West Palm Beach Tropics
The West Palm Beach Tropics were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The club hired Dick Williams as manager and fielder a lineup that included slugger Dave Kingman and future Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers. The Tropics went 52-20 in the regular season and ran away with the Southern Division title. Ron Washington led the club's offense, hitting .359 with a league-high 73 RBI. Mickey Rivers hit .366 and Kingman added 8 homers. The pitching staff was led by Juan Eichelberger, who went 11-5 with a 2.90 ERA. Tim Stoddard also won 10 games for the club. Despite their regular season dominance, the Tropics lost 12-4 to the St. Petersburg Pelicans in the league's championship game. The Tropics had the Leagues top attendance with 56,012 in 36 home games. The West Palm Beach Tropics returned for a second season as the Florida Tropics. The Tropics did not have a home field and played all of their games on the road, the team's record was 7-15 and were in last place when the league ceased operation and folded in December 1990.
Home Ballpark: West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium
1989 Attendance 56,012 (36 Games) Average 1,555
Manager: Dick Williams 1989/90 Pete Mackanin 2nd season 1990
Coaches: Bob Fralick, Ed Rakow, Larry Brown
1989 Opening Day Roster:
PITCHERS: Pete Broberg, Ray Burris, Doug Capilla (also with Bradenton), Juan Eichelberger, Rollie Fingers, Al Hrabosky, Odell Jones, Paul Mirabella, Sid Monge (also with Gold Coast), Lowell Palmer, Tim Stoddard, Tom Underwood
CATCHERS: Wes Clements, Luis Pujols
INFIELDERS: Toby Harrah, Dave Kingman, Alfie Rondon, Rodney Scott, Mark Wagner, Ron Washington
OUTFIELDERS: Lee Lacy, Tito Landrum, Mickey Rivers, Jerry White
DISABLED LIST: Will McEnaney
Other Players: Benny Ayala, Mike Easler, Randy Johnson, Ron Johnson, Ed Rakow
1989-1990 Stats (Incomplete)[edit]
Hitting Stats | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | POS | AVG | HR | RBI | SB |
Mike Easler | OF-DH | .323 | 1 | 29 | 0 |
Toby Harrah | 3B-SS | .318 | 3 | 44 | 7 |
Randy Johnson | C | .322 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
Dave Kingman | DH | .271 | 8 | 40 | 0 |
Lee Lacy | OF | .314 | 7 | 45 | 4 |
Tito Landrum | OF | .346 | 3 | 55 | 7 |
Luis Pujols | C | .265 | 4 | 27 | 1 |
Mickey Rivers | OF | .366 | 0 | 33 | 9 |
Rodney Scott | 2B | .274 | 0 | 27 | 14 |
Ron Washington | SS | .359 | 5 | 73 | 13 |
Jerry White | 1B | .343 | 6 | 54 | 30 |
Pitching Stats | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Pitcher | W | L | ERA | SV |
Pete Broberg | 8 | 1 | 3.41 | 0 |
Ray Burris | 8 | 2 | 5.05 | 0 |
Juan Eichelberger | 11 | 5 | 2.90 | 0 |
Rollie Fingers | 3 | 0 | 4.91 | 6 |
Al Hrabosky | 1 | 2 | 6.83 | 5 |
Paul Mirabella | 2 | 0 | 2.74 | 3 |
Tim Stoddard | 10 | 2 | 4.10 | 0 |
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