The Miami Amigos were a minor league baseball team based in Miami, Florida . In 1979, the Amigos played as members of the short–lived Class AAA level Inter-American League , winning the league championship in a shortened season. The Amigos played home games at Miami Stadium .
20-650: The Miami Amigos began play in 1979 as charter members of the six–team, Class AAA level Inter-American League . The Inter–American League uniquely featured franchises based in five different countries. Teams from the United States , Panama , Puerto Rico , Dominican Republic and Venezuela comprised the league structure. The Miami Amigos played with fellow league members Caracas Metropolitanos (Venezuela), Panama Banqueros, Puerto Rico Boricuas, Petroleros de Zulia (Venezuela) and Santo Domingo Azucareros (Dominican Republic) as charter members. The Inter–American League
40-486: A 0.89 ERA, tops in the league. The Amigos' shutdown left the above-mentioned Miami Orioles as the city's main pro baseball team, a status which would hold until 1991 (at which time they would move westward to Fort Myers), when the Florida (now Miami) Marlins were enfranchised as part of Major League Baseball's National League , starting play in 1993. The Miami Amigos played home games at Miami Stadium . The ballpark had
60-709: A 51–21 mark (.708) when the Inter-American League shut down. Jim Tyrone James Vernon Tyrone (born January 29, 1949) is an American former professional baseball outfielder . He played all or part of four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1972 to 1977, for the Chicago Cubs and Oakland Athletics . He also played four seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 1979 to 1982, for
80-516: A capacity of 9,548 (1992) and dimensions of (Left, Center, Right): 330–400–330 (1950). Miami Stadium was built in 1949. It had a cantilevered grandstand with no support beams. A high, rounded roof, with palm trees growing out of the paved walkway circled the stadium. The stadium was renamed "Bobby Maduro Miami Stadium" in 1987. It was torn down in 2001. The stadium was located at 2301 Northwest 10th Avenue, Miami, Florida. Miami Amigos players Inter-American League The Inter-American League
100-529: A joint season ticket with the Miami Orioles for all of the two teams’ combined 130 home games for $ 250. The Amigos and other teams in the league did not have television or radio broadcasts, negating potential revenue sources and fan interest in the games. Only one 1979 Miami Amigos game was broadcast in Miami, a radio broadcast. Once the season began, Davey Johnson underwent back surgery and missed time with
120-622: A successful shoe factory in Miami and could only travel to away games on the weekends. The atmosphere at Miami Stadium for Amigos games was festive, as the fans used conga drums and other percussion to play out Latin rhythms throughout the home games. The team cheerleaders were called the Hot and Juicy Wendy's Girls. By June, the Inter–American League lost the San Juan and Panama franchises, who both folded. The Inter–American League then divided
140-473: The Chicago Cubs in 1978, was hired to be a player/manager for the Amigos, in his first managerial job. The roster contained many players with previous major league experience. The Amigos' average player age was 27.5 and 13 players on the roster had major league experience. The Amigos’ uniforms were green with red and yellow trim. The Amigos' home uniform was a white jersey with white pants. The Miami road jersey
160-582: The Seibu Lions and Nankai Hawks . Jim's brother, Wayne Tyrone , also played in the major leagues for the Cubs in 1976. Despite being in the same organization for four-plus seasons, the two were never teammates at any level, until playing together for the 1979 Miami Amigos .. In 1983, Jim appeared on the American television game show The Price is Right and briefly talked about his time in baseball. Jim
180-646: The Triple-A Havana Sugar Kings and a longtime scout and front-office executive active in Latin American countries and Major League Baseball. A 130-game regular season was planned, while the six teams were located in the United States , Panama , Puerto Rico , the Dominican Republic and Venezuela (2). The league featured several well-known MLB veterans, with rosters averaging players between 26-29 years of age. But
200-714: The creation of the Miami Amigos on September 14, 1978. The Miami franchise owners were Ronald Fine and Joe Ryan, who were already the owners of the Class A Miami Orioles of the Florida State League and shared Miami Stadium. Joe Ryan had previously served as president of the American Association . The cost for the Miami Amigos franchise was $ 50,000. Miami had a 130–game schedule for 1979, as did all league members. Davey Johnson , who had played for
