The Bradenton Explorers were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association

Senior Professional Baseball Association

The Senior Professional Baseball Association was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over . The league began play in 1989 and had eight teams in two divisions and a 72 game schedule...

 in . That season, the club complied a record of 38-34 and finished in second place in the league's Northern Division, narrowly holding off the Orlando Juice

Orlando Juice

The Orlando Juice was one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. In the league's inaugural season, the Juice finished third in the Northern Division, narrowly missing the playoffs. Pitcher Pete Falcone anchored the club's pitching...

. Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison (baseball)

James Forrest Morrison , is a former professional baseball player who played second and third base in the Major Leagues from 1977 to 1988. During his baseball career, Morrison played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers, and Atlanta Braves...

 led the league with 17 home runs, and pitcher Rick Lysander

Rick Lysander

Richard Eugene Lysander is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He had a four-season career in the majors, spread out over six years.-Major League career:...

 added a league-high 11 saves. In the playoffs, the Explorers lost to the St. Petersburg Pelicans

St. Petersburg Pelicans

The St. Petersburg Pelicans were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The team went 42-30 in the regular season and won the Northern Division title. Steve Henderson hit .352 for the club, and Lenny Randle batted .349. Milt...

, who went on to become league champions.

However the following season, the team relocated to Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach, Florida

Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had...

, becoming the Daytona Beach Explorers. The move was a result of the team losing $1 million during their first season. In Daytona the team had a 11-11 record and were in 4th place when the league ceased operations on December 28, 1990.

Notable players

• Willie Aikens
  Willie Aikens
  Willie Mays Aikens is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He had established himself as one of the top sluggers in the game before drugs derailed his career. In , Aikens was sentenced to twenty years in prison on four counts of crack cocaine distribution and one count of use of a firearm...
  
  
• Gary Alexander
  Gary Alexander (baseball)
  Gary Wayne Alexander is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the San Francisco Giants , Oakland Athletics , Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates...
  
  
• Dan Boone
  Danny Boone
  Daniel Hugh Boone is a former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of three seasons in Major League Baseball, appearing in 1981, 1982, and 1990...
  
  
• Doug Capilla
  Doug Capilla
  Douglas Edmund Capilla, born January 7, 1952 in Honolulu, Hawaii, was a Major League Baseball player drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1970....
  
  
• Stan Cliburn
  Stan Cliburn
  Stanley Gene Cliburn is a retired professional baseball player who played one season for the California Angels of Major League Baseball. He was most recently the manager of the Rochester Red Wings, the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, from 2006 to 2009...
  
  
• Gene Clines
  Gene Clines
  Eugene Anthony Clines is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball, Clines played for the Pittsburgh Pirates , New York Mets , Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs . He was also the hitting coach for the Chicago Cubs from 2005-2006...
  
  
• Al Cowens
  Al Cowens
  Alfred Edward Cowens, Jr. was a right fielder in Major League Baseball. From through , Cowens played for the Kansas City Royals , California Angels , Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners . He batted and threw right-handed.A native of Los Angeles, California, Cowens was a product of the Kansas...
  
  
• John D'Acquisto
  John D'Acquisto
  John Francis D'Acquisto , is a former Major League Baseball player who pitched for six teams in his ten year career that spanned from to ....
  
  
• Steve Dillard
  Steve Dillard (baseball)
  Stephen Bradley Dillard is a former reserve infielder in Major League Baseball, playing mainly as second baseman with four different teams between 1975 and 1982...
  
  
• Chuck Dobson
  Chuck Dobson
  Charles Thomas Dobson is a retired professional baseball player who played 9 seasons for the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics, and the California Angels of Major League Baseball.-References:...
  
  
• Wayne Garrett
  Wayne Garrett
  Ronald Wayne Garrett was the New York Mets starting third baseman from 1972 through 1975. Garrett also saw occasional duty as a second baseman and as a shortstop....
  
  
• Garth Iorg
  Garth Iorg
  Garth Ray Iorg is a former Major League Baseball player who played his entire career for the Toronto Blue Jays.-Career:After attending College of the Redwoods, Iorg was drafted in the 8th round in the 1973 Major League Baseball Draft by the New York Yankees...
  
  
• Pat Kelly
• Bruce Kison
  Bruce Kison
  Bruce Eugene Kison is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1971-1985 for three different teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates , California Angels and Boston Red Sox...
  
