Florida Fire Frogs
The Florida Fire Frogs are a baseball team located in North Port, Florida. From 2017 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Florida State League and were the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. The affiliation was terminated after the 2020 season with the team's future uncertain.
| Florida Fire Frogs Founded in 2017 North Port, Florida | |||||
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| Minor league affiliations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class | TBD (from 2021) | ||||
| Previous classes | Class A-Advanced (2017–2020) | ||||
| League | TBD (from 2021) | ||||
| Conference | Florida State League (2017–2020) | ||||
| Major league affiliations | |||||
| Previous teams | Atlanta Braves (2017–2020) | ||||
| Minor league titles | |||||
| League titles (0) | None | ||||
| Team data | |||||
| Name | Florida Fire Frogs (2017–present) | ||||
| Colors | Red, black, orange, gold, white | ||||
| Ballpark | CoolToday Park | ||||
Previous parks | Osceola County Stadium (2017–2019) | ||||
Owner(s)/ Operator(s) | Manatees Baseball Club LLC. | ||||
| General Manager | North Johnson[1] | ||||
| Manager | TBD (from 2021) | ||||
Founded in 2017, the Fire Frogs were based in Kissimmee, Florida, part of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area, through 2019.[2] Before they were terminated, they were set to play their home games at CoolToday Park in 2020, having previously played at Osceola County Stadium.
History
The team's name was announced on October 26, 2016, at the conclusion of a name-the-team contest.[3] The finalists from which the team's name was selected were: Florida Dragonflies, Florida Fire Frogs, Florida Mud Kickers, Florida Rodeo Clowns, Florida Sorcerers, and Florida Toucans.[4]
The team is the relocation of the Brevard County Manatees.
In May 2019, the team accepted a half-million-dollar buyout from Osceola County to leave at the end of the 2019 season. The stadium will be redeveloped as part of a training complex at Osceola Heritage Park for Orlando City SC of Major League Soccer.[5][6]
In December 2019, the Fire Frogs' co-owner expressed an interest in returning the franchise to Brevard County. Their previous home of Space Coast Stadium is not available. Coastal Florida Sports Park was a possibility, but not until 2021.[7] Its future was further called into question when it was included in a list of teams that may have been folded as part of reorganization of Minor League Baseball after the 2020 season.[8]
On January 16, 2020, the Braves announced that the Fire Frogs would play at their new spring training facility, CoolToday Park in North Port, for the 2020 season.[9] The 2020 minor league baseball season, however, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On December 9, 2020, the Braves announced their minor league affiliates as part of Major League Baseball's reorganization, which excluded the Fire Frogs.[10]
Roster
| Players | Coaches/Other | |||
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Pitchers
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Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
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Manager
Coaches
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Season-by-season
These statistics are current through the 2019 season.
| Year | League | Division | Regular season | Post-season | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st half | 2nd half | ||||||||||||
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Win% | GB | Finish | Wins | Losses | Win% | GB | ||||
| 2017 | FSL | North | 6th | 25 | 41 | .379 | 12 | 5th | 23 | 40 | .365 | 22 | |
| 2018 | FSL | North | 6th | 29 | 37 | .439 | 8 | 6th | 22 | 43 | .338 | 21 | |
| 2019 | FSL | North | 6th | 25 | 41 | .379 | 16.5 | 6th | 29 | 41 | .414 | 10 | |
| Statistic | Wins | Losses | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time regular season record (2017–2019) | 153 | 243 | .386 |
References
- "Anderson Steps Down as Fire Frogs President and GM". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
- Hill, Benjamin (September 16, 2016). "Braves move A Advanced club to Kissimmee". MiLB.com. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
- "Team Name Revealed as Florida Fire Frogs". MiLB.com. October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- "Six Potential Names Revealed for Central Florida Team". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. July 28, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
- Jackson, Ken (May 31, 2019). "Orlando City confirms it's bringing MLS, developmental training facility to Heritage Park; Fire Frogs sign deal to leave after this season". Osceola News-Gazette. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
- Reichard, Kevin (May 31, 2019). "Fire Frogs to Depart Osceola County Stadium at End of Season". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
- Spedden, Zach (December 20, 2019). "Co-Owner: Return Fire Frogs Franchise to Brevard County". Ballpark Digest. August Publications. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
- Baer, Bill (November 17, 2019). "MLB could eliminate 42 Minor League Baseball teams". Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- Zucker, Scott (January 16, 2020). "Florida Fire Frogs will be Cool Today Park's boys of summer". Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- "Braves Invite Four Teams to Affiliate". December 9, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2020.