Myrtle Beach Hurricanes

Did You Know?

• Future NBA player Scott Burrell pitched for the Hurricanes in 1991, going 1-0 with a 2.00 ERA in 5 starts.
• Outfielder Rick Holifield hit just .199 in the regular season but batted .444 in the 1992 postseason.

Seasons synopsis

The team's first season in Myrtle Beach (1987) was a championship year, winning both halves of the South Atlantic League under manager Barry Foote. The Blue Jays led the league in ERA (3.13) and finished third in runs (660). In the league championship series against Asheville, Myrtle Beach won game one 3-2 at home, lost 9-2, then split two road games before taking the finale 3-2. Mark Whiten was voted the top prospect in the league, Junior Felix was third, and catcher Francisco Cabrera was ninth.

Shortstop Eric Yelding stole 73 bases. Doug Linton led the league in ERA and was named Most Outstanding Pitcher and sixth-best prospect. The 1988 team also won the first half (46-24) but slipped in the second half (37-32) and lost in the playoffs. Five of the league's 12 All-Stars were from Myrtle Beach, and manager Richie Hebner was also an All-Star.

Derek Bell was voted the top prospect, Jimmy Rogers was Most Outstanding Pitcher and fifth-best prospect, Greg Vella was fourth-best prospect, and Xavier Hernandez was tenth. In 1989 the club fell to a 59-83 record, worst in the league, with a 4.07 ERA that was second-worst. Dave Weathers (11-13, 3.86) was the workhorse. Under manager Mike Fischlin in 1990, the team improved to 77-63, fourth in the league, with a third-place ERA of 3.12.

Rob Blumberg (2.16) was fourth in ERA, Mike Ogliaruso (2.52) was fifth and named the eighth-best prospect, and Aaron Small (2.80) was eighth. Outfielder Nigel Wilson was the club's most potent offensive force.

Move to Hagerstown

Winston Blenckstone, a Baltimore oxygen salesman, bought the Florence Blue Jays for $200,000 in October 1986 and relocated them to Myrtle Beach. The team’s first home game on April 8, 1987, packed in 4,030 fans, but nightly attendance soon dropped below a thousand. By April 1989, Blenckstone threatened to move the club unless the city funded a new two-million-dollar stadium. A 1991 rebranding as the Myrtle Beach Hurricanes failed to boost ticket sales. With stadium talks deadlocked, Blenckstone shifted the franchise to Hagerstown, Maryland, in late 1992, renaming it the Hagerstown Suns.