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

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and Pompano Beach in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

.Senior Citizens: The Boys of Winter
''Uni Watch''. Retrieved on March 2, 2016.

Earl Weaver Earl Sidney Weaver (August 14, 1930 – January 19, 2013) was an American professional baseball manager, author, and television broadcaster. After playing in minor league baseball, he retired without playing in Major League Baseball (MLB). He be ...

managed the Suns, who hired former All-Star Pedro Ramos 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 decision ...

. Bright spots included

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Joaquín Andújar, 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 positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

Bert Campaneris Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco (born March 9, 1942), nicknamed "Bert" or "Campy", is a Cuban Americans, Cuban American former professional baseball shortstop, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for four American League (AL) teams, primarily the ...

as the oldest everyday player in the league at 47, who hit a .291

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

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

* Joaquín Andújar *

Stan Bahnsen Stanley Raymond Bahnsen (born December 15, 1944) is an Americans, American former professional baseball pitcher, who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the New York Yankees and the Montreal Expos. Nicknamed the "Bahns ...

* Paul Blair *

Paul Casanova Paulino ("Paul") 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. Early life C ...

César Cedeño César Cedeño Encarnación (born February 25, 1951) is a Dominican former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1970 to 1986, most prominently as a member of the Houston Astros whe ...

* 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 memb ...

* Jesús de la Rosa *

Joe Decker George Henry Decker Jr. (June 16, 1947 – March 2, 2003) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League B ...

* Taylor Duncan * Jim Essian * Ed Figueroa * Jim Gideon * Orlando González * Ross Grimsley * Glenn Gulliver * Ed Halicki * George Hendrick * 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 n ...

Rafael Landestoy Rafael Silvaido Landestoy Santana (born May 28, 1953) is a Dominican former 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 ...

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), Seattle ...

* Bob Molinaro *

Sid Monge Isidro Monge Pedroza (born April 11, 1951) is a Mexican former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who pitched from 1975 to 1984. He played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California Angels, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, San D ...

Bobby Ramos Roberto Ramos (born November 5, 1955) is a Cuban former professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Montreal Expos and the New York Yankees. Career Ramos was a catcher. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the se ...

Frank Riccelli Frank Joseph Riccelli (born February 24, 1953) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of three seasons in the majors, for the San Francisco Giants, and and for the Houston Astros. Riccelli attended Christian Br ...

* Tom Shopay *

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 bat ...

Derrel Thomas Derrel Osbon Thomas (born January 14, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman and utility player from to . Thomas was a member of the 1981 World Series winning ...

Luis Tiant Luis Clemente Tiant Vega () (November 23, 1940 – October 8, 2024), nicknamed "El Tiante", was a Cuban professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 years, primarily for the Cleveland Indians and the Boston R ...

* Steve Whitaker :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 and teams disestablished in 1989