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great throwback for Tampa Bay: 89-90 St. Pete Pelicans


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Great idea for the Pelicans uniforms.

Wow, I can't believe it.

A thread about Tampa Bay baseball that Gothamite hasn't come in and pooped all over it with his anti-Tampa Bay baseball rhetoric.

Sorry, I was in Puerto Rico for a week. What'd I miss? ;)

I think I've been very consistent - throwbacks are the one thing that the Devil Rays have consistently done well. Said it before, will say it again. Bravo.

And it's not my disdain for the Rays that's the problem - it's Tampa Bay's disdain for the Rays that ought to concern you. :D

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Great idea for the Pelicans uniforms.

Wow, I can't believe it.

A thread about Tampa Bay baseball that Gothamite hasn't come in and pooped all over it with his anti-Tampa Bay baseball rhetoric.

Sorry, I was in Puerto Rico for a week. What'd I miss? ;)

I think I've been very consistent - throwbacks are the one thing that the Devil Rays have consistently done well. Said it before, will say it again. Bravo.

And it's not my disdain for the Rays that's the problem - it's Tampa Bay's disdain for the Rays that ought to concern you. :D

Their throwbacks have all been uniformly better than whatever current set they've had.

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Many thanks to Cesarano for sharing this news to the board. When I saw on UniWatch that the Rays were going to do this, I was bummed to see it relegated to the ticker section of the site. The SPBA would make for some good fodder for UniWatch, IMO...

Much like Brian in Boston and iggyhood, I've spent more than I'd like to know on oddball merch from oddball leagues. And my SPBA collection started with this, the 1989/90 SPBA media guide. And then of course, I had to buy all the card sets I could find. Sadly, I do not have the Topps set that Cesarano linked to, but I've got the Elite, TM, and Pacific sets.

Even though I don't have jerseys like Brian in Boston, I did scan pics from the sets so Lamicus, oddball and others can get a glimpse of history. I must say that the uniforms of the SPBA are about as organized as a Florida election (no pun intended). There are some oddities I've found, but I'll save that for the end of this post....

1989/90:

Bradenton Explorers

HOME, ROAD, ALT

Fort Myers Sun Sox

HOME, ROAD, PRE-SEASON

Gold Coast Suns

HOME, ROAD

Orlando Juice

HOME,

ROAD

St. Lucie Legends

HOME, ROAD

St. Petersburg Pelicans

HOME,

ROAD

(I LOVE the '70s Padres font they used!!!)

West Palm Beach Tropics

HOME, ROAD

Winter Haven Super Sox

HOME, ROAD

1990/91:

Daytona Beach Explorers

HOME (PIC NA), ROAD

Florida Tropics

HOME (PIC NA - League appointed road team for season), ROAD

Fort Myers Sun Sox

HOME, ROAD (PIC NA)

San Bernardino Pride

HOME, ROAD (Or is it a pre-season uni?)

St. Petersburg Pelicans

Their only difference was a patch on the right sleeve. League champs, perhaps?

Sun City Rays

HOME, ROAD (PIC NA)

So... In the first season, there were at least 4 teams with hat issues. The St. Lucie Legends started out with a navy base like the Yankees, but had the Cardinals interlocking STL logo. The West Palm Beach Tropics had a white hat which paired up with their orange jersey was enough to induce vomiting.

Over to the Gold Coast franchise, and they gave us not just one, but two different caps in the preseason. One was reminiscent of the Seattle Pilots as it was a block "S" on a blue background. And then for a spell they had this beauty complete with orange panels. Thankfully, it was toned down to a solid blue crown when the season started.

And finally, the Orlando Juice give us a head scratcher, so-to-speak. Many of us know that Bruce Bochy wears a size 8 cap. That would be plenty reason for him to be wearing a slightly different cap in this shot. Notice it doesn't have the baseball/juice burst above the "J" like his teammates. But what about Bake McBride? Does he have a large melon as well? Why does he get the wrong hat too? For what it's worth, these were the only shots I could find with that hat.

On to season #2, the Tropics were relegated to non-matching helmets, as was catcher Dave Sax of the Daytona Beach Explorers. I think it was a shout-out to his brother Steve, who was playing in the Bronx by then. And finally, when did Lenn Sakata become a member of the Hanson Brothers?

Alrighty... That was fun! Glad I could share some pics of the SPBA with y'all. And Mr. Lukas, if you're reading, feel free to use these pics if you need to!

