The Herald-Tribune looked back at all the area Sarasota-Manatee baseball teams that have won state championships.
Since the Florida High School Athletic Association started holding baseball state championships in 1922, Sarasota/Manatee counties have racked up 25 titles, the first dating back to 1925.
In addition to winning the area’s first four state championships, Manatee High, listed as Bradenton on the FHSAA website, earned another in 1963. Sarasota High ranks among the best in the state as far as titles, winning eight, the first in 1957. Venice went on a remarkable run, capturing six championships during a 13-year span. Riverview High is the only other area team with more than one, winning a pair.
We laid out the resumes for all 8 local baseball state champion squads in our all-time list, which you can read here, and then asked to tell us which team is the area’s best all-time state title winner.
After a week of voting, you selected the 1992 Sarasota baseball team with 21.01% of the vote. CLICK HERE to see our poll results.
In the first state championships at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, the Sailors took advantage of the home crowd with a 4-1 decision over Palm Beach Gardens Wellington for the Class 4A crown. A record crowd of 4,474 watched Sarasota pick up its fifth state championship. Matt Drews improved to 10-2 with a four-hit, 11-strikeout performance. Drews’ battery mate Brandon Marsters went 2-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base for the Sailors, who finished 28-6.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 1993 Sarasota High wins All-Time Best Baseball Team Poll
Reporting by MH Syin, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
