The Orlando Juice was one of the eight original franchises that began playing in the
Senior Professional Baseball Association
The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had ei ...
in 1989. The team was managed by
Gates Brown
William James "Gates" Brown (May 2, 1939 – September 27, 2013) was an American Major League Baseball left fielder who spent his entire career with the Detroit Tigers (1963–1975). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Early life
Brown ...
, while
Dyar Miller
Dyar K Miller (born May 29, 1946) is a retired professional baseball pitcher, coach and instructor. A product of Utah State, Miller pitched 13 seasons in professional baseball between and . He also pitched all or parts of seven seasons in Majo ...
and
Bill Stein
William Allen Stein (born January 21, 1947) is an American retired professional baseball player and manager. His playing career spanned 17 seasons, 14 of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the St. Louis Cardinals (1972–1973) ...
served as
player-coach
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
es.
[Orlando Juice history]
/ref>
In their inaugural season, the Juice finished third in the Northern Division with a 37-35 record, narrowly missing the playoffs. The team had a slow start with Brown at the helm (9-12), but improved in the midseason (28-23) under Miller's management.
Pitcher Pete Falcone
Peter Frank Falcone (born October 1, 1953) is an American former professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, and Atlanta Braves.
Early years
As a senior at Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, N ...
anchored the club's pitching staff with a 10-3 record, and Bob Galasso
Robert Joseph Galasso (born January 13, 1952) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in three seasons in the Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest ma ...
contributed with a 9-2 mark and topped the staff with a 2.67 ERA
An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth.
Comp ...
. The offensive was led by José Cruz
José Cruz Dilan (born August 8, 1947) nicknamed Cheo, is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player, coach and baseball front office executive. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1970 to 1988, most prominently a ...
, who hit a .306 average with a team-best 10 home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
s and 49 runs batted in
A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...
, while Randy Bass
Randy William Bass (born March 13, 1954) is an American politician and former baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and served in the Oklahoma Senate.
Bass made his MLB debut in 1977, a ...
batted .393 and drove in 27 runs. Nevertheless, the Orlando Juice ceased operations at the end of the season.[
]
Notable players
*Randy Bass
Randy William Bass (born March 13, 1954) is an American politician and former baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and served in the Oklahoma Senate.
Bass made his MLB debut in 1977, a ...
*Jack Billingham
John Eugene Billingham (born February 21, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty th ...
*Larvell Blanks
Larvell Blanks (born January 28, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder from through for the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers. Blanks comes from a family ...
* Ike Blessitt
*Vida Blue
Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...
*Bruce Bochy
Bruce Douglas Bochy (; born April 16, 1955), nicknamed "Boch" and "Headly", is an American professional baseball manager and former catcher who is the current manager of the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He managed the San Diego ...
* Roy Branch
*Steve Busby
Steven Lee "Buzz" Busby (born September 29, 1949) is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Kansas City Royals. He batted and threw right-handed.
High school
Busby attended Fullerton Union High Sch ...
*Sal Butera
Salvatore Philip Butera (born September 25, 1952) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He was a major league scout for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball during the 2015 season.
Playing career
Signed by the Minnesota ...
* Dave Cash
*Doug Corbett
Douglas Mitchell Corbett (born November 4, 1952) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) relief pitcher who played for the Minnesota Twins, California Angels and Baltimore Orioles between 1980 and 1987.
Early years
Doug Corbett was bo ...
*Mark Corey
Mark Franklin Corey (born November 16, 1974) is a retired American baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Colorado Rockies, and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Early life
Corey attended Austin High School in Austin, Pen ...
*Mike Cosgrove
Michael John Cosgrove (born February 17, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Houston Astros from 1972 to 1976. Cosgrove was used primarily as a left-handed relief pitcher. His best seasons came in 1974 and 1975. In '74 he was ...
*José Cruz
José Cruz Dilan (born August 8, 1947) nicknamed Cheo, is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player, coach and baseball front office executive. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from 1970 to 1988, most prominently a ...
*Jamie Easterly
James Morris Easterly (born February 17, 1953) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in the major leagues for the Atlanta Braves (1974–79), Milwaukee Brewers (1981–83) and Cleveland Indians (1983–87).
On June 30, ...
*Pete Falcone
Peter Frank Falcone (born October 1, 1953) is an American former professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, and Atlanta Braves.
Early years
As a senior at Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, N ...
*Bob Galasso
Robert Joseph Galasso (born January 13, 1952) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in three seasons in the Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest ma ...
*Wayne Granger
Wayne Allan Granger (born March 15, 1944) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1968, 1973), Cincinnati Reds (1969–1971), Minnesota Twins (1972), New York Yankees (1973), Chicago Wh ...
*Johnny Grubb
John Maywood Grubb, Jr. (born August 4, 1948 in Richmond, Virginia) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter, who also occasionally played at first base. He played with the San Diego Padres (1972–1976), Cleveland In ...
*Ken Landreaux
Kenneth Francis Landreaux (born December 22, 1954) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, Minnesota Twins, and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1977 through 1987.
Pla ...
*Sixto Lezcano
Sixto Joaquin Lezcano Curras (born November 28, 1953) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 12 seasons (1974–1985). He played for five MLB teams and won a Gold Glove during ...
*Bake McBride
Arnold Ray McBride (born February 3, 1949), nicknamed "Shake 'n Bake" and "The Callaway Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, a ...
*Bill Madlock
Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock, Jr. (born January 12, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1973 to 1987. Madlock is notable for being a four-time National League b ...
* Jerry Martin
*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 ...
*Dyar Miller
Dyar K Miller (born May 29, 1946) is a retired professional baseball pitcher, coach and instructor. A product of Utah State, Miller pitched 13 seasons in professional baseball between and . He also pitched all or parts of seven seasons in Majo ...
*Tom Paciorek
Thomas Marian Paciorek ( ; born November 2, 1946) is a former outfielder and first baseman who spent 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1970–1975), Atlanta Braves (1976–1978), Seattle Mariners (19 ...
*Gerry Pirtle
Gerald Eugene Pirtle (born December 3, 1947) is an American former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played briefly for the Montreal Expos in their 1978 season. Listed at , , he batted and threw right handed.
Career
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma he ...
*Ken Reitz
Kenneth John Reitz (June 24, 1951March 31, 2021) was an American baseball third baseman who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed " Zamboni", he played for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, and ...
* Gil Rondon
*Bob Shirley
Robert Charles Shirley (born June 25, 1954) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of 11 seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1977 to 1987, for the San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yanke ...
* Paul Siebert
*Bill Stein
William Allen Stein (born January 21, 1947) is an American retired professional baseball player and manager. His playing career spanned 17 seasons, 14 of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the St. Louis Cardinals (1972–1973) ...
*Jackson Todd
Jackson A. Todd (born November 20, 1951 in Tulsa, Oklahoma) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He represented the United States at the 1971 Pan American Games, where he won a silver medal.
College career
Todd was originally drafted by th ...
*Mike Vail
Michael Lewis Vail (born November 10, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder.
St. Louis Cardinals farm system
Vail was original drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the seventeenth round of the 1970 Major League Baseball draft as a ...
*U L Washington
U L Washington (born October 27, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1977 to 1987 for the Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Washington playe ...
The Trading Card Database
/ref>
Sources
External links
SPBA baseball cards
{{Senior Professional Baseball Association , state=collapsed
Defunct baseball teams in Florida
Senior Professional Baseball Association teams
1989 establishments in Florida
1989 disestablishments in Florida
Baseball teams established in 1989
Baseball teams disestablished in 1989
Sports teams in Orlando, Florida