Orlando Twins

Florida State League (1963-1972)
Southern League (1973-1989)

Background

Orlando, Florida served as the spring training home of the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins of the American League for over half a century, from 1936 until 1990. The Senators moved to Minneapolis in 1961. In 1963, the Twins placed a Class A Florida State League farm club in Orlando, continuing the organization’s presence at Tinker Field through the summer months.

The Orlando Twins played in the Florida State League for a decade from 1962 to 1972. The O-Twins produced two future Hall-of-Famers during this era. 19-year old second baseman Rod Carew hit .303 and stole 52 bases for Orlando in 1965. 18-year old Bert Blyleven went 5-0 with a 1.46 ERA and threw five complete games in six starts for the O-Twins in 1969.

Move To Southern League

In November 1972, Orlando baseball fans received an upgrade. Minnesota moved their Class AA Southern League farm club from Charlotte to Orlando to replace the lower-tier Florida State League franchise.  The team retained the Orlando Twins name when it stepped up to Class AA ball in the spring of 1973. With the move up to the Southern League, the O-Twins now played against rivals from as far afield as Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee.

1981 Championship Season

In 1981 the O-Twins won their first and only Southern League championship. The 1981 team featured several players who would become key performers for Minnesota’s first World Series championship team six years later. Orlando third baseman Gary Gaetti (.277, 30 homers, 93 RBIs in 1981) became the American League Championship Series MVP in 1987.  Pitcher Frank Viola (5-4, 3.43 ERA) similarly took home World Series MVP honors in 1987.

Hard-hitting catcher Tim Laudner had a career year with Orlando in 1981, hitting .284 with 42 homers and 104 RBIs en route to the Southern League MVP award. Laudner never quite locked down the starting catcher job with Minnesota, but he stayed with the Twins throughout the 1980’s and hit a key home run in the Twins’ Game 2 victory during the 1987 World Series.

End of the Twins Era

The late 80’s brought a wave of changes to Orlando’s baseball scene. The Griffith family, mom-and-pop owners of the Senators/Twins since 1920, sold the Major League club in 1984 to Carl Pohlad. In 1988, Pohlad’s executives nudged long-time O-Twins General Manager Bob Willis into retirement. Willis  oversaw the Twins minor league operations in Orlando from 1964 through 1988. He famously talked a demoralized Rod Carew out of quitting the game as a 19-year old in the newy de-segregated Southern League in 1965 and cited it as one of the supreme accomplishments of his distinguished career.

Around the same time that Willis was pushed out the door, the Minnesota Twins shook up Orlando with two more big announcements. Minnesota would move its spring training operations to Fort Myers beginning in 1991, ending a half-century relationship with Orlando. Then in August 1989, Minnesota sold the Orlando Twins to local developer William duPont III for a reported $2.1 million (Orlando Sentinel 7/7/1992). duPont was the principal owner of the city’s new NBA expansion franchise. He was also a driving force behind the effort to bring a Major League Baseball expansion franchise to Orlando in 1992 or 1993.

duPont immediately announced a new name and logo for the team to take effect for the 1990 season. The Southern League team would be known as the Orlando Sun Rays. duPont intended that the Sun Rays name would eventually transfer over to the city’s new Major League franchise. Despite the name change, Orlando’s Southern League entry would remain a Minnesota Twins farm club for the next three summers through the 1992 season.

Aftermath

Barely a year later duPont lost his fortune. He was forced to sell the Orlando Magic to Amway billionaire Rich DeVos. The Sun Rays were bundled into the sale and also went to DeVos. In June 1991 Miami and Denver beat out Orlando for the next round of Major League expansion. The Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies entered the National League in 1993.

DeVos sold the Sun Rays to the Chicago Cubs in 1992. The team became the Orlando Cubs for the 1993 Southern League season. Orlando remained in the Southern League through the end of the 2003 season. The former Orlando Twins franchise moved to Montgomery, Alabama in 2004 and is still active today as the Montgomery Biscuits.

Trivia

On May 13th, 1968 O-Twins pitcher Larry Bohannon spun a 9-inning no-hit, no-walk Florida State League game against the Leesburg A’s at Tinker Field. A second inning error by shortstop Nellie Castellanos kept Bohannon from a perfect game. Baseball-reference.com, however, lists the performance on its all-time list of Minor League perfect games.

Orlando Twins Shop

In Memoriam

Outfielder Lyman Bostock (Orlando ’72) was shot to death in a case of mistaken identity in his hometown of Gary, Indiana on September 23, 1978 at the age of 27. Washington Post obituary.

Long-time O-Twins General Manager Bob Willis (Orlando ’64-’88) passed away on January 15, 2000 at age of 74 after suffering from congestive heart failure. His ashes were spread at Tinker Field. Orlando Sentinel obituary.

Downloads

1975 Twins vs. Savannah Braves Game Notes

8-29-1976 Twins vs. Jacksonville Suns Game Notes

Links

Florida State League Programs

Southern League Media Guides

Southern League Programs

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