Baseball in the Palm Beaches
Host to numerous Major League Baseball Spring Training facilities, top collegiate programs, and nationally recognized high school baseball, Palm Beach County is rich in baseball history.
Before any of those existed, Palm Beach was introduced to organized baseball around 1915 through a “hotel league” in the winter time between The Royal Poinciana and The Breakers Hotel. This league hosted some of the greatest African-American baseball players that would make names for themselves in the Negro League. The town would go on to be introduced to baseball legends such as Babe Ruth in 1920 when he and the Yankees took on the Reds at the Royal Poinciana’s baseball field. From that point on, Palm Beach would be considered as a valued destination for professional baseball.
The St. Louis Browns would become the first of many teams to call Palm Beach home for Spring Training. Baseball Hall of Famer Roger Hornsby was a part of the club, serving as the Browns manager and playing on the active roster. Wright Field, later known as Connie Mack Field, was home for the Browns during their time in Palm Beach. Eventually, the Browns would pack their bags and head out (also soon leaving St. Louis and heading to Baltimore to become the Orioles). Palm Beach then became the spring home for the Philadelphia Athletics. During that time, West Palm Beach would also be called home by the West Palm Beach Indians (also known later as the Sun Chiefs)- an independent league team for majority of their existence. In 1962, the Athletics would move and just a year later the Milwaukee Braves would come into town and call the brand new, one-million-dollar, Municipal Stadium home. After becoming the Atlanta Braves a
few years later, they would share Municipal with the Montreal Expos- where the Expos would go on to use the stadium in two stints, from ’66 to ’72 and again from 1981 to 1997. During the later part of that time, Municipal Stadium would go on to host the Florida League All-Star game twice. It was closed in 1997, before being demolished in 2002, due to a new venue being built and utilized by the professional teams calling Palm Beach County a seasonal home.
Roger Dean Stadium would open in 1998 and through its first couple
years, the Expos and the St. Louis Cardinals would share the complex.
In 2002, the Expos and Marlins would swap venues, now allowing
Roger Dean Stadium be home to the Florida Marlins and the St. Louis
Cardinals organizations. During the regular season, both franchises'
minor league teams play games in Roger Dean Stadium and continue
to do so to this day.
Most recently, two more professional teams targeted Palm Beach as
their spring destination. The Washington Nationals and the Houston
Astros organizations broke ground on their new Spring Training
facility in 2015, spending close to $150 million. In 2017, the then Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, saw its first game played between the Nationals and the Astros. Since, the stadium has been renamed FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and serves as the home for Nationals and Astros Spring Training, and home to their Gulf Coast League affiliates.
Aside from the professional ranks, Palm Beach County also serves as home to collegiate baseball programs such as Florida Atlantic University (DI), Palm Beach State University (JUCO), Palm Beach Atlantic University (DII), Lynn University (DII), and Keiser University (NAIA), as well as prominent high school baseball programs year in, year out.
Countless Palm Beach County natives have gone on to see professional baseball careers- such as the likes of Dante Bichette, Marlon Byrd, Tony Cruz, Scott Maine, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Devon Travis, Chris Volstad, and Trea Turner.
