The Florida Complex League Astros are a
Rookie-level affiliate of the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
, competing in the
Florida Complex League
The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...
of
Minor League Baseball. Prior to the 2021 season, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Astros. The team plays its home games in
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lagoon. The populatio ...
, at the
FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professiona ...
either as
draftees or non-drafted
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
s from the United States, Canada,
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
,
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...
, and other countries.
History
The team first played in 1965 in the
Florida Rookie League (FRL), and won the league championship. The FRL was the direct predecessor of the
Gulf Coast League
The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...
(GCL), which was formed in 1966. However, the team first played in the GCL during 1977–1998, capturing titles in 1979 and 1994. In 1980 and 1981, the team fielded two squads in the GCL, differentiated by Orange and Blue suffixes. The team suspended operations after the 1998 season.
The team returned to the GCL in 2009, playing their home games at
Osceola County Stadium
Osceola County Stadium is an outdoor sports venue located in Kissimmee, Florida, part of the wider Orlando City SC Training Ground at Osceola Heritage Park.
Originally a baseball park, it was converted into a soccer-specific stadium by Orlando ...
in
Kissimmee, Florida
Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...
. The team has operated continuously since then, and moved to
West Palm Beach
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
entering the 2017 season.
Prior to the 2021 season, the Gulf Coast League was renamed as the
Florida Complex League
The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...
(FCL).
Rosters
Season-by-season
References
External links
Official website
Baseball teams established in 1965
Florida Complex League teams
Professional baseball teams in Florida
Gulf
A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodies ...
Sports in Kissimmee, Florida
Sports in West Palm Beach, Florida
1965 establishments in Florida
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