Tampa Tarpons
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Tampa Tarpons 1957–1988 Tampa, Florida |
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| League | Florida State League | ||
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| League titles | 3 (1957, 1959, 1961) | ||
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Previous names
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Previous parks
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Al Lopez Field | ||
The Tampa Tarpons were a minor league baseball team based in Tampa, Florida. They played in the Class A Florida State League from 1957–1988, when they were sold, relocated, and renamed the Sarasota White Sox. During their run in Tampa, they won three FSL league championships, in 1957, 1959 and 1961.
The team was established in 1957 to join the Florida State League, then a Class D minor league.Tampa had been without a professional baseball team since 1954, when the Florida International League folded, taking with it the Tampa Smokers. From their inception, the Tarpons played all their home games at Al Lopez Field in Tampa, built in 1955.
The Tarpons were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1957-1960. In 1961 they began a long affiliation with the Cincinnati Reds. They won three league championships, in 1957, 1959 and 1961. In 1964 minor league baseball was realigned, and the Florida State League became a Class A league (now Class A-Advanced).
During the 1980s talk spread of a major league team coming to the Tampa Bay Area, which would threaten the viability of the Tarpons and other minor league teams in the region. Prior to the 1988 season the Reds moved their spring training from Tampa to Plant City, Florida, and moved their Class A franchise to Greensboro, North Carolina (the Greensboro Hornets). The Chicago White Sox subsequently moved their Class A affiliation to Tampa for the 1988 season, amid rumors that the White Sox themselves would be moving to the area. That season the club, renamed the Tampa White Sox, drew 55,900 fans, seventh in the 14-team FSL, and went 35-35 in the first half before they won the western division second-half title at 36-24. They fell in the second round of the playoffs to the St. Lucie Mets 2 games to 0. The club was managed by Marv Foley and had one FSL All-Star, pitcher Jerry Kutzler. Foley won FSL Manager of the Year honors.
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