New Orleans Zephyrs
Encyclopedia
The New Orleans Zephyrs are a minor league baseball
team based in Metairie
, Louisiana
, a suburb of New Orleans. The Zephyrs play in the Pacific Coast League
and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. The Zephyrs play their home games at Zephyr Field
.
The Zephyrs joined the PCL after the 1997 season, when the American Association
(AA) was disbanded. The Zephyrs 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 Zephyrs 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.
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.
The most notable player for the franchise was future Baseball Hall of Fame member Phil Rizzuto
, the League MVP and Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year in 1940. Another MVP was Don Bollweg
in 1952. The team, itself, won the championship in 1938, and then back-to-back in 1952 and 1953. Winning teams boast higher ticket sales, so when the Philadelphia Athletics
found themselves unable to compete for market-share with the Phillies
and decided to relocate after the 1954 season, Kansas City, Missouri
was an attractive choice. This move, however, forced the Blues out, victims of their own success.
The team played at what became known later as Mile High Stadium
, but was originally known as Bears Stadium, after the team. This stadium
was one of the largest venues in history to host minor league baseball on a routine basis, and had the additional draw of being in one of the largest minor league markets at the time. For many years, the biggest crowds were on 4th of July
fireworks
nights, and every year the American Association scheduled the Bears for a home game. Crowds of 45,000 and more watched the fireworks game, easily the biggest crowds most of the minor leaguers had ever played in front of.
The Triple-A Bears were affiliated with the New York Yankees
at the outset, with Ralph Houk
managing
many players who would reach the majors and play in the World Series
. The team had some early success, winning the AA Championship in 1957. League MVPs in this period included Marv Throneberry
in 1956 and Steve Boros
in 1960.
Although the team had been a member of the American Association since the league's inception 60 years before, it was a Midwestern circuit, and for the 1963 season, the Bears transferred to the Pacific Coast League
. The mid-1960s Bears included such future big-leaguers as César Tovar
and Ted Uhlaender
, but lacked overall success. It also turned out that with the PCL otherwise all but confined to the actual Pacific coast, Denver was now located too far east; in 1969 the franchise returned to the AA.
The Denver Bears had some good teams from the 1970s to the mid-1980s, producing such players as Andre Dawson
, Tim Wallach
, Warren Cromartie
, Tim Raines
, Graig Nettles
, Terry Francona
, Pat Rooney
, and Bill Gullickson
. Denver players Richie Scheinblum
, Cliff Johnson, Roger Freed
, Frank Ortenzio
, and Randy Bass
were league MVPs. The managing careers of both Billy Martin
and Felipe Alou began with the
Bears. The team won the Association's championship with some regularity, topping the league in 1971, 1976, 1977, 1981, and 1983.
In 1985, the team name was changed to the Denver Zephyrs, after the famous passenger train
. Barry Larkin
was league MVP while with the Zephyrs, as were Greg Vaughn
, Jim Olander
, and Jim Tatum
. ESPN
broadcaster Orestes Destrade
also played for the Zephyrs. Under the new nickname, the franchise won the American Association in 1987 and took the 1991 pennant.
The Denver Zephyrs lasted eight seasons. Then in 1993, the Major Leagues arrived in Denver with the Colorado Rockies
expansion team
of the National League
and it was time to find a new home for the Zephyrs.
led the effort to relocate the team to New Orleans. Oddly, the "Zephyr" name was appropriate for New Orleans, too, as the Zephyr Roller Coaster was a popular ride at the Pontchartrain Beach
amusement park.
The Zephyrs won the 1998 Pacific Coast League championship and went on to win the Triple-A World Series
against the Buffalo Bisons
, 3–1. The Zephyrs were also slated to participate in the 2001 championship series with the Tacoma Rainiers
, but the season was cancelled in the wake of the September 11 attacks, and the teams were named co-champions.
The Zephyrs finished the 2005 season three days before Hurricane Katrina
hit New Orleans, and though Zephyr Field sustained moderate damage, the team was able to open the 2006 season at home, making them the first professional team in New Orleans to do so after the hurricane.
