The Havana Sugar Kings

[Stealcompany]

When my uncle and boss, Matt Hamilton, General Manager of the Havana Sugar Kings invited me to join him and Havana’s owner Shawn Davis to watch a World Series game between the Philadelphia Phantoms and New York Mammoths, from a private box at Philadelphia’s park, I assumed that it was a reward for a job well done.



Less than a month before that I had completed my first season as manager and GM for the Daytona Beach Astronauts, the Sugar Kings affiliate in the Southeastern League, a rookie level association and the lowest rung in the hierarchy of professional baseball. I had worked in a number of assistant jobs in organized baseball since I had finished my business degree but the Daytona Beach job was my first sitting in ‘the big chair’ or in at least as big a chair that a rookie level association could afford.

There were plenty of voices saying that I got the job because of who my uncle was. That wasn’t anything new, I’d been hearing that since I first started working in front offices, and to be brutally frank, it didn’t hurt to have that connection when I first tried to get my foot in the door. Though he didn’t personally hire me to my first job with the Toronto Titans in 1980, he was that team’s GM at the time. A little more than a year later uncle Matt had left Toronto for Kansas City where he tried to revive the franchise there before being lured to the job of creating a totally new team in Havana when the majors expanded by four teams in 1987.

Myself I had originally stayed in Toronto where I slowly moved up the ladder learning a wide range of things about stadium operation, scouting, player development and even broadcast rights. In 1984 Erik Anderson, GM for the Louisville Orphans hired me as an assistant GM and I began what seemed like a masterclass in running a baseball team. In the five seasons I spent in Louisville, Erik’s teams took home two World Series crowns (1984, 1986) before being undone by injuries in the 1987 season and then felled by the team’s owner Dustin Rubinstein who swept out the front office after the 1988 ended with a second straight season out of the playoffs. Anybody who follows baseball knows that Louisville’s owner is one of the ‘nightmare bosses’ of the league.

Erik Anderson was scooped up right away by the Minnesota Grizzlies, at a significant salary increased, and he offered me a position in the Grizzlies front office. I was seriously considering it when my uncle Matt called me with an offer to mange the Daytona Beach team for the Sugar Kings affiliate and run the rookie league team’s front office. The line that convinced me was when he said “If you want to be a General Manger in this league you need to know what it’s like for players and staff out in the bushes, and there ain’t no place more bush than rookie baseball and the Southeastern League.”

After the end of spring training I had gone to Daytona Beach where I spent my time getting the front office and baseball diamond ready for the start of games in mid June after the amateur draft. The bulk of my players would be arriving via that year’s draft but there were also players deemed not ready yet for higher echelons of the Havana organization and they began to show up in Daytona in early June from various schools or jobs and worked out at the stadium in advance of the season.

Though the Southeastern League had been established back in 1927, the Daytona Beach team had been an expansion team created in 1987 as part of the farm system for the new major league club in Havana. A second expansion team in Lakeland was part of the new Miami Firebirds system. In their previous two seasons Daytona Beach had won less than a third of their games in a 68 game schedule the first year and barely a quarter of them the second year. In tasking me with running the club my uncle’s advice was “get your feet wet this year and then go for the brass ring the next year when we’ve had another draft to build up the talent pool.”

What ended up happening was our team raised its batting average by 60 points over the previous season while cutting nearly two runs from the team ERA. The Astronauts went 55 - 13 to win the Southern Division by 11 games over the Tampa Falcons and first beat the Jacksonville Tigers 4-1 in the Preliminary Round before battling the Savannah Indians for seven games to win the League Championship. When the Astronauts squeezed past the Indians 7-6 on an overcast September night a collection of kids with an average age of 21.5 celebrated like they had just won the World Series.

