Minor league baseball team
Winter Haven Red Sox
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Previous classes
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- Class A-Advanced (1990-1992)
- Class A (1966-1989)
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League
| Florida State League
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Previous teams
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League titles
| 1
(1979)
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Previous names
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- Winter Haven Red Sox (1969-1992)
- Winter Haven Mets (1967)
- Winter Haven Sun Sox (1966)
- Deerfield Beach Sun Sox (1966)
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Previous parks
| Chain of Lakes Park
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The
Winter Haven Red Sox
were a
minor league baseball
team in the
Florida State League
(FSL), based in
Winter Haven, Florida
, from 1969?1992.
Team history
[
edit
]
The franchise began in 1966 in
Deerfield Beach, Florida
, as the
Deerfield Beach Sun Sox
, a Class-A affiliate of the
Chicago White Sox
. However, on June 27, 1966, the team moved to Winter Haven becoming the
Winter Haven Sun Sox
. It was the city's first entry in
Organized Baseball
since the 1919
Bartow Polkers
played part of their home schedule in Winter Haven. The Sun Sox were managed by
Don Bacon
and Bruce Andrew and had a 55?83 record overall.
[
citation needed
]
In 1967, the Sun Sox were renamed the
Winter Haven Mets
after their new parent club, the
New York Mets
. The Mets posted a stellar 94?46 record, but were defeated by the
St. Petersburg Cardinals
for the western division title by two and a half games.
Nolan Ryan
, then 20, pitched for the 1967 team, appearing in one
game
as a
starting pitcher
and allowing one
hit
and one
earned run
in four
innings pitched
, with five
strikeouts
. It was Ryan's last year in the minors before he began his
Baseball Hall of Fame
big-league career.
The Mets left Winter Haven after only a single season, then the franchise lay dormant during 1968. In 1969, the
Boston Red Sox
, who had established their
spring training
home in Winter Haven in 1966, took over the Florida State League franchise. The Winter Haven Red Sox then played for the next 24 consecutive seasons. In 1983, 16 years after Ryan's one-game stint,
Roger Clemens
began his pro career with Winter Haven, winning three of four
decisions
in four starts, and striking out 36 in 29 innings pitched.
The Winter Haven Red Sox effectively folded after the 1992 season, when, after 27 years, the parent Red Sox moved their spring headquarters to
Fort Myers
and their FSL affiliate to
Fort Lauderdale
. Although the
Cleveland Indians
replaced the Red Sox as Winter Haven's spring training tenants from 1993 through 2008, they never revived an FSL franchise for the city.
The ballpark
[
edit
]
The team played home games at
Chain of Lakes Park
, located at 500 Cletus Allen Drive.
[1]
The park still exists as part of the Chain of Lakes Sports Complex.
Notable alumni
[
edit
]
Year-by-year record
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
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East Division
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West Division
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Defunct teams
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