The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the Low-A Southeast before reassuming its original moniker in 2022.
Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a city of about 73,000 residents in Central Florida on its Atlantic coast. In Volusia County, it is approximately 42 miles (67.6 km) northeast of Orlando, 64 miles (103.0 km) southeast of Jacksonville, and 231 miles (371.8 km) northwest of Miami. It is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropolitan area which has a population of about 600,000 and is also a principal city of the Fun Coast region of Florida.
DeLand is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Volusia County. The city sits approximately 34 miles (55 km) north of the central business district of Orlando, and approximately 23 miles (37 km) west of the central business district of Daytona Beach. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,351. It is a part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropolitan area, which was home to 590,289 people as of the 2010 census.
The Daytona Tortugas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Daytona Beach, Florida, and play their home games at Jackie Robinson Ballpark; opened in 1914, the park seats 5,100 people.
David John Sax is a former Major League Baseball player and the older brother of All-Star second baseman Steve Sax. He played as a catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1982–83) and Boston Red Sox (1985–87) in his brief major league career.
The Jackie Robinson Ballpark is a historic baseball field in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. It is located at 105 East Orange Avenue on City Island, in the Halifax River.
The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the Senior League, was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had eight teams in two divisions and a 72-game schedule. Pitchers Rollie Fingers, Ferguson Jenkins, and Vida Blue, outfielder Dave Kingman, and managers Earl Weaver and Dick Williams were the league's marquee names; and former big league outfielder Curt Flood was the circuit's first Commissioner. At age 54, Ed Rakow was the league's oldest player.
The Bradenton Explorers were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989.
Thomas Andrew Nieto is an American former professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, and Philadelphia Phillies. Nieto is formerly the manager of the Minor League Baseball (MiLB) Rochester Red Wings, the Twins’ Triple-A affiliate. He previously served in various coaching capacities for the New York Yankees and New York Mets. A native of Artesia, California, Nieto attended Gahr High School then went on to Oral Roberts University.
Sports teams in Florida include many professional, semi-professional, amateur and college teams. In professional sports, Florida has three National Football League teams, two Major League Baseball teams, two National Basketball Association teams, two National Hockey League teams, two Major League Soccer teams, one Women's Soccer team and many minor league teams in various sports. Additionally, since the late 19th century Florida has been a significant spring training destination for Major League Baseball teams and their affiliates.
Daytona Beach Islanders was a name for various minor league baseball teams that have all played in the Florida State League from 1920–1966 and in 1977 and again from 1985–1986. In 1968 through 1973, the team became the Daytona Beach Dodgers, due to their affiliation with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1977, the team once again took up the Islanders name before becoming the Daytona Beach Astros for the next seven seasons. Then, for the 1985 and 1986 seasons, they were, yet again, known as the Daytona Beach Islanders, playing as a co-op club of the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers for the first of those years and as a full affiliate of the Rangers for the 1986 season. Finally the team became the Daytona Beach Admirals in 1987, before being sold and becoming the St. Lucie Mets.
Stanley Gene Cliburn is an American former professional baseball player and current manager of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He was previous the manager of the New Britain Bees and the Rochester Red Wings, the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, from 2006 to 2009. Cliburn has also managed in the Arizona Fall League and at other levels in the minor leagues. He is the twin brother of former Major League pitcher Stu Cliburn, who remains a coach in the Twins' farm system. Cliburn was most recently the manager of the New Britain Bees of the Atlantic League, an independent baseball league.
Stewart Walker Cliburn is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played for the California Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB) in all or parts of three seasons spanning 1984–1988. He is currently the pitching coach for the Chicago Dogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball.
Richard Eugene Lysander is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He had a four-season career in the majors, spread out over six years.
Rodney Warren Boxberger is a former baseball pitcher. He won the 1978 College World Series Most Outstanding Player award while a junior at the University of Southern California (USC).
Lucas Allen Weaver is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Embry–Riddle Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, located in Daytona Beach, in intercollegiate sports as is a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) as a provisional member since the 2015–16 academic year for most of their sports ; while its men's and women's track and field teams compete in the Peach Belt Conference (PBC) as associate members. Prior to joining the NCAA and the SSC, the Eagles previously competed in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) as a founding member of the Sun Conference from 1990–91 to 2014–15.
Zachary Richard Veen is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Colorado Rockies organization. Veen was selected ninth overall by the Rockies in the 2020 Major League Baseball draft.
