The Bradenton Explorers were one of the eight original franchises that began play 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 . That season, the club compiled a record of 38-34, finishing in second place in the league's Northern Division, narrowly holding off the Orlando Juice.

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...

led the league with 17 home runs, and pitcher

Rick Lysander Richard Eugene Lysander (born February 21, 1953) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He had a four-season career in the majors, spread out over six years. Career Major League career Lysander was drafted by the Oakland Athletics ...

added a league-high 11 saves. In the playoffs, the Explorers lost to the St. Petersburg Pelicans, who went on to become league champions. However the following season, the team was relocated to

Daytona Beach Daytona Beach is a coastal resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropo ...

, becoming the

Daytona Beach Explorers The Daytona Beach Explorers was a baseball club that played in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1990. They were a replacement team when the originals Bradenton Explorers relocated to Daytona Beach, Florida, and played its games at ...

. The move was a result of the team losing $1 million during their first season. In Daytona the team had an 11-11 record and were in 4th place when the Senior Professional Baseball Association ceased operations on December 28, 1990.

Notable players

Willie Aikens Willie Mays Aikens (born October 14, 1954) is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, Kansas City Royals, and Toronto Blue Jays between 1977 and 1985. He had establis ...

* Gary Alexander *

Dan Boone Daniel Boone (1734–1820) was an American pioneer and hunter whose frontier exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. Daniel Boone or Dan Boone may also refer to: People * Daniel Boone (MP), British Member of Parliame ...

Tom Brown Tom Brown may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Brown (satirist) (1662–1704), English satirical writer *Tom Brown (trombonist) (1888–1958), American jazz trombonist and bandleader *Tom Brown (actor) (1913–1990), American film and televi ...

Doug Capilla Douglas Edmund Capilla (born January 7, 1952)Doug Capilla
Baseball Reference. Retrieved 2012-1 ...

Stan Cliburn Stanley Gene Cliburn (born December 19, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player and current manager of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He was previous the manager of the New Brit ...

Gene Clines Eugene Anthony Clines (October 6, 1946 – January 27, 2022) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1970 to 1979, most prominently as a member of the Pittsburgh Pira ...

Al Cowens Alfred Edward Cowens, Jr. (October 25, 1951 – March 11, 2002) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball. From through , Cowens played for the Kansas City Royals (1974–79), California Angels (1980), Detroit Tigers (1980–81) and ...

* John D'Acquisto * Steve Dillard *

Chuck Dobson Charles Thomas Dobson (January 10, 1944 – November 30, 2021) was an American professional baseball player who played nine seasons for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics and the California Angels of Major League Baseball. Life and career Do ...

Dave Freisleben David James Freisleben (born October 31, 1951) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, and Toronto Blue Jays. Texas League Pitcher of the Year Fre ...

* Wayne Garrett *

Garth Iorg Garth Ray Iorg ( ; born October 12, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player who played his entire career (1978, 1980–1987) for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also worked as the first base coach for ...

* Pat Kelly *

Bruce Kison Bruce Eugene Kison (February 18, 1950 – June 2, 2018) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1971–79), California Angels (1980–84) and Boston Red Sox (1985). Kn ...

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 ...

* Wayne Krenchicki *

Ron LeFlore Ronald LeFlore (born June 16, 1948) is an American former Major League Baseball center fielder. He played six seasons with the Detroit Tigers before being traded to the Montreal Expos. LeFlore retired with the Chicago White Sox in 1982. He stole ...

Mickey Mahler Michael James Mahler (born July 30, 1952) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He played during eight seasons at the major league level for the Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, California Angels, Montreal Expos, Detroit Tigers, Texas ...

Tippy Martinez Felix Anthony "Tippy" Martinez (born May 31, 1950) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1974 and 1988, primarily as a relief pitcher. The majority of his car ...

Hal McRae Harold Abraham McRae (; born July 10, 1945) is an American former left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1968, 1970–72) and Kansas City Royals (1973–87). Utilized as a designated hitter for most of his care ...

Danny Meyer Daniel Meyer (born March 14, 1958) is a New York City restaurateur and the founder and executive chairman of the Union Square Hospitality Group (USHG). Background and early career Meyer was born and raised in a reform Jewish family in St. Loui ...

* Tommy Moore *

Omar Moreno Omar Renán Moreno Quintero (born October 24, 1952) is a Panamanian former center fielder who played from 1975 through 1986 in Major League Baseball. He was best known for his years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and was the starting center field ...

Graig Nettles Graig Nettles (born August 20, 1944), nicknamed "Puff", is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins (1967–1969), Cleveland Indians (1970–1972), New York Yankee ...

* Jim Nettles *

Wayne Nordhagen Wayne Oren Nordhagen (born July 4, 1948) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He played eight seasons in the majors for the Chicago White Sox (1976–81), Toronto Blue Jays (1982), Pittsburgh Pirates (198 ...

Al Oliver Albert Oliver Jr. (born October 14, 1946) is an Americans, American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and first baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates teams ...

Rick Peterson Erick Harding "Rick" Peterson (born October 30, 1954) is an American former pitcher and pitching coach in Major League Baseball. He was most recently the director of pitching development for the Baltimore Orioles. He was a pitcher in the Pittsbur ...

Jerry Royster Jeron Kennis Royster (born October 18, 1952) is an American former Major League Baseball player and coach. He was a third baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, and the New York Yankees. He was ...

Manny Sanguillén Manuel De Jesus Sanguillén Magan (born March 21, 1944) is a Panamanians, Panamanian former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher in 1967 and from 1969 through 1980, most notably as a member of the Pittsbu ...

Earl Stephenson Chester Earl Stephenson (born July 31, 1947) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. The left-hander was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 3rd round of the 1967 amateur draft and played for the Cubs (1971), Milwaukee Brewers (1972 ...

Sammy Stewart Samuel Lee Stewart (October 28, 1954 – March 2, 2018) was an American professional baseball player. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1978 to 1987. Stewart had the best earned run average (ERA) in the American League (AL) in 1981 ...

References

{{Senior Professional Baseball Association , state=collapsed Senior Professional Baseball Association teams 1989 establishments in Florida Baseball teams established in 1989 Baseball teams in Bradenton, Florida Defunct baseball teams in Florida 1989 disestablishments in Florida Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1989 Baseball teams disestablished in 1990