The Gold Coast Suns was one of the eight original franchises that played in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in its inaugural 1989 season. The club split their home games between the cities of

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

and Pompano Beach in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

.Senior Citizens: The Boys of Winter
''Uni Watch''. Retrieved on March 2, 2016. Earl Weaver managed the Suns, who hired former All-Star

Pedro Ramos Pedro Ramos Guerra (born April 28, 1935), is a Cuban former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and the expansion Washing ...

as their

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

. Bright spots included

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Joaquín Andújar Joaquín Andújar (; December 21, 1952 – September 8, 2015) was a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, and Oakland Athletics from 1976 through 1988. An ...

, who posted a 5–0 record with a 1.31

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

, and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

Bert Campaneris as the oldest everyday player in the league at 47, who hit a .291 batting average and stole 16 bases in 60 games. But the Suns struggled for most of the season, ending with a 32–39 record and out of the playoffs. Without a fan base, the team averaged 985 fans per game, about half of the attendance projected, and folded at the end of the season.

Notable players

Stan Bahnsen Stanley Raymond Bahnsen (born December 15, 1944) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Montreal Expos, California Angels, and Phila ...

* Paul Blair * Bert Campaneris *

Paul Casanova Paulino Ortiz Casanova (December 21, 1941 – August 12, 2017) was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1974 for the Washington Senators and Atlanta Braves. Minor league career Paul C ...

* César Cedeño * Ken Clay *

Mike Cuellar Miguel Ángel Cuellar Santana (; May 8, 1937 – April 2, 2010) was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher in 1959 and from 1964 through 1977, most prominently as a membe ...

Jesús de la Rosa Jesús de la Rosa (born August 5, 1953) is a former professional baseball player whose career extended from 1969 through 1980. He appeared as a pinch hitter in three games in August in Major League Baseball for the Houston Astros, collecting ...

Joe Decker George Henry Decker, Jr. (June 16, 1947 – March 2, 2003) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs (1969–72), Minnesota Twins (1973–76) and Seattle Mariners (1979). He was born in Storm Lake, Iowa. He was traded a ...

Taylor Duncan Taylor McDowell "Dunc" Duncan (May 12, 1953 – January 3, 2004) was an American baseball infielder. Duncan, who was a college teammate of Leon Lee in Sacramento, was selected by the Atlanta Braves as the 10th overall pick of the 1971 Major Lea ...

Jim Essian James Sarkis Essian, Jr. (born January 2, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Sea ...

* Ed Figueroa *

Jim Gideon Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

Orlando González Orlando Eugene González (born November 15, 1951) is a Cuban former professional baseball first baseman / outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball during three seasons for the Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athleti ...

Ross Grimsley Ross Albert Grimsley Jr.
Retrieved August 26, 2018 (born J ...

Glenn Gulliver Glenn James Gulliver (born October 15, 1954) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman who played for the Baltimore Orioles in 1982 and 1983. Amateur career A native of Detroit, Michigan, Gulliver played shortstop on the Eas ...

Ed Halicki Edward Louis Halicki (born October 4, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1974 to 1980. On August 24, 1975, Halicki threw a no-hitter for the San Francisco Giants against the New York M ...

George Hendrick George Andrew Hendrick Jr. (born October 18, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder between and , most prominently as an integral member of the St. Louis Cardinals t ...

* Grant Jackson * Cliff Johnson *

Mike Kekich Michael Dennis Kekich (born April 2, 1945) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and Seattle Mariners in parts of ni ...

Rafael Landestoy Rafael Silvaido Landestoy Santana (born May 28, 1953) is a retired Major League Baseball player. Landestoy played eight major league seasons with the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He amassed 291 hits, a .237 batting a ...

Larry Milbourne Lawrence William Milbourne (born February 14, 1951) is an American former professional baseball utility infielder whose career spanned 15 seasons, 11 of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Houston Astros (1974–76), Seattl ...

Bob Molinaro Robert Joseph Molinaro (born May 21, 1950) is a former professional baseball outfielder in the minor and major leagues in a career that lasted 18 years. His baseball career began in 1968, and lasted until 1985. During that time Molinaro played ...

Sid Monge Isidro Monge Pedroza (born April 11, 1951) is a Mexican retired Major League Baseball relief pitcher who pitched from 1975 to 1984. He played for the California Angels, Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers, all of the American League and the Ph ...

Bobby Ramos Roberto Ramos (born November 5, 1955) is a Cuban former professional baseball player and coach in Major League Baseball. He was nicknamed 'Sugar Bear'. Ramos was a catcher. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the seventh round of the 1974 ama ...

* Frank Riccelli *

Tom Shopay Thomas Michael Shopay (born February 21, 1945 in Bristol, Connecticut) is a former Major League Baseball player. Shopay was a left-handed hitter who played outfielder for the New York Yankees (1967, 1969) and Baltimore Orioles (1971–72, 1975–7 ...

Rennie Stennett Reinaldo Antonio Stennett Porte (April 5, 1949 – May 18, 2021) was a Panamanian professional baseball second baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1971–79) and San Francisco Giants (1980–81). He ba ...

* Derrel Thomas * Luis Tiant *

Steve Whitaker Steve Whitaker (26 June 1955 – 22 February 2008) was a British artist best known as the colourist on the reprint of ''V for Vendetta''. David Lloyd, the artist on ''V for Vendetta'', said Whitaker "was not only one of the finest colourists B ...

:1990 Gold Coast Suns
''The Trading Card Database''. Retrieved on March 2, 2016.

References

{{Senior Professional Baseball Association , state=collapsed Defunct baseball teams in Florida Senior Professional Baseball Association teams Baseball teams in Miami Pompano Beach, Florida 1989 establishments in Florida 1989 disestablishments in Florida Baseball teams established in 1989 Sports clubs disestablished in 1989