From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Baseball league in Florida, US
The
Florida State League
(
FSL
) is a
Minor League Baseball
league based in the state of
Florida
. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at
Class A-Advanced
from 1990 until its demotion to
Single-A
following
Major League Baseball
's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the
Low-A Southeast
before reassuming its original moniker in 2022.
Each league member is affiliated with a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and most play in their affiliate's
spring training
facility.
History
[
edit
]
The league originated in 1919 with teams in
Bartow
,
Bradenton
,
Lakeland
,
Orlando
,
Sanford
, and
Tampa, Florida
. The league closed down in 1928 and resumed play in 1936. It has continued uninterrupted, except for a four-year (1942?1945) suspension during
World War II
.
Initially, the FSL was classified as a
Class D
circuit. It was elevated to
Class C
from 1921 to 1924 before reverting to Class D from 1925 to 1928. The league went dormant from 1929 to 1935, but was revived as a Class D circuit from 1936 to 1941. After another period of inactivity from 1942 to 1945, it continued at Class D from 1946 to 1962. When the minor leagues were reconfigured in 1963, the FSL was reclassified as a
Class A
league. There it continued until the next reorganization in 1990 when it was elevated to
Class A-Advanced
.
[1]
The championship series' first cancellation was in 2001, when playoffs were canceled after the
September 11 attacks
. Afterwards, the 2004 playoffs were canceled due to the threat of
Hurricane Ivan
. Years later, the 2017 FSL Championship finals were canceled on September 5, due to the threat of
Hurricane Irma
. The winners of the division series playoff games were named co-champions.
[2]
This marked the third time since 2000 that the championship series game was canceled.
[3]
[4]
In 2019, the end of the season and playoffs were cancelled due to the threat of
Hurricane Dorian
.
[5]
The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
before ultimately being cancelled on June 30.
[6]
[7]
As part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, the Florida State League was demoted to Single-A and temporarily renamed the "Low-A Southeast" for the 2021 season.
[8]
Following MLB's acquisition of the rights to the names of the historical minor leagues, the Low-A Southeast was renamed the Florida State League effective with the 2022 season.
[9]
Current teams
[
edit
]
Division
|
Team
|
MLB affiliation
|
City
|
Stadium
|
Capacity
|
East
|
Daytona Tortugas
|
Cincinnati Reds
|
Daytona Beach, Florida
|
Jackie Robinson Ballpark
|
4,200
|
Jupiter Hammerheads
|
Miami Marlins
|
Jupiter, Florida
|
Roger Dean Stadium
|
6,871
|
Palm Beach Cardinals
|
St. Louis Cardinals
|
Jupiter, Florida
|
Roger Dean Stadium
|
6,871
|
St. Lucie Mets
|
New York Mets
|
Port St. Lucie, Florida
|
Clover Park
|
7,160
|
West
|
Bradenton Marauders
|
Pittsburgh Pirates
|
Bradenton, Florida
|
LECOM Park
|
8,500
|
Clearwater Threshers
|
Philadelphia Phillies
|
Clearwater, Florida
|
BayCare Ballpark
|
8,500
|
Dunedin Blue Jays
|
Toronto Blue Jays
|
Dunedin, Florida
|
TD Ballpark
|
8,500
|
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
|
Minnesota Twins
|
Fort Myers, Florida
|
Hammond Stadium
|
9,300
|
Lakeland Flying Tigers
|
Detroit Tigers
|
Lakeland, Florida
|
Joker Marchant Stadium
|
8,500
|
Tampa Tarpons
|
New York Yankees
|
Tampa, Florida
|
George M. Steinbrenner Field
|
11,026
|
|
75km
50miles
Tarpons
10
Flying Tigers
9
Mighty Mussels
8
Blue Jays
7
Threshers
6
Marauders
5
Mets
4
Cardinals
3
Hammerheads
2
Tortugas
1
Current team locations:
East Division
West Division
1
Daytona Tortugas
2
Jupiter Hammerheads
3
Palm Beach Cardinals
4
St. Lucie Mets
5
Bradenton Marauders
6
Clearwater Threshers
7
Dunedin Blue Jays
8
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels
9
Lakeland Flying Tigers
10
Tampa Tarpons
|
Complete teams list
[
edit
]
Teams of the early FSL (1919?1928)
[
edit
]
Teams of the modern FSL (1936?present)
[
edit
]
League timeline
[
edit
]
Past champions
[
edit
]
Awards
[
edit
]
Florida State League Hall of Fame
[
edit
]
The Florida State League Hall of Fame began in 2009.
[10]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Florida State League (Adv A) Encyclopedia and History"
.
Baseball-Reference
. Sports Reference
. Retrieved
November 11,
2020
.
- ^
"Championship Series Cancelled"
.
MiLB.com
. September 5, 2017
. Retrieved
September 5,
2017
.
- ^
Norris, Josh (September 5, 2017).
"Florida State League cancels its Championship Series"
.
Baseball America
. Retrieved
September 6,
2017
.
- ^
Kirkland, Gary (March 19, 2005).
"Are the minor leagues returning to Gainesville?"
.
gainesville.com
. Retrieved
September 6,
2017
.
- ^
Kolakowski, Ryan (August 29, 2019).
"Hurricane Dorian prompts Florida State League to cancel rest of season"
.
Tampa Bay Times
. Retrieved
August 30,
2019
.
- ^
"A Message From Pat O'Conner"
.
Minor League Baseball
. March 13, 2020
. Retrieved
May 5,
2020
.
- ^
"2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved"
.
Minor League Baseball
. June 30, 2020
. Retrieved
July 1,
2020
.
- ^
Mayo, Jonathan (February 12, 2021).
"MLB Announces New Minors Teams, Leagues"
.
Major League Baseball
. Retrieved
February 12,
2021
.
- ^
"Historical League Names to Return in 2022"
.
Minor League Baseball
. March 16, 2022
. Retrieved
March 16,
2022
.
- ^
"FSL Hall of Fame ? Florida State League About"
.
Florida State League
.
External links
[
edit
]
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