West Palm Beach Expos Explained

The West Palm Beach Expos were a Florida State League minor league baseball team which existed from 1969 through the 1997 season in West Palm Beach, Florida.

History

The West Palm Beach Expos were a Class A affiliate of the Montreal Expos and played their home games at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium.

Evolving from the West Palm Beach Indians and directly from the West Palm Beach Braves (1965–1968), they were one of the longest existing Florida State League teams. In 1998, the team moved to nearby Jupiter and became today's Jupiter Hammerheads.

Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Gary Carter (1972), Vladimir Guerrero (1996–1997), Randy Johnson (1986), Tim Raines (1978) and Larry Walker (1986) played for West Palm Beach.

The 1990 Expos were recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time.^[1]

The ballpark

The Expos played at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium, located at 755 Hank Aaron Drive. The stadium was the longtime spring training home of the Atlanta Braves. It was demolished in 2002 and is now the site of retail stores.^{[2] [3]}

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame alumni

• Gary Carter (1972) Inducted, 2003.
• Vladimir Guerrero (1996–1997) Inducted, 2018.
• Randy Johnson (1986) Inducted, 2015.
• Tim Raines (1978) Inducted, 2017.
• Larry Walker (1986) Inducted, 2020.

Notable alumni

• Felipe Alou (MGR, 1977, 1986–1991) 3× MLB All-Star; 1994 NL Manager of the Year
• Dusty Baker (1968) 2× MLB All-Star; 3× NL Manager of the Year (1993, 1997, 2000)
• Michael Barrett (1997)
• Miguel Batista (1992)
• Tony Bernazard (1975)
• Mike Blowers (1987)
• Geoff Blum (1995)
• Kent Bottenfield (1988) MLB All-Star
• Orlando Cabrera (1995, 1997)
• Ivan Calderon (1992) MLB All-Star
• Jamey Carroll (1997)
• Norm Charlton (1984–1985) MLB All-Star
• Greg Colbrunn (1989, 1993)
• Wil Cordero (1989) MLB All-Star
• Wayne Garrett (1967)
• Cito Gaston (1965) MLB All-Star; Manager: 2× World Series Champion Toronto Blue Jays (1992, 1993)
• John Wetteland (1993) MLB All-Star
• Bill Gullickson (1977–1978)
• Cliff Floyd (1992) MLB All-Star
• Barry Foote (1971)
• Andrés Galarraga (1979, 1982–1983) 5× MLB All-Star; 1993 NL Batting Title
• John Hart (1969–1970)
• Jeff Huson (1987)
• Marcel Lachemann (1974)
• Charlie Lea (1987) MLB All-Star
• Dale Murray (1971-1972)
• David Palmer (1977–1978, 1981)
• Larry Parrish (1973) 2× MLB All-Star
• Tony Phillips (1978–1979)
• Ron Reed (1965) MLB All-Star
• Shane Rawley (1975) MLB All-Star
• Alberto Reyes (1990)
• Gary Roenicke (1974)
• Mel Rojas (1988)
• Scott Sanderson (1977) MLB All-Star
• Dan Schatzeder (1976)
• Tony Scott (1970–1971)
• Bryn Smith (1987)
• Matt Stairs (1989-1990)
• Ugueth Urbina (1995–1996) 2× MLB All-Star
• Ellis Valentine (1973) MLB All-Star
• John Vander Wal (1988)
• Jose Vidro (1995) 3× MLB All-Star
• Jerry White (1971)
• Rondell White (1992, 1996) MLB All-Star
• John Wetteland (1993) 3× MLB All-Star
• Earl Williams (1967) 1971 NL Rookie of the Year
• Esteban Yan (1995)

Year-by-year records

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs / Notes
1969	56-73	10th		Did not qualify
1970	79-50	2nd		Lost in 1st round
1971	58-81	11th		Did not qualify
1972	64-65	7th		Did not qualify
1973	80-58	1st		Lost League Finals
1974	79-53	2nd		League Champs
1975	58-77	7th		Did not qualify
1976	63-79	7th		Did not qualify
1977	77-55	3rd		Lost in 1st round
1978	67-77	10th		Did not qualify
1979	79-65	4th		Did not qualify
1980	64-73	7th		Did not qualify
1981	65-71	7th		Did not qualify
1982	54-80	9th		Did not qualify
1983	75-57	4th		Did not qualify
1984	72-72	6th		Did not qualify
1985	74-66	6th		Did not qualify
1986	80-55	3rd		Lost League Finals
1987	75-63	5th (t)		Did not qualify
1988	71-63	7th		Lost in 2nd round
1989	74-64	7th		Did not qualify
1990	92-40	1st		Lost League Finals
1991	72-59	5th (t)		League Champs
1992	76-61	4th		Lost in 1st round
1993	69-67	8th		Did not qualify
1994	71-60	3rd		Lost in 1st round
1995	54-81	14th	Gomer Hodge (19-35) / Rick Sofield (35-46)	Did not qualify
1996	68-67	7th		Did not qualify
1997	69-66	6th		Did not qualify

^[4]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Top 100 Teams . MiLB.com . 2001 . May 9, 2017.
2. Web site: Remembering the last spring-training game at West Palm Beach's Municipal Stadium. Craig. Dolch. The Palm Beach Post.
3. Web site: » West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium. Deadball Baseball.
4. Book: The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball . Lloyd . Johnson . Miles . Wolff . Third . . 2007 . 978-1932391176.