The Florida Winter Baseball League, comprised of four teams and manned mainly with indy players, has folded.
The Florida Winter Baseball League, comprised of four teams and manned mainly with indy players with some affiliated players and managers, has folded.
Winter baseball — really, fall baseball — anywhere is a hard sale, and especially so in Florida, where football rules this time of year. The league had four teams in Cocoa, Miami, Sanford and Leesburg, playing mostly in old minor-league and summer-ball facilities. But after 15 games, the operators ran out of money and shut down operations.
Organizers, of course, promise to be back with a better-financed model. From the league's website: "Being a first year league, the organization was built from a simple idea into reality, and though we are ending the inaugural season prematurely, we now see the commitment and organization needed by our staff in order to be successful long term. We acknowledge that start-up growing pains are real and sometimes overwhelming, but that has only strengthened our resolve. We will be recapitalizing the Company to better accommodate the financial requirements to operate the league more effectively in the future."
Not everyone is happy: "They should never be allowed to do anything with the game of baseball again because they tarnished its beautiful reputation," Jim Gabella told Florida Today, referring to league officials.
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