT retains fond memories of baseball’s brief senior league.

To learn more about this unique experiment,  I’d suggest Peter Golenbock’s book “The Forever Boys” and David Whitford’s “Extra Innings.”