Minors to Move Over, Not Out, of Florida

The expansion Florida Marlins likely will force the venerable Florida State League to move over--but not move out.

There’s room in the state for both grade A and Class A baseball, minor league officials say.

“My attitude is the more baseball, the better,” said Mike Veeck, president of the FSL team in Pompano Beach. “There’ll be much more interest in the game here now. It’ll be a red-hot market.”

Veeck’s team, known simply as the Miracle, may have to move because of its proximity to the Marlins’ Miami home. The Fort Lauderdale Yankees are bound in 1994 for Central Florida, where their parent team plans to transfer its spring training site.

But the FSL’s other 12 clubs, with parks farther from the National League expansion team’s Joe Robbie Stadium, plan to dig in against the newcomer.

“I think with proper promotion, we can maintain what we have,” said Chuck Murphy, president of the league founded in 1919.

In the short term, FSL teams will reap a windfall from expansion. Marlins caps and pennants will go on sale this month, and such items are marked up 100% or more at minor league parks.

“As soon as souvenir merchandise becomes available, we’re going to have it here at our stadium,” said Rob Rabenecker, general manager of West Palm Beach operations for the Montreal Expos. “We’re going to jump on the bandwagon.”

But when the Marlins begin play in 1993, the entire Florida State League will have reason to worry. The NL franchise plans heavy regional marketing -- that’s one reason the team will be known as the Florida Marlins, rather than the Miami Marlins. TV and radio game coverage may be statewide, which could further sap FSL attendance.

And most Florida State League teams don’t have many fans to lose. The average gate this season is 800 per game for the Yankees, 700 for the Miracle.

“Every team likes to make money,” league president Murphy said. “But the basic mission we have is player development.” Major league teams send their top prospects to the FSL; most players on league rosters are 20 to 23 years old.

Though attendance is a secondary consideration, the FSL nonetheless is solid financially, Murphy said, in part because 10 of the 14 teams are owned by their major league affiliate.

The Miracle, an independent club, holds territorial rights for Miami and will be compensated for giving them up. Estimates of the impending settlement have ranged from $1 million to $10 million.

Marlins spokesman Don Smiley declined to speculate on the price but predicted an agreement will come easily.

Veeck said his team might relocate to a new stadium in Homestead, southwest of Miami, or to Central Florida. Another possibility is that the Marlins will want the Miracle as an affiliate and will permit the club to stay in Pompano Beach, Veeck said.

As for Fort Lauderdale, Murphy said he would not oppose an FSL team replacing the Yankees if expansion club officials grant a territorial exemption.

“Another team probably could go in there,” he said. The key would be to play home games when Miami’s team is on the road, Murphy said.

Just an hour from Joe Robbie Stadium are the West Palm Beach Expos, who have increased their attendance by about one-third this year to nearly 1,700 per game. That average is sure to suffer because of the expansion team, general manager Rabenecker said.

“The attention is going to be on Miami,” he said. “It’s a better brand of baseball. We’re going to lose the diehard fan.”

But there’ll still be a market -- the casual fan, Rabenecker said.

“A family looking for something to do, their alternatives are going to be the movies, the mall or possibly an Expos game,” he said.

“A family of four can go to a major league game and spend $70 to $100 for everything involved. Coming to a Florida State League game, they’re going to spend $20 to $25. We need to promote that a little more.”