A Surge in Space Coast Baseball

By Stephen C. Smith
Publisher
October 17, 2009

 

“El Duque” Orlando Hernandez (center) watches the FWBL tryouts in Sanford on October 3.

Just when you thought it was safe to turn the channel to college football ...

Professional baseball around these parts usually ends when the Washington Nationals' fall instruction league ends in mid-October.

No one gives much thought to ball and bat until mid-February, when the Nationals return to open spring training.

This year, though, a group of investors hopes you'll turn out to watch ballplayers try to resurrect their careers while they provide affordable family entertainment.

The Florida Winter Baseball League begins play on October 30, with four Florida-based teams playing a 60-game schedule.

One of those teams, the Space Coast Surge, will be here in Brevard County. They will play in historic Cocoa Expo Stadium, the spring training home of the Houston Astros from 1964 through 1984, and the Florida Marlins in their inaugural 1993 season.

Will fans turn out to watch baseball in the winter?

That's the big-money question. Just how much money, no one is willing to say.

Cuban émigré and former New York Yankees star pitcher Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez is the only publicly revealed investor in the project. He was very visible at the league's tryout October 3 at Sanford. Ken Griffey, Sr. is the commissioner and George Foster will manage Lake County.

So there are “name” baseball stars who might attract some attention, at least from the media.

But that novelty lasts only so long.

Anyone involved with professional minor league baseball will tell you that studies have shown the typical patron doesn't come to watch baseball. They come for the entertainment experience.

Those of us who are baseball purists recoil at the notion of coming to the park to watch the mascot or see your neighbor make a fool of himself on the field doing the dizzy bat race.

But I'm also realist enough to acknolwedge that we purists are too few in number to make minor league baseball financially viable, so if that's your thing, come on down!

Space Coast Surge general manager Sean Boudreaux (left) and Global Scouting Bureau president James Gamble evaluate players during the Sanford workout.

Most of the players in the FWBL, at least this year, are independent league players released by major league organizations.

In the pro baseball universe there are two worlds, affiliated baseball and independent baseball.

Affiliated baseball means the minor league team is affiliated with (but not necessarily owned by) a major league team. The Brevard County Manatees, for example, are affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers. They get their players and coaches from the Brewers. They cannot acquire their own players nor can they trade the Brewers' players. Affiliations can change. The Manatees in their history have been affiliated with the Florida Marlins and Montreal Expos. But the franchise will never be independent.

Independent baseball means the minor league team may sign, trade and release its own players. They get no money from Major League Baseball. As you might suspect, independent leagues are less stable, although some have been quite successful. Teams can even change leagues, as did the St. Paul Saints in 2005 when they moved from the Northern League to the American Association. Independent leagues can set their own rules, which was why the Saints signed female pitcher Ila Borders in 1997.

There's nothing to stop the FWBL from signing woman players, although their immediate goal seems to be to help experienced players find a job again in affiliated baseball. They talk openly of a working agreement with MLB to have affiliated minor leaguers assigned to the FWBL, just as top prospects go to the Arizona Fall League.

A lower-level equivalent of the AFL has been tried before, in Hawaii, Maryland and California. None have survived long, primarily because MLB didn't invest money in the operations, unlike the AFL which is run by MLB.

The FWBL, while welcoming MLB participation, isn't counting on MLB money. They hope to establish a stable operation, add new teams in a few years, and offer a viable alternative to sending players to winter leagues in Latin American countries. They would like to be part of the Caribbean Series one day.

Even if the league has only independent players, it's unlikely most patrons will care. They'll go for the afforable entertainment. Surge tickets will range from $5 to $10, so taking the family to FWBL baseball will probably cost about the same as a movie, or little bit less.

Shawn Wooten was an independent ball player who found his way to the 2002 World Series with the Anaheim Angels.

Unlike summer baseball in the Space Coast, the winter weather will be quite mild so watching a game outdoors should be quite pleasant compared to being cooped up in a basketball arena.

And players have been known to resurrect their careers in the indy leagues. It's rare that a major league star comes out of indy ball, but it's not unusual to find a relief pitcher, utility infielder or other spare part who spent time in an independent league.

One example is Shawn Wooten, who spent two seasons in independent ball before he was signed by the Anaheim Angels in 1997. He made it to Anaheim by 2000, and in 2002 was part of their World Series team. Wooten was a catcher, third baseman, first baseman and a right-handed bat off the bench. He made himself valuable by spending time in indy ball.

In 2015, we may see the FWBL champion playing in the Caribbean Series. Or we may look at our FWBL memorabilia on the shelf and muse at the startup league that thought it had the audacity to survive at a time of year when baseball isn't supposed to be played, and failed.

Either way, the FWBL's inaugural season will be one for the baseball history books. It may be a chapter. It may be a footnote. But it'll be worth your time to watch history unfold with your own eyes.