Nashville Xpress

Southern League (1993-1994)

Background

A complicated game of franchise musical chairs sparked by Major League Baseball’s 1993 expansion sparked the formation of the Nashville Xpress. The odd arrangement that saw Nashville baseball impresario Larry Schmittou operating two separate franchises at Herschel Greer Stadium in 1993 and 1994.

The addition of the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins to MLB in 1993 created capacity for two new Class AAA franchises in the minor league ecosystem.  George Shinn, owner of the NBA’s Hornets and the Class AA Charlotte Knights of the Southern League, secured one of the expansion berths. His Knights would move up to the AAA International League in 1993.  Shinn negotiated a sale of his Southern League franchise to New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson, who planned to move the team to the Big Easy. But John Dikeou, owner of the Class AAA Denver Zephyrs club that was about to be displaced by the Major League Rockies in Colorado, also set his sights on New Orleans. The Zephyrs won the right to move to Louisiana by virtue of playing at a higher classification. Shinn’s sale to Benson fell apart.

With the former Charlotte Knights franchise homeless, the Southern League faced an unwieldy line-up of nine clubs.  An unbalanced schedule would leave one club idle each night. Each Southern League owner faced an economically devastating loss of 16 home dates. One imperiled owner was Huntsville Stars boss Larry Schmittou. Schmittou also owned the popular Nashville Sounds triple-A franchise in the American Association.  Schmittou proposed to operate the former Knights franchise in Nashville, squeezing in 70 Southern League home games while his AAA Sounds club was on the road. The franchise would now be known as the Nashville Xpress and continue to serve as a farm club of the Minnesota Twins as it had in Charlotte.

On The Field

The 1993 Xpress were a pretty strong club.  The team won the first half in Southern League’s Western Division with a 40-31 record.  They would finish the season 72-70 and lose to the Birmingham Barons in the first round of the playoffs.  Key players included pitchers Brad Radke, who would go on to win 20 games for the Minnesota Twins in 1997, and outfielder Marty Cordova who would earn American League Rookie-of-the-Year for Minnesota in 1995.  Oscar Gomez (11-4, 3.08 ERA) earned Southern League Pitcher-of-the-Year honors, but would pitch just 10 games in the Majors.

In 1994, the Xpress were competitive once again. The club finished 74-66 under field manager Phil Roof.  Brad Radke returned and won 12 games to lead the pitching staff.  NBA superstar Michael Jordan visited Herschel Greer Stadium several times during the summer of 1994 as a member of the Birmingham Barons during his failed bid to establish a pro baseball career.  Off the field, the Xpress drew 135,048 fans which was the lowest figure in the Southern League in 1994. It was clear that the team’s co-tenancy with the Sounds at Herschel Greer was coming to an end.

Move To North Carolina

In October 1993, Shinn sold the Xpress to baseball lifer Dennis Bastien.  Bastien was one of the last remaining “mom-and-pop” operators in minor league baseball – a man whose primary source of income was operating clubs. Bastien’s stated goal was to move the franchise to Lexington, Kentucky in 1995.  When Lexington’s ballpark project dragged, Bastien set his sights on San Juan, Puerto Rico. Then it was Springfield, Missouri.

Eventually Bastien moved the franchise to Wilmington, North Carolina in 1995 where it became the Port City Roosters.  Wilmington was yet another temporary solution.  The city did not have a suitable Class AA facility. The move was intended to be temporary until Springfield, Missouri’s ballpark was ready.  The Springfield deal later collapsed. The former Knights/Xpress/Roosters franchise move to Mobile, Alabama in 1997 where it plays on today as the Mobile BayBears.

Links

Southern League Media Guides

Southern League Programs

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