4409811293_559b1d05dd_o.jpg

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Great stuff Frylock. Really brings back memories.

The logo for the Explorers is really reminiscent of what the Mariners eventually switched to. And I love the Juice and Tropics uniforms. Just love them. The name Orlando Juice it 110 percent awesome.

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And finally, the Orlando Juice give us a head scratcher, so-to-speak. Many of us know that Bruce Bochy wears a size 8 cap. That would be plenty reason for him to be wearing a slightly different cap in this shot. Notice it doesn't have the baseball/juice burst above the "J" like his teammates. But what about Bake McBride? Does he have a large melon as well? Why does he get the wrong hat too? For what it's worth, these were the only shots I could find with that hat.

Bochy and McBride are wearing the road jersey with that cap with no sunburst.

Cash is wearing a home jersey with that at with the sunburst.

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It sounded like an extended high school/college reunion. Unfortunately, most fans didn't really care too much to watch a bunch of old guys relive their glory days and the crowds stayed away. Teams folded and moved in the second year and the league eventually disbanded.

Not really; getting a former Major Leaguer on a AAA team (e.g., Butch Hobson for the Columbus Clippers) got people in the seats. So did Old Timers' Day at Yankee Stadium and the various Cracker Jack All-Star Games.

Thing is, the economics of baseball have changed. Prospects are tracked and promoted through the levels of their system; any deviation is a setback. There is also no room on a AAA roster for a former "star" player looking to make it back to the bigs -- Rickey Henderson showed that he had to go to the independent leagues in order to prove himself.

Ever wonder why there are some 59 or 60 teams in the seven leagues of independent minor-league baseball?

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And finally, the Orlando Juice give us a head scratcher, so-to-speak. Many of us know that Bruce Bochy wears a size 8 cap. That would be plenty reason for him to be wearing a slightly different cap in this shot. Notice it doesn't have the baseball/juice burst above the "J" like his teammates. But what about Bake McBride? Does he have a large melon as well? Why does he get the wrong hat too? For what it's worth, these were the only shots I could find with that hat.

Bochy and McBride are wearing the road jersey with that cap with no sunburst.

Cash is wearing a home jersey with that at with the sunburst.

Oh, I wish it were that simple, though! Bochy and McBride were the only players I could find with that hat. Everyone else had the sunburst, be it home or road -- like this guy. Good thought, though!

And a thank you to gosioux76 and Lamicus for the feedback! Nice to know it was enjoyed. :-)

4409811293_559b1d05dd_o.jpg

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And finally, the Orlando Juice give us a head scratcher, so-to-speak. Many of us know that Bruce Bochy wears a size 8 cap. That would be plenty reason for him to be wearing a slightly different cap in this shot. Notice it doesn't have the baseball/juice burst above the "J" like his teammates. But what about Bake McBride? Does he have a large melon as well? Why does he get the wrong hat too? For what it's worth, these were the only shots I could find with that hat.

Bochy and McBride are wearing the road jersey with that cap with no sunburst.

Cash is wearing a home jersey with that at with the sunburst.

Oh, I wish it were that simple, though! Bochy and McBride were the only players I could find with that hat. Everyone else had the sunburst, be it home or road -- like this guy. Good thought, though!

And a thank you to gosioux76 and Lamicus for the feedback! Nice to know it was enjoyed. :-)

I was unaware of the Corbett card. I'm stumped now! Great find though.

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I LOVE the Pelicans unis...love the colors, the fonts, everything...

Which makes you wonder why the Rays never went with something like the Pelicans to begin with. What focus group okayed 'Devil Rays'?

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d3c4f3d3f355538f589dec7f9330e5b8-getty-.jpg

All you need to do is drop the STP logo down to where the P is on pellicans, and these are PERFECT. St. Pete Pelicans is an absolutely terrific name, and those unis are damn near perfect as well.

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On 11/19/2012 at 7:23 PM, oldschoolvikings said:
She’s still half convinced “Chris Creamer” is a porn site.)
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I LOVE the Pelicans unis...love the colors, the fonts, everything...

Which makes you wonder why the Rays never went with something like the Pelicans to begin with. What focus group okayed 'Devil Rays'?

It was a one-man focus group......Vince Namoli.

He didn't want to pay for a name for the team, hence the Devil Rays.

That is a perfect example of the whole Namoli-era of Rays. Do it on the cheap.

As far as the Astros jerseys, the names on the back should have been arched. They didn't look like it on Saturday night.

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