After a few days to clean up loose ends, write reports and prioritize work that needed to be done over the off season, I flew down to Havana for a debrief with the other branches of the Sugar Kings organization. Daytona was the only team to win their league championship. Only the short season club in Naples of the Florida State League finished with a record over .500. The single A team in the Piedmont Association had lost 99 games, the triple A club had lost 98 and the double A club had lost a whopping 113 games in a 140 game schedule. Needless to say the discussions were not very cheery. It was obvious to everyone that three years into its existence the Sugar Kings had a serious lack of talented players. While the team had drafted well, particularly with pitching, the team needed to do a better job of identifying and developing talent.
We were also informed that the league was taking steps to stop Havana from being able to purchase players from the independent Cuban League, something my uncle had done a few times in the past three years. While in theory any major league team could purchase Cuban players from Cuban club teams, any overtures from teams other than Havana were uniformly refused. To end what other teams called unfair practices the league was ending purchases and players would have to be free agents in order to move from one league to another.

The final complication was that unless Havana, which had the lowest ticket prices in the MLB, increased their ticket prices there would be limited cash available for Free Agents and extensions. Of the four recent expansion teams (Havana, Mexico City, Miami and San Diego) the Sugar Kings had less than 50% of the available funds the others had to improve their rosters. That put Havana dangerously close to the more troubled franchises in the league, Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, Montreal, Seattle & the St. Louis Ravens.

Without the money to attract free agents and build the team up, precarious finances would push back a needed refurbishment to Havana’s aged stadium ( the 37,565 seat Estadio Liberta which had been built in 1952 as Estadio Batista). Low ticket prices had ensured that the stadium was packed for every game but the total dollar amount received, while allowing the team to run a profit, left little for anything else.

While these discussions were going on my uncle seemed very distracted and left the meetings several times and a few times repeated things that others had said while he was out of the room. When we wrapped up for the day I went over to talk to him and see how he was doing. He dismissed my concerns saying “there’s just a lot of things on the go right now” before changing the subject to the World Series which had just come down to the Mammoths and Phantoms. “Listen Woodrow, Mr Davis and I are going to catch a few games of the Series, why don’t you join us?” I explained I had already made arrangements to go home to Toronto for Canadian Thanksgiving to see my parents but I could catch a later game if the series went that long.
“Better make it the fifth game, it’s on the Tuesday. I don’t think it will go more than five.”
“Are you that confident about New York?”
“Not at all. It’s Philadelphia’s year.”
“Philadelphia, they always lose. The Phantoms losing the Series is as dependable as sunrise in the morning.” At that point, the Philadelphia Phantoms had been in the majors since 1890 and had yet to win a single series. This season was Philadelphia’s 19th trip to the postseason and they hadn’t won yet.
“Don’t count them out. They impressed me all season long.”

After that I went home to visit my parents and other family, had a lazy weekend filled with turkey, ham and what seemed like tons of leftovers. On the Monday evening I caught a plane from Toronto to Philadelphia. Tickets were waiting for me in the Will Call window and I spent an enjoyable afternoon watching the city of Philadelphia lose its mind as their Phantoms beat the New York Mammoths 4-3 to win the 1989 World Series 4-1. I guess the 19th time was the charm.

Within seconds of the Phantoms recording the final out thousands of fans descended on the field gleefully ripping up chunks of sod, stealing the bases, tearing off advertisements and fighting a delirious running battle with several dozen policemen on foot and on horse. Shortly the rapturous rioting had spread to the surrounding streets as hordes of fans and other expressed their civic pride by overturning cars, setting fires and breaking windows. Several detachments of police helped quench the fans thirst for victory with the liberal application of water cannons turning several sidewalks into slip and slides.

A small in-stadium restaurant on the level near the box we had been sitting in was still open and according to the manager would stay open ‘until the booze runs out’. The three of us grabbed a table with a view out onto the field where Philly’s finest where demonstrating a variety of choke holds to curious fans. A number of paddy wagons had been driven out onto the field and a great many fans were being invited to take an expense-free tour of the municipal prison and judicial systems.

We were far enough away to maintain some detachment from the events on the increasingly battered and beaten diamond. A television in the corner kept a running commentary on the state of the events outside as the celebrations raged back and forth through the surrounding neighbourhoods. We were informed that, not to be outdone, other parts of the city and surrounding suburbs had joined in the fun. Phantoms fans around the world eventually got in the act, including one longstanding fan who stripped naked and attempted to scale an obelisk in St. Peter’s Square so he could attach a Phantoms pennant to the summit. Needless to say, the other cardinals did not share his enthusiasm.