  
• Ken Kravec
  Ken Kravec
  Ken Kravec , is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1975-1982. Ken graduated from Midpark High School and played college baseball at Ashland University.-Fast Facts:...
  
  
• Wayne Krenchicki
  Wayne Krenchicki
  Wayne Richard Krenchicki is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. He played all or part of eight seasons in the majors from until . He is currently the manager of the Evansville Otters of the independent Frontier League...
  
  
• Ron LeFlore
  Ron LeFlore
  Ronald LeFlore is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played six seasons with the Detroit Tigers before being traded to the Montreal Expos, retiring as a Chicago White Sox in . He stole 455 bases in his career, and was an American League All-Star selection in 1976...
  
  
• Rick Lysander
  Rick Lysander
  Richard Eugene Lysander is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He had a four-season career in the majors, spread out over six years.-Major League career:...
  
  
• Mickey Mahler
  Mickey Mahler
  Michael James Mahler is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He played during eight seasons at the major league level for the Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, California Angels, Montreal Expos, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, and Toronto Blue Jays...
  
  
• Tippy Martinez
  Tippy Martinez
  Felix Anthony Martinez , is a retired professional baseball pitcher. Martinez, who threw left-handed, pitched fourteen seasons in Major League Baseball between 1974 and 1988, primarily as a relief pitcher...
  
  
• Hal McRae
  Hal McRae
  Harold Abraham McRae is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals . Utilized as a designated hitter for most of his career, McRae batted and threw right-handed...
  
  
• Danny Meyer
• Omar Moreno
  Omar Moreno
  Omar Renan Moreno Quintero was a Major League Baseball outfielder from 1975 to 1986. He was best known for his years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and was the starting center fielder and leadoff hitter on their 1979 World Series-winning team.Moreno made his first appearance with the Pirates in...
  
  
• Jim Morrison
  Jim Morrison (baseball)
  James Forrest Morrison , is a former professional baseball player who played second and third base in the Major Leagues from 1977 to 1988. During his baseball career, Morrison played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers, and Atlanta Braves...
  
  
• Graig Nettles
  Graig Nettles
  Graig Nettles , nicknamed "Puff", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins , Cleveland Indians , New York Yankees , San Diego Padres , Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos .Nettles was one of the best...
  
  
• Jim Nettles
  Jim Nettles
  James William Nettles is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played all or part of six seasons in the majors, between 1970 and 1981, for the Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics. In 1975, he played for the Nankai Hawks in Japan, and in 1976 he played...
  
  
• Wayne Nordhagen
  Wayne Nordhagen
  Wayne Oren Nordhagen is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He played eight seasons in the majors for the Chicago White Sox , Toronto Blue Jays , Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs .Drafted by the New York Yankees in 1968, Nordhagen played in 502 games in his eight...
  
  
• Al Oliver
  Al Oliver
  Albert Oliver, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball player. Over the course of his 18-year career, he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates , Texas Rangers , Montreal Expos , San Francisco Giants , Philadelphia Phillies , Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays...
  
  
• Rick Peterson
  Rick Peterson
  Erick Harding "Rick" Peterson is a former pitcher and pitching coach in Major League Baseball. He was a pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, but is most notable as the pitching coach for the Oakland Athletics and New York Mets...
  
  
• Jerry Royster
  Jerry Royster
  Jeron Kennis Royster was a third baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, and the New York Yankees, as well as a former manager of the Milwaukee Brewers and of the Lotte Giants in the Korea Baseball Organization.-Career:He was signed by the Dodgers...
  
  
• Manny Sanguillen
  Manny Sanguillen
  Manuel De Jesus Sanguillen Magan, better known as Manny Sanguillen or "Sangy" , is a former professional baseball player who was a catcher in the Major Leagues. He was named to the All-Star team three times, in , , and . He played primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates, but also for the Oakland...
  
  
• Earl Stephenson
  Earl Stephenson
  Chester Earl Stephenson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The left-hander was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 3rd round of the 1967 amateur draft and played for the Cubs , Milwaukee Brewers , and Baltimore Orioles .Stephenson made his major league debut in relief on April 7, 1971...
  
  ,
• Sammy Stewart
  Sammy Stewart
  Samuel Lee "Sammy" Stewart , is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1978-1987. He attended Owen High School in Asheville and Montreat College, and signed his first pro contract with the Baltimore Orioles in 1975...