The Fort Myers Royals were a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

affiliate of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

from 1978 to 1987. In 1978 the Royals were brought to

Fort Myers, Florida Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

by the Kansas City franchise. This was because Fort Myers served as the

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 ...

home of the Kansas City Royals. The Royals were a Single A

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

franchise. The team played at

Terry Park Ballfield The Terry Park Ballfield (also known as the Park T. Pigott Memorial Stadium) is a historic site in Fort Myers, Florida, United States. The park is named after the family who donated the land in the 1920s. For years the stadium hosted Major League ...

from 1978 until 1987. In 1985 the Royals won the

Championship.

Kevin Seitzer Kevin Lee Seitzer (; born March 26, 1962) is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and Cleveland Indians. He is currently the hitting coach for the Atl ...

was a member of that Fort Myers Royals team. The

Minor League Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

franchise left Fort Myers in 1988 when the

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

franchise moved Spring Training to

Haines City, Florida Haines City is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Its population was 13,174 at the 2000 census and 20,535 at the 2010 census. It is the third most populous city in Polk County. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan S ...

and

Baseball City Stadium Baseball City Stadium was a stadium located in Davenport, Florida (near Haines City) that was in use from 1988 to 2002. It was a portion of the Boardwalk and Baseball theme park. The two facilities adjoined at the intersection of Interstate 4 an ...

Season-by-season

Ballpark

The Fort Myers Royals played at Terry Park, located at 3410 Palm Beach Boulevard. Built in 1955, the historic ballpark was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1995. It sustained hurricane damage in 2004, that resulted in the grandstands being rebuilt. The ballpark still exists today as part of the Terry Park Sports Complex.

Notable alumni

Numerous Fort Myers Royals alumni reached the major leagues; some of note include: *

Sean Berry Sean Robert Berry (born March 22, 1966) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and current coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for several teams from to . Early life Berry was born in Santa Monica, California, an ...

(1987) *

Mike Butcher Michael Dana Butcher (born May 10, 1965) is an American professional baseball pitcher and coach. He played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels from to . He served as the pitching coach for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2006, for the Angel ...

(1987) *

Tom Gordon Thomas Flynn Gordon (born November 18, 1967), nicknamed "Flash," is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher and current radio color commentator for the Boston Red Sox. Gordon played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Ka ...

(1987), MLB All-Star *

Greg Hibbard James Gregory Hibbard (born September 13, 1964) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in the Major League Baseball (MLB) from –. Career Houston Astros Hibbard was originally drafted by the Astros out of Harrison Central ...

(1987) *

Ken Kravec Kenneth Peter Kravec (born July 29, 1951) is an American professional baseball scout and a former Major League pitcher and front office official. The , left-hander appeared in 160 games pitched, 128 as a starter, exclusively for the White Sox ...

(1987) *

Brian McRae Brian Wesley McRae (; born August 27, 1967) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies and Toronto Blue Jays from to . McRae is the son of former major ...

(1987) * Melido Perez (1987) *

Jerry Terrell Jerry Wayne Terrell (born July 13, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. The former infielder from Elysian, Minnesota, attended Minnesota State University, Mankato and played in the Major Leagues for the Minnesota Twins (1973� ...

(1987, MGR) *

Jacob Brumfield Jacob Donnell Brumfield (born May 27, 1965) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, and Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles D ...

(1986) *

Luis de los Santos Luis Manuel de los Santos Martinez (born December 29, 1966) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. De los Santos played in the majors for parts of three seasons, including stints with the Kansas City Royals (-) and the Detroit Tigers ( ...

(1985) *

(1985), 2 x MLB All-Star; 1987 AL hits leader *

Gary Thurman Gary Montez Thurman (born November 12, 1964) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played for nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners, and New York Mets. He wa ...

(1985) *

Bret Saberhagen Bret William Saberhagen (; born April 11, 1964) is an American former professional baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, and Boston Red Sox fro ...

(1983 3× MLB All-Star; 1985 World Series MVP; 1989 AL ERA leader; 2 × AL

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

(1985, 1989) *

David Cone David Brian Cone (born January 2, 1963) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, and current color commentator for the New York Yankees on the YES Network and WPIX as well as for ESPN on Sunday Night Baseball.Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

Mark Gubicza Mark Steven Gubicza (; born August 14, 1962), nicknamed "Gubie," is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sportscaster. Gubicza played for 14 major league seasons with the Kansas City Royals (1984–96) and Anaheim Angels (1997) ...

(1982), 2 x MLB All-Star *

Dennis Leonard Dennis Patrick Leonard (born May 8, 1951) is a former pitcher for the Kansas City Royals in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He retired in 1986 due to injuries. Born in Brooklyn, Leonard attended Oceanside High School (New York), Oceanside High ...

(1982, 1985), 1977 AL wins leader *

Bill Pecota William Joseph Pecota (born February 16, 1960) is a former Major League Baseball infielder. He is the namesake of PECOTA, a sabermetric created by Nate Silver and owned by Baseball Prospectus. Early years Pecota attended Peterson High School i ...

(1982–83) *

Butch Davis Paul Hilton "Butch" Davis Jr. (born November 17, 1951) is an American football coach. He was most recently the head football coach at Florida International University. After graduating from the University of Arkansas, he became an assistant col ...

(1981) *

Tom Candiotti Thomas Caesar Candiotti (born August 31, 1957) is an American former knuckleball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Dodgers. As of the 20 ...

(1980) *

Don Slaught Donald Martin Slaught (born September 11, 1958), nicknamed "Sluggo", is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1982 through 1997 for the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, ...

(1980) *

Atlee Hammaker Charlton Atlee Hammaker (born January 24, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher who played the majority of his career for the San Francisco Giants (1982–1990). He also played for the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, an ...

(1979), MLB All-Star; 1983 NL ERA leader *

Pat Sheridan Patrick Arthur Sheridan (born December 4, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four different teams, primarily as an outfielder, between 1981 and 1991. Biography Sheridan grew up i ...

(1979–80) *

Gene Lamont Gene William Lamont (born December 25, 1946) is an American special assistant to the general manager of the Kansas City Royals. He was a catcher and manager in Major League Baseball who managed the Chicago White Sox (1992–1995) and Pittsburgh P ...

(1978–80, MGR) 1993 AL Manager of the Year *

Renie Martin Donald Renie Martin (born August 30, 1955) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. Early career Born in Dover, Delaware, Martin played for Dover High School and later attended the University of Richmond. Martin was drafted twice, b ...

(1978) *

Darryl Motley Darryl DeWayne Motley (born January 21, 1960) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played six seasons for the Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves between and . In his MLB career, Motley played in 413 games, hit 44 home runs, 324 hi ...

(1978–80)

References

Baseball teams established in 1978 Defunct baseball teams in Florida Defunct Florida State League teams Sports in Fort Myers, Florida Kansas City Royals minor league affiliates Sports clubs disestablished in 1987 1978 establishments in Florida 1987 disestablishments in Florida Baseball teams disestablished in 1987 {{Florida-baseball-team-stub