Taking it all in I said, “it will really take something to top this.”

Shawn Davis, the Sugar Kings owner, lit up a cohiba cigar, despite the visibly evident “No Smoking” signs, and said “That’s what Matt and I want to talk to you about.”

[Stealcompany]

Let me take a moment to step back from my story and tell you a bit about Major League Baseball, the business where I work.

The National Association and the American Association of Baseball were established in the winter of 1889/90 and first took to the field in the spring of 1890. The two associations consisted of eight teams each and they each played a 148 games in the first championship season. The following year the season was increased to 154 games and it has remained there ever since.

The original teams in the National Association were the Boston Pilgrims, Brooklyn Barons, Chicago Cardinals, Cleveland Cougars, New York Manhattans, Pittsburgh Panthers, St.Louis Plainsmen & Washington Diplomats.

The American Association comprised the Baltimore Owls, Chicago Hornets, Cincinnati Monarchs, Columbus Brown Bears, Detroit Wolves, New York Knights, Philadelphia Phantoms and the St. Louis Ravens

Not only did the meetings over the winter of 1889/90 establish the two major league Associations, but there were a series of independent leagues, of various skill levels which were formed as well. There was no ‘farm system’ as we know it today, that was still some time in the future. Instead the leagues operated independently and sought to attract players as well as trading players back and forth among themselves.

Organized Baseball in 1989


With major league baseball located east of the Mississippi, the independent leagues filled in spots on the baseball map and in some instances harboured dreams of major league ambitions themselves.

The Eastern League sought to bring baseball to several of the secondary cities of the North East. In its inaugural season they fielded eight teams playing a 140 game schedule. The original franchises were the Albany Senators, Buffalo Bisons, Montreal Royals, Providence Grays, Rochester Patriots, Springfield Maroons, Syracuse Stars, Toronto Loyalists.

The Pacific Coast League brought competitive baseball to the west coast. It was still a half century before travel across the country could be done relatively inexpensively so the PCBL had the west coast to themselves. The original teams were Fresno Scarlet Knights, Oakland Reliants, Portland Scarecrows, Reno Rebels, Sacramento Prospectors, San Francisco Athletics, San Jose Bobcats, Seattle Sea Lions.

The Southern League placed teams south of the Mason-Dixon Line and fielded eight teams playing a 140 games each. The original franchises were the Atlanta Colts, Augusta Aces, Birmingham Reds, Charleston Seagulls, Mobile Blackbirds, Montgomery Senators, New Orleans Pelicans and the Savannah Privateers.

The Western League was the one league most closely aligned to the footprint of the American and National Associations and perhaps inevitably the most likely point of friction between leagues and perhaps the place where dreams of competing with the majors were apt to break out. The Western League fielded teams throughout the area from the Great Lakes to the Great Plains. It opened in 1890 with eight teams which were the Columbus Buckeyes, Indianapolis Hoosiers, Kansas City Blues, Memphis Millionaires, Milwaukee Creams, Minneapolis Millers, Omaha Bearcats and the St. Paul Saints. Most tellingly, the Western League placed the Buckeyes in Columbus in direct competition with the American Association’s Columbus Brown Bears.

The history of the ensuing completion between the two major leagues and the Western League is one of the key struggles in the history of baseball. It entailed franchise shifts, expansion, the creation of farm systems, the introduction of free agency, creating an annual amateur draft, the creation and destruction of fortunes, a failed attempt at creating a third (and possibly fourth) major league. It took the arrival of the great depression after the stock market collapse in October of 1929 to bring about peace and the establishment of the baseball world we know today. I will who into the whole of that history later. For my purposes now let’s confine ourselves to the development of the National and American Associations.

