Maine Guides
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Maine Guides was the original and predominant name of an American minor league baseball franchise that played in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, between 1984 and 1988. The AAA International League club was known as the Guides for its first four seasons, and as the Maine Phillies in its final campaign.
The Guides were born when Maine entrepreneur Jordan Kobritz acquired the IL's Charleston Charlies during 1983 with the intention of moving the franchise to his native state. Although Old Orchard Beach is not one of Maine's year-round population centers, it is a highly popular summer vacation destination. Kobritz oversaw the construction of a stadium, called The Ball Park, on the outskirts of town. But fans who visited the stadium complained of rampant mosquitos, and the team struggled at the turnstiles almost from the outset.
The Guides, top farm club of the Cleveland Indians at the time, drew 183,300 fans in their maiden season - fourth overall in the International League. It finished second in the standings and the runners-up in the IL playoffs. The Guides again placed second in 1985, but fell to 136,000 in total attendance - last in the eight-team league. The 1986 edition of the Guides placed last in the league, and last (105,600) at the gate.
In 1987, the Indians departed and the club became an affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. It was a two-year arrangement, as it was known that a new stadium was being built in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania and the club was to move there in 1989. The club's attendance held steady in 1987, but then hemorrhaged more fans - almost a quarter of its dismal 1987 total - drawing only 80,000 people while finishing last in their division in 1988.
The relocated Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons club attracted over 434,000 fans in its maiden campaign, and remained the Phils' AAA affiliate through 2006 before becoming the top farm club of the New York Yankees.
In 1994, a AA Eastern League expansion franchise moved to Hadlock Field in Maine's most populous city. This team, the Portland Sea Dogs, has been extremely successful at the gate and in the field as an affiliate of the Florida Marlins and, since 2003, the Boston Red Sox.
[edit] References
- Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors. The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 1997 edition. Durham, N.C.: Baseball America.
