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West Palm Beach Expos

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West Palm Beach Expos
Minor league affiliations
Previous classes
  • Class A-Advanced (1990–1997)
  • Class A (1965–1989)
LeagueFlorida State League (1965–1997)
Major league affiliations
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles 2 (1974, 1991)
Team data
Previous names
Previous parks

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.

History

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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

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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

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Baseball Hall of Fame alumni

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Notable alumni

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Year-by-year records

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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

[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.
  2. ^ "Top 100 Teams". MiLB.com. 2001. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  3. ^ Dolch, Craig. "Remembering the last spring-training game at West Palm Beach's Municipal Stadium". The Palm Beach Post.
  4. ^ "» West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium". Deadball Baseball.