On the surface of things, the history of the major leagues appears to have been a fairly routine and orderly process. Despite having doubled in size since its start in 1890 there have been only three franchise relocations over 100 seasons and two of those involve the same team when the Columbus Brown Bears moved to Richmond Virginia for the 1897 season after been continually outdrawn at the box office and out performed on the field by the Western League’s Columbus Buckeyes. The Brown Bears hopes for better days in Richmond were unfulfilled as the team continued to struggle on the field and at the gate. In the winter of 1905/06 the team was sold to Phineas Rainier who moved the Brown Bears to Louisville Kentucky and renamed them after himself. The Louisville Rainiers finished last in attendance in the 1906 season and second last in the American Association standings. By late that summer it was clear that there were problems in Louisville with outstanding debts to suppliers and players. It was joked that half of their attendance most nights were creditors who had shown up looking for payment. Just before the end of the season Phineas Rainier disappeared and has never been found. The Louisville team finished the season after getting the final instalment of their salaries paid. With Rainier gone the franchise eventually devolved to league stewardship. Over the winter of 1906/07 a number of buyers were speculated on but no one stepped forward to either operate the team in Louisville or move them to another city. Rather than refer to the team as the Rainiers, local newspapers began to refer to the Louisville squad as ‘The Orphans’ and that usage stuck. A management team brought in by the American Association got the team through spring training and the start of the 1907 season. Thankfully, a group of local businessmen formed a partnership to buy the team. A ‘name the team’ contest in a Louisville paper found ‘Orphans’ was far and away the most popular choice.

With the situation in Louisville straightened away the National and American associations entered a period of stability in regards to their franchises at least. In 1918 the first minor leagues designed to serve as ‘farm systems’ appeared with the creation of the Central, New England and Texas Leagues. More minor leagues were created the following year when the Great Plains Association, Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League and the Michigan-Ontario League were created in 1919. There was also a move to assigning levels to different leagues. In 1919 the designation of Triple A (AAA) was given to Eastern League, Pacific Coast League, Western League and Great Plains Association. Both the Eastern League and the Great Plains Association were home to AAA farm teams of the majors.

The early 1920s saw the introduction of free agency in 1921 and an amateur draft in 1923. By the end of the 1920s there were leagues at the rookie level through to AAA. Both the Western League and the Pacific Coast League teams had created their own minor league farm teams as well. After the ‘peace of 1930’ the majors integrated the rest of the leagues operating in North America under the umbrella of major league baseball which created large farm system for the 16 major league clubs.

Towards the end of the Second World War there were rumours that a new major league would start up. With improvements in air travel and the increasing importance of radio and the anticipated arrival of television the idea of associations that stretched the width of the country became feasible. In early September 1945, the presidents of the two associations announced an ambitious plan to expand baseball by 50% and add four teams to each league. Additionally, the Associations would be split into Eastern and Western Divisions and a league championship series added.

The National Association announced the arrival of the Los Angeles Eagles, Minnesota Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans & San Francisco Seals. The American Association welcomed Houston Cowboys, Kansas City Kings, Los Angeles Stars and the Seattle Seawolves. The Los Angeles Stars were the first expansion team to win the World Series when they beat San Francisco in 1952 after both teams had upset favoured, established teams.

The National Association undertook its own additional expansion in 1954 when it added the Denver Desperados and the Toronto Titans. The American Association followed suit in 1960 when it added the Milwaukee Admirals and the Montreal Explorers. The Milwaukee franchise is the only other to relocate in league history when it was moved after the 1976 season by its new owner to Dallas where they became the Texans.

The most recent round of expansion took place in 1987 when two teams were added to each association. The Miami Firebirds and San Diego Friars joined the National Association and the Havana Sugar Kings and Mexico City Diablos became part of the American Association.

National Association Standings 1989


American Association Standings 1989


While the structure and playoff formats have changed over time the current structure of the majors is that each association has two eight team divisions. The division winners and the two teams with the best records make the playoffs as wild card teams. All eight teams play in the best of five Preliminary round. Then there is a best of seven League Championship to select the two teams to play the best of seven World Series.

Only five of the 32 teams in the majors have yet to make the playoffs, the four new expansion teams and the Dallas Texans. The class of the league are the New York Mammoths (formally the New York Manhattans, changed name in 1900) who have made the playoffs 42 times and won 20 World Series.

Teams with Franchise Winning Percentage over .500


Teams with Franchise Winning Percentage under .500