St. Petersburg Pelicans
From BR Bullpen
The St. Petersburg Pelicans were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The team went 42-30 in the regular season and won the Northern Division title. Steve Henderson hit .352 for the club, and Lenny Randle batted .349. Milt Wilcox went 12-3, and Jon Matlack added 10 wins. Led by Lamar Johnson's home run and three RBI, the Pelicans went on to beat the West Palm Beach Tropics 12-4 to win the league's championship game. Bobby Tolan managed the team both seasons. The St. Petersburg Pelicans returned for a second season and were leading the league with a 15-8 record when the league folded on December 28, 1990.
Home Ballpark: Al Lang Stadium
Player/Manager: Bobby Tolan
1989 Attendance 39,611 (36 Games) Average 1,100
Coaches: Dock Ellis, Ozzie Virgil, Tom Zimmer
1989 Opening Day Roster:
PITCHERS: Dock Ellis, Al Holland (also with St. Lucie), Randy Lerch, Jon Matlack, Gerry Pirtle, Dave Rajsich, Joe Sambito, Elias Sosa, Sammy Stewart (also with Bradenton), Milt Wilcox, Mike Williams
CATCHERS: Butch Benton, Mark Corey, Dwight Lowry
INFIELDERS: Alan Bannister, Sergio Ferrer (also with St. Lucie), Luis Gomez, Roy Howell, Gary Rajsich, Lenny Randle
OUTFIELDERS: Steve Henderson, Steve Kemp, Jerry Martin (also with Orlando), Bake McBride (also with Orlando)
DISABLED LIST: Ron LeFlore (also with Bradenton), Pat Zachry
Other Players: Dick Bosman, Nardi Contreras, Ivan DeJesus, Hoot Gibson, Lamar Johnson, Ken Landreaux (also with Orlando), Jim Morley, John "Blue Moon" Odom, Bombo Rivera, Ozzie Virgil Jr.
[edit] 1989-1990 Stats (Incomplete)
| Hitting Stats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | POS | AVG | HR | RBI | SB |
| Alan Bannister | OF-IF | .307 | 1 | 29 | 0 |
| Butch Benton | C | .374 | 3 | 34 | 1 |
| Ivan DeJesus | SS | .333 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| Luis Gomez | SS | .293 | 0 | 9 | 3 |
| Steve Henderson | OF | .352 | 5 | 55 | 5 |
| Roy Howell | 3B | .320 | 1 | 36 | 2 |
| Lamar Johnson | 1B | .372 | 6 | 22 | 0 |
| Steve Kemp | OF | .329 | 3 | 32 | 0 |
| Ken Landreaux | OF | .304 | 2 | 21 | 3 |
| Ron LeFlore | OF | .362 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Dwight Lowry | C | .245 | 1 | 19 | 0 |
| Gary Rajsich | 1B | .294 | 6 | 43 | 3 |
| Lenny Randle | 2B | .349 | 0 | 40 | 16 |
| Ozzie Virgil Jr. | C | .290 | 2 | 22 | 0 |
| Pitching Stats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | W | L | ERA | SV |
| Dick Bosman | 1 | 1 | 4.07 | 1 |
| Dock Ellis | 0 | 2 | 1.76 | 6 |
| Randy Lerch | 4 | 5 | 6.88 | 0 |
| Jon Matlack | 10 | 2 | 4.10 | 0 |
| Joe Sambito | 3 | 1 | 3.72 | 7 |
| Elias Sosa | 3 | 4 | 2.90 | 3 |
| Milt Wilcox | 12 | 3 | 3.19 | 0 |
