Miami Sunbirds

Inaugural Draft
In the 2000 Inaugural Draft, the Miami Sunbirds were the fifth team on the board. With their first pick, they chose right fielder Travis Nelson. With their very next pick, they drafted center fielder Adam Cassidy.

2000 : Nelson's Tantrum
The Miami Sunbirds ended their first season as the best team on offense, knocking down 241 points and 75 home runs. However, behind the scenes drama, particularly involving stars Travis Nelson, Bill Orr and local star Pedro Salazar led to the team' elimination. It all started one week before the final game of the season. Miami was in second place, with Dallas trailing behind in third place. Left fielder Bill Orr injured his foot against the Bombers, leaving Miami without one of their key player for the final stretch of the season. Without Orr's offensive production, Miami was unable to reach the Championship Series. Then, one of the teams best player, notorious loudmouth Travis Nelson, threw a public tantrum, accusing Orr of being a lazy player and putting the blame solely on him, even though his own personal stats were not pretty in this last week. He also put the blame on Pedro Salazar, saying he was only trying to steal the spotlight. Nelson followed by saying he would only stay in Miami if Bill Orr, Pedro Salazar and Adam Cassidy left the team, because he claims that a team can only have one true leader. Miami then decided to part ways with Nelson and to extend the contracts of Orr, Salazar and Cassidy.

2001 and onwards
After they decided to cut ties with Nelson, the Sunbirds entered the 2001 season with a weaker team than in 2000. They still managed to play .500, earning a 24-24 record, good enough for the fourth place.

In 2002, Miami was expected to be a strong contender in ABA, especially after their upgrades in pitching. However, the opposite happened and they fell five games behind their projected record, with 24-26. They finished fifth in what is starting to be a steady decline for the Sunbirds. They'll be looking to bounce back in 2003.

Notable Former Players

 * Travis Nelson (2000)