New Orleans Baby Cakes Founded in 1993 Metairie, Louisiana |
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Class-level | |||||
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Current | Triple-A (1955–present) | ||||
Minor league affiliations | |||||
League | Pacific Coast League (1963–1968, 1998–present) | ||||
Conference | American Conference | ||||
Division | Southern Division | ||||
Previous leagues
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American Association (1902–1948, 1955–1962, 1969–1997) Western League (1901, 1949–1954) |
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Major league affiliations | |||||
Current | Miami Marlins (2009–present) | ||||
Previous |
New York Mets (2007–2008) Washington Nationals (2005–2006) Houston Astros (1997–2004) Milwaukee Brewers (1987–1996) Cincinnati Reds (1985–1986) Chicago White Sox (1983–1984) Texas Rangers (1982) Montreal Expos (1976–1981) Chicago White Sox (1975) Houston Astros (1973–1974) Texas Rangers (1972) Washington Senators (1970–1971) Minnesota Twins (1965–1969) Milwaukee Braves (1963–1964) Detroit Tigers (1960–1962) New York Yankees (1937–1958) Chicago White Sox (1936) Pittsburgh Pirates (1935) |
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Minor league titles | |||||
League titles (14) |
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Conference titles (2) |
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Division titles (3) |
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Team data | |||||
Nickname | New Orleans Baby Cakes (from 2017) New Orleans Zephyrs (1993–2016) |
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Previous names
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Denver Zephyrs (1985–1992) Denver Bears (1955–1984) Kansas City Blues (1901–1954) |
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Colors | Navy blue, purple, green, gold |
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Mascot | Boudreaux D. Nutria and Clotile | ||||
Ballpark |
Shrine on Airline (1997–present) Zephyr Field (1997–2016) |
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Previous parks
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Privateer Park (1993–1996) Mile High Stadium (1955–1992) Blues Stadium (1923–1954) |
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Owner(s)/
Operator(s) |
Lou Schwechheimer | ||||
Manager | Arnie Beyeler | ||||
General Manager | Augusto Rojas |
The New Orleans Baby Cakes (originally the Zephyrs) are a minor league baseball team based in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. The Baby Cakes play in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. The Baby Cakes play their home games at Shrine on Airline.
The team joined the PCL after the 1997 season when the American Association (AA) was disbanded. They were one of five clubs from the AA to join the PCL, with three joining the International League. Triple-A baseball was also expanded to 30 teams at that time, concurrent with the expansion of Major League Baseball.
The Baby Cakes franchise history spans 100 years, three cities, five leagues, and affiliations with 14 of the present 30 Major League teams, some on more than one occasion. Both the organization's formation and geographic moves were in response to franchise movements on the major league level.
Prior to 1978, New Orleans was home to another minor-league team, the New Orleans Pelicans.
In order to bolster its claim to Major League status, the American League moved some of its teams from mid-sized Midwestern cities to larger Eastern venues for the 1901 season. One such shift saw the Kansas City Blues become the Washington Senators. With the town suddenly bereft of a ball club, a new team, which would, in time, become the Zephyrs, was quickly founded. Playing with the old Blues nickname, the team was easily the class of the new, but unrated, incarnation of the Western League, winning the pennant by 10 games.
With a decent team and a solid fan base, the franchise moved on to become a founding member of the new American Association, rated at what today would be the AAA level. Although only moderately successful on the field, the team was a fixture of the Midwest sports scene, playing in Kansas City for over half a century.