220-567: The league as rains cancelled large numbers of games. Visa issues and airline problems negatively affected travel and resulted in additional cancelled games. One Amigos game in Venezuela was called when the stadium lights failed and never came back on. The two Venezuelan teams generally drew good crowds. But the San Juan Boricuas occasionally drew fewer than 100 fans and moved some games to Puerto Rico, drawing 14,625 total attendance for
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#1732793802171240-514: The new circuit was barely able to complete half its schedule, fatally wounded by "under-capitalized owners, internecine rivalries among Caribbean baseball powers, tropical monsoons, and unreliable air travel." On June 17, 1979, the Panama and Puerto Rico teams disbanded, leaving the league with only four clubs. Thirteen days later, the entire league folded. The Miami Amigos , led by future Major League manager Davey Johnson , were in first place with
260-399: The season schedule into halves, awarding the first–half pennant to Miami, who were 43–17 in their first 60 games. The Amigos would only play 12 more games. The Miami Amigos, playing under manager Davey Johnson, were in first place on June 30, 1979, when the Inter–American League permanently folded and were declared league champions. Miami had a 51–21 overall record and were 10.0 games ahead of
280-499: The season. In mid–June, the San Juan and Panama (24,400 in attendance) owners immediately abandoned their teams, leaving players stranded across the Caribbean . Miami had crowds up to 3,500, with an average of 1,350 for home games at Miami Stadium, drawing 48,600 for the 72 games played. Miami was also affected by the rest of the Inter–American League issues. Miami owners Fine and Ryan offered a promotion where Amigos fans could purchase
300-453: The second place Caracas Metropolitanos in the league standings when the league permanently folded. Individually, Miami's Jim Tyrone won the league batting title, hitting .364 and also lead with 50 runs scored and 94 total hits. Brock Pemberton led the league with 52 RBI, while teammate Wayne Tyrone had 8 home runs to lead the league. On the mound, Miami's Mike Wallace led the Inter–American League with 11 wins and teammate Ron Martinez had
320-431: The team. Johnson had lingering effects from a home plate collision years earlier and was hitting .240 with one home run in 25 at–bats for the Amigos. Amigos player Dan Thomas , who was leading the league in home runs, was suspended by Johnson. Thomas' religious beliefs dictated that he was forbidden to play from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday and he had several incidents with umpires. Amigos player Oscar Zamora owned
340-415: Was a bright green V–necked pullover with the "Miami Amigos" across the chest in yellow letters with red trim. The logo had "Miami" above "Amigos" with a large "A". The Amigos' cap was a pinwheel style with a red bill, a white front panel with a large red "M" joined with a pointed green "A", and a green background. Beginning play, the Inter–American League and Miami debuted on April 11, 1979. Problems affected
360-559: Was a high-level circuit in Minor league baseball that lasted only three months before folding during the 1979 season . The league was conceived both as an official Triple-A minor league circuit and member of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues . It was composed of six clubs unaffiliated with Major League Baseball farm systems . The Inter-American loop was headed by Bobby Maduro , former owner of
380-699: Was formed as the brainchild of Roberto “Bobby” Maduro, an exile from Cuba . Maduro was the coordinator of Inter–American Baseball for MLB Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn and had owned minor league franchises in Cuba and the United States. The league was formed for the 1979 season. The Miami Franchise was named the "Miami Amigos," playing home games at Miami Stadium , which was also home of the Class A team Miami Orioles . Later, Miami Stadium would be renamed Bobby Maduro Miami Stadium. Bobby Maduro publicly announced
400-458: Was the oldest of five kids (Wayne Tyrone, JoEtta Duncan, Lenoard Tyrone) of the late Ora Lee and Oscar Lee Tyrone, who married in 1948 and divorced in 1974. Oscar remarried to Norma Jean in 1975 in which Jon Tyrone was born in that union. Tyrone married Lamar Casas in 1982 (divorced 1992) and resided in Pasadena, California upon his return to Texas in 1993. He has five children: Dal Davenport (from
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