The Florida Complex League Braves are the Rookie-level affiliate of the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

, competing in the

Florida Complex League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...

of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Braves. The team plays at

CoolToday Park CoolToday Park is a ballpark in North Port, Florida, located in the southern portion of Sarasota County, south of Sarasota, Florida. It is the spring training home of the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. The ballpark opened on March 24 ...

North Port, Florida North Port is a city located in Sarasota County, Florida, United States. The population was 74,793 at the 2020 US Census. It is part of the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was originally developed by G ...

. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

either as draftees or non-drafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

s from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, and other countries.

History

The team traces its history to the earliest days of complex-based baseball, in reference to major-league teams'

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

complexes. Initially based in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

, the team was a member of the short-lived

Sarasota Rookie League The Sarasota Rookie League was a minor baseball league that played in as a Rookie level league. All league games were played in Sarasota, Florida. The Sarasota Rookie League was succeeded in by the Florida Rookie League, which evolved into the ...

(1964) and

Florida Rookie League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the lo ...

(1965), and was a charter club in the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the lo ...

when it was formed in 1966. The team operated from 1964 to 1967, and has operated continuously since 1976.Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, eds., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 3rd edition.'' Durham, N.C.: Baseball America, 2007. In 2003, the Braves won a best-of-three series over the

GCL Pirates The Florida Complex League Pirates are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Pirates. The team plays its h ...

to become league champions. Prior to the 2021 season, the Gulf Coast League was renamed as the

Roster

Season-by-season

References

External links

Official website
Baseball teams established in 1964 Florida Complex League teams Professional baseball teams in Florida

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

1964 establishments in Florida {{Florida-baseball-team-stub