Port-au-Prince Buccaneers

Haitian League franchise based in Port-au-Prince

The **Port-au-Prince Buccaneers** are a Haitian professional baseball franchise based in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Buccaneers compete in the Haitian League (HL) as a member of the Northern League (NL), as one of the Eastern League's eight charter franchises for the 1950–51 season. The franchise was estavlished in 1890 as the **St. Louis Red Sox** before relocating shortly after in 1892 to become the **Houston Colt .45s**. Their stint in Houston was longer lasting than their stint in St. Louis, having stayed in the city from 1893 until 1905. The team was then moved to Washington, D.C. and became the **Washington Nationals** after a longtime stadium dispute between the executive management of the team and the city of Houston. In 1945, the Nationals moved due to poor fan attendance; this time the team moved to Port-au-Prince, Haiti and became the **Port-au-Prince Cavaliers** in 1945. The name was finally changed to the **Port-au-Prince Buccaneers** in 1950. The Buccaners' home ballpark is Buccaneers Park, which opened in 1950.

The franchise won appeared in its first of two World Series apperances and title in 1945, having finished the regular season with a 75–57 record. They would make a second appearance in the World Series in 1949, losing to the Los Angeles Baseball Club 2–4. They have won two National League pennants, first in 1945 and then again in 1949. They have won 13 National League North division titles (1901, 1915, 1917, 1918, 1920, 1922, 1929, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950). The Buccaneers have appeared in the Major League Baseball postseason as a Wild Card seven times (1912, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1945, 1948). The Buccaneers were the last team of the two 1890 expansion franchises to win a World Series.

The Buccaneers are the only one of the eight charter franchises of the Haitian League that existed to prior to creation of the league. They are also the only professional Haitian baseball team to have played in Major League Baseball in the United States; and the only MLB franchise to relocate to Haiti.

## History

### St. Louis Red Sox (1890–1892)

The **St. Louis Red Sox** were founded in 1890 as a member of Major League Baseball (MLB). They joined as members of the National League (NL) North (now known as the National League East) Division. The team's name was chosen by the team's owner Thomas P. Wright Jr., who was a Boston native, as an homage to the various Boston Red Sox teams of the past. They started off rough with a 27–44 record in the 1890 season and finished last in the division and 13 games behind first place. The second season in franchise history was similar to the first; seeing the team finish at 27–46 and last in the division, as well as being 13½ games behind first place. Fan support for this new franchise quickly dwindled and owner Thomas P. Wright Jr. was forced to relocate the franchise to Houston in 1892. The decision to leave the city was met with mixed reactions from the city, and the league ultimately voted in favor of the relocation.

### Houston Colt .45s (1893–1905)

In 1893, the franchise finally relocated to Houston and became the Houston Colt .45s. They would somewhat improve in their first year in Houston with a 32–39 record. They still finished last in the division at 5th place; however they were only 10 games behind first place. Disatisfied with the state of the team, owner Bud Davis fired President Eric May, General Manager Arthur Thomas and Manager Owen Barnes all in the same offseason. The new executive team continued the pace of rebuilding the franchise. The team would finish the 1894 season 30–43 and 9 game behind first place. They would then finish 1895 with a 48–64 record and finally avoided as last place finish in the division for the first time in their franchise's history. 1896 was more of the same for the franchise, finishing 53–59 but improving to 3rd in the division. Finally, in 1897, the franchise ended its seven season long streak of losing records when they finished at 58–54.

They again moved in 1906, this time to Washington and became the Washington Nationals. D.C. was the home of the Nationals for a very long time, however they would find little success throughout their time in the nation's capital.

## Culture and lore

### Sosyete a Outlaw

Main article: Sosyete a Outlaw
The **Sosyete a Outlaw** is a network of fan support organizations for the Buccaneers.

## Personnel

### Managers

See also: List of Port-au-Prince Buccaneers managers

## Roster

 **Pitchers**
* 4 Grégory Moreau
* 8 Bernard Fournier
* 10 Colin Alves
* 11 Ludvoic Amar
* 12 Dominique Lemoine
* 15 Gregory François
* 18 Alain Robert
* 20 Jean Mathieu
* 33 Loïc Arnaud
* 9 Oliver Lemoine
* 28 Jean Guilluame

**Infielders**
* 1 Emmanuel Bernard
* 3 Pascal Laurent
* 5 Jean-Jacques Maurel
* 7 Gilles Chauvin
* 14 Michel Moreira
* 17 Maxime Bresson
* 19 Oliver Tanguy
* 24 Bastien Gervais
* 25 Joël Prud'homme

**Outfielders**
* 2 Julien Roger
* 6 André Roques
* 16 Yohann François
* 22 Pierre Bouche
* 23 Florian Pierron
* 27 Victor Charron

* Rachid Merlin

**Coaches**
* Gerard Valentin (Offensive strategy)
* Ruben Besson (Bench)
* Wilfrid Bruyère (Pitching)
* Michel Petit (Hitting)
* Pierre François (Fielding coordinator)
* Bertrand Valentin (1B coach)
* Jacques Nedelec (3B coach)

* 7-, 10-, or 15-day injured list
* → All Haitian League rosters

## Rivalries

### Current rivalries

#### Delmas Raiders

Main article: Buccaneers–Raiders rivalry
The Delmas Raiders were established in 1951 as a rival club to the Buccaneers by the Jean-Pierre Wright, son of former owner Thomas P. Wright. Wright established the club after his father was removed from the ownership group of the club in January of 1950 due to the transfer of ownership of the team from private to a fan-owned team. The Raiders were originally planned to be a Major League Baseball franchise, however Wright was granted an expansion franchise to the newly formed Haitian League for the 1951–52 season. The Bucs and Raiders also both compete in the Northern League, thus strengthening the rivalry between the two franchises.