Does Florida Have A Major League Baseball Team?

Although Florida is home to several spring training facilities for Major League Baseball teams, the state does not currently have a team of its own.

Introduction

Florida is home to two Major League Baseball teams, the Miami Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays. Both teams play in the American League East division. The Marlins are based in Miami, while the Rays are based in St. Petersburg.

The Marlins began play in 1993 as the Florida Marlins. They won the World Series in 1997 and 2003. The team was renamed the Miami Marlins in 2012.

The Rays began play in 1998 as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The team was renamed the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008.

The Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays are a professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They have played their home games at Tropicana Field since their inaugural season in 1998.

History

The Rays began play in 1998 as an expansion team. The team’s first decade of play, however, was marked by futility; they finished in last place in the American League (AL) East in all but one season from 1998 through 2007. In 2008, the Rays advanced to the World Series for the first time since their inaugural season, winning the AL pennant on the final day of the regular season. They then went on to lose to the Philadelphia Phillies in five games.

Since then, the Rays have made four playoff appearances: in 2010 they again advanced to and lost the World Series to the San Francisco Giants; in 2011 they lost in the AL Division Series (ALDS) to the Texas Rangers; and finally in 2013 and 2020 they won their respective ALDS against both the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays before losing to eventual World League champions Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers respectively.

Notable Players

The Tampa Bay Rays have had many notable players throughout their history. Some of the more prominent ones are:

* Evan Longoria: Longoria played with the Rays from 2008 to 2017. He was a 3-time All-Star and won a Gold Glove Award in 2009.

* David Price: Price played with the Rays from 2008 to 2014. He was a 2-time All-Star and won the AL Cy Young Award in 2012.

* Ben Zobrist: Zobrist played with the Rays from 2009 to 2013. He was a 2-time All-Star and won a World Series with the Chicago Cubs in 2016.

Championships

The Rays have won two American League pennants (in 2008 and 2020) and one World Series championship (in 2020), all under the leadership of manager Joe Maddon.

The Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Marlins play their home games at Marlins Park.

History

An expansion franchise, the Marlins began play in the 1993 Major League Baseball season as the Florida Marlins. Their home ballpark from their inception in 1993 to 2011 wasMiami’s suburb of Hialeah, Florida’s Miami Stadium. Following their purchase by Jeffrey Loria, Loria contracted to build a new ballpark for the team, which would become Marlins Park in 2012.

The Marlins are notable for winning two World Series championships as underdogs: the first in 1997, led by future Hall of Famers Tony Pérez and Andre Dawson, and the second in 2003, featuring a young Corey Beckett coached by Jack McKeon. In addition, they are one of only two major league franchises to win a World Series while not winning their division (the other being the 2002 Anaheim Angels) and one of only four to not win a pennant (joining those 2002 Angels (AL) and the 1991 Atlanta Braves(NL)).

The term “Fish” or “Salty” has been used since at least 1957 when it was applied to similar-sounding Minor League baseball teams such as the Salt Lake Bees (now properly written as “Bees”). Other nicknames included The Flamingos and The Birds. When Miami Stadium was demolished after the 1971 season to make room for what became Miami International Airport’s Concourse B expansion,[10] owners Joe Robbie and Danny Thomas decided to transfer their football team, which had been known as the Miami Seahawks and then the Dolphins, from its longtime home atthe Orange Bowl to Miami Stadium. As a result of that move, and becauseDiamondback baseball (Florida’s entry in what became known as Spring Training) also occupied part of Miami Stadium during March and April, it became known informally as “Joe Robbie/Danny Thomas Stadium”. On July 28, 1991,[11] then- owner Wayne Huizenga announced he had renamed all his properties after himself; thus Dolphin Stadium became Joe Robbie Stadium.

In preparation for moving into their new digs full-time in 1993,[12] Huizenga scheduled extra exhibition games that were popularly called”Joe Robbie Nights”. Though H. Wayne had changed the name of JRS a few months before Opening Day 1996,[13][14] many people still referred to this stadiumthroughout its existence simply as “Joe Robbie Stadium”, or more informally as just “JRS”. When Huizenga finally sold all his sports franchises backto South Florida investors in 1999[15][16] – including baseball’s newowner John Henry – he refused any further payment for use of his name onthe ballpark.[citation needed] As a result Henry renamed JRS back tounfamiliar Pro Player Park; this name was used until Pro Player itselfwas bought out by Fruit of The Loom underwear company – one year laterHenry bought back full control over both teams from Fruit Of TheLoom.[17][18][19]

Notable Players

The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. Their home ballpark is Marlins Park. Though one of only two MLB franchises to have never won a division title, the Marlins have two World Series championships, winning in 1997 and 2003 as the Florida Marlins.

The team began play as an expansion team in the 1993 Major League Baseball season as the Florida Marlins and played home games at Joe Robbie Stadium, which they shared with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins until after the 2002 season, when they moved to Dolphin Stadium (now Hard Rock Stadium). Since 2012, their home ballpark has been Marlins Park in downtown Miami. The new park, on 17 acres of the former Orange Bowl site in Little Havana, was designed by Populous and opened in March 2012. The ballpark features a retractable roof to allow games to be played weather-resistant, as well as an aquarium behind home plate and marlin sculptures throughout. The franchise unsuccessfully attempted to build a new stadium at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Broward County; despite being given multiple extensions by legislators there, progress stalled by 2009 and financing for that died out soon thereafter due to other failed stadium plans being prioritized over it by local officials such as then-Broward County Mayor Ken Keechl and then-Broward County Commission Chair Stacy Ritter as well many locals who did not want public money spent on it while public schools were being neglected. The move to Marlins Park coincided with a rebranding that saw the team’s name shortened from “Florida Marlins” to “Marlins”.

Championships

The Miami Marlins, located in Miami, Florida, are a professional baseball team that plays in the National League (NL) East division. The Marlins were founded in 1993 as an expansion team and have since won two World Series championships (1997 and 2003). The Marlins currently play their home games at Marlins Park, which opened in 2012.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while Florida has had several minor league baseball teams over the years, it currently does not have a major league baseball team. Major league baseball teams require a large investment and a significant amount of interest from the local community in order to be successful, and neither of these factors are present in Florida at this time.