Baysox 20th Anniversary Celebration: 1993
The Baysox played their first season in 1993, but planning for the team began several years earlier. In 1991, the Maryland Baseball Limited Partnership, then owners of the Class AA Hagerstown Suns and the Class A Frederick Keys, sought to expand their presence in the Baltimore Orioles farm system within Maryland. Major League Baseball was expanding in 1993 with the arrivals of the Florida Marlins and Colorado Rockies, and, in accordance, the Triple-A ranks were expanding as well.
Coming on the heels of tremendous success with the Keys in a new state-of-the-art facility in Frederick, MBLP looked not only to repeat that booming enterprise, but to build upon it by putting a team into central Maryland.
After meeting with civic leaders and exploring possible scenarios, the partners focused on a plot of land located just to the south of the US 50-US 301 interchange, just outside of Bowie. A plan was formulated, and Bowie, Md., jumped into the fray with a number of other locales around the country
Bowie survived the first cut, joining Birmingham, Ala., Jacksonville, Fla., and eventual winners Ottawa and Charlotte, N.C. in the hunt. Despite the proximity to two major airports and the promise of the lucrative Baltimore-Washington corridor, Maryland Baseball fell short on its Triple-A bid.
However, the dream of moving a team into the area did not die.
The following winter, Maryland Baseball rekindled the negotiations with various parties involved in the Bowie site, with the idea of building the same stadium, only with the thought of shifting the Double-A team from Hagerstown, Md.
By summer's end in 1992, the Bowie situation appeared to be a go as offices were opened in Prince George's County and the franchise began to prepare for its first season.
In the process of gearing up for the initial campaign, a complex land deal that needed to occur before the stadium construction could get underway hit a major snag. Through November and into the Holidays, the team's emphasis shifted from preparation for that first season to a scramble for an alternative site to play games.
Finally, in late January 1993, the Baltimore Orioles and the City of Baltimore came to the rescue, offering the vacant, but still grand, Memorial Stadium on 33rd Street. A deal was consummated.
In their inaugural season under Orioles' Hall of Famer Don Buford, the Baysox finished 3rd in the eight-team Eastern League with a 72-68 record. The mark of 72 wins is tied for the fifth most in franchise history. The Baysox lost to Canton-Akron in five games in the first round of the playoffs.
Outfielder Brad Tyler led the Eastern League and set franchise single-season and career records with 17 triples. Not only has no other Baysox player hit 17 triples in a season, but no one has ever hit that many in their career. The 1993 team still holds the franchise record with 46 total triples.
Right-handed pitcher Jim Dedrick threw the team's first complete game shutout June 22 against Harrisburg and missed qualifying for the Eastern League ERA title by 5.1 innings. Six different players earned either Player of Pitcher of the Week honors and both catcher Gregg Zaun and designated hitter T.R. Lewis were named to the Eastern League All-Star Team.
The most notable player to open the season with the Baysox was center fielder and Olympian Jeffrey Hammonds, who was the Orioles top draft choice in 1992. Hammonds went on to become the first Baysox player to make it to the Major Leagues when he made his debut June 25, 1993.
Want to see what was being written about the Baysox in 1993? Check out the PDFs below of newspaper articles from almost 20 years ago:
Prince George's Journal - Agreements Reached on Stadium
Baysox Lease OK Expected Today
The Washington Post - Kids, Nostalgia and Tacos
Prince George's Journal - County steps up to plate in Baysox deal
The Bowie Blade-News - Is it bye-bye Bowie, hello Baltimore for Baysox?
Baysox Baseball - We'll Knock Your 'Sox Off. The Baysox open their 20th season at Prince George's Stadium Thursday, April 5. Baysox Holiday Packs make great gifts and can be purchased at www.baysoxshop.com. To keep up with Baysox news during the offseason, follow the Baysox on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BowieBaysox.