On May 5 and 6, 2006 in a game that became known as the "Music City Marathon," the Zephyrs played 24 innings in Nashville, ultimately defeating the Sounds 5-4 the next day on a Wiki Gonzalez RBI single. The Z’s scored once in the eighth and once in the ninth, and the teams remained tied through 18 innings before curfew was called. The 24 innings matches the longest game in PCL history, set in 1909, and the Z’s set 12 franchise records, including striking out a league-record 29 times.
In 2008, the Zephyrs' season ended three days early due to the approach of Hurricane Gustav
. When it became apparent that Gustav would hit the Gulf Coast on September 1, the Zephyrs cancelled their games of August 30 through September 1.
On September 22, 2008, the Zephyrs became the AAA affiliate of the Florida Marlins (now the Miami Marlins). In October 2009, the Zephyrs unveiled a new logo. The team's new emblem clearly embraced their "new" hometown. The team employed the "Fleur de Z" as its new look.
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
team based in Metairie
Metairie, Louisiana
Metairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States and is a major part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area. Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish. It is an unincorporated area that would be larger than most of the state's cities if it were...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, a suburb of New Orleans. The Zephyrs play in the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. The Zephyrs play their home games at Zephyr Field
Zephyr Field
Zephyr Field is a 10,000-seat baseball park in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, that hosted its first regular season baseball game on April 11, 1997, as the tenants of the facility, the New Orleans Zephyrs, defeated the Oklahoma City 89ers, 8-3. The ballpark hosted the 1998 and 2001...
.
The Zephyrs joined the PCL after the 1997 season, when the American Association
American Association (20th century)
The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...
(AA) was disbanded. The Zephyrs were one of five clubs from the AA to join the PCL, with three joining the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
. Triple-A baseball was also expanded to 30 teams at that time, concurrent with the expansion of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
.
The Zephyrs 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.
Kansas City (1901–1954)
In order to bolster its claim to Major League status, the American LeagueAmerican League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
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
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
. 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
Western League (defunct minor league)
The Western League is a name given to several circuits in American minor league baseball. Its earliest progenitor, which existed from 1885 to 1899, was the predecessor of the American 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
American Association (20th century)
The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...
, 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.
The most notable player for the franchise was future Baseball Hall of Fame member Phil Rizzuto
Phil Rizzuto
Philip Francis Rizzuto , nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
, the League MVP and Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year in 1940. Another MVP was Don Bollweg
Don Bollweg
Donald Raymond Bollweg was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for three teams from 1950 to 1955....
in 1952. The team, itself, won the championship in 1938, and then back-to-back in 1952 and 1953. Winning teams boast higher ticket sales, so when the Philadelphia Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
found themselves unable to compete for market-share with the Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
and decided to relocate after the 1954 season, Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
was an attractive choice. This move, however, forced the Blues out, victims of their own success.
Denver (1955–1992)
The franchise set up shop in Denver, Colorado in 1955. Although naming a team for its uniform color had been popular in the 19th century, it was not fashionable in the 20th. As Denver had no connection to the original Blues, and in recognition of the new location in the Rockies, the team took on a new nickname, the "Bears." (The Bears name has been used for other sports teams in Denver in the past several years as well.)The team played at what became known later as Mile High Stadium
Mile High Stadium
Mile High Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, that stood in Denver, Colorado, from 1948 until 2001.It hosted the Denver Broncos, of the AFL and the NFL, from 1960-2000, the Colorado Rockies, of the National League, of the MLB, from 1993-1994, the Colorado Rapids, of MLS, from 1996-2001, the...
, but was originally known as Bears Stadium, after the team. This stadium
Stadium
A modern stadium is a place or venue for outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit and view the event.)Pausanias noted that for about half a century the only event...
was one of the largest venues in history to host minor league baseball on a routine basis, and had the additional draw of being in one of the largest minor league markets at the time. For many years, the biggest crowds were on 4th of July
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
nights, and every year the American Association scheduled the Bears for a home game. Crowds of 45,000 and more watched the fireworks game, easily the biggest crowds most of the minor leaguers had ever played in front of.
The Triple-A Bears were affiliated with the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
at the outset, with Ralph Houk
Ralph Houk
Ralph George Houk , nicknamed The Major, was an American catcher, coach, manager, and front office executive in Major League Baseball...
managing
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
many players who would reach the majors and play in the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
. The team had some early success, winning the AA Championship in 1957. League MVPs in this period included Marv Throneberry
Marv Throneberry
Marvin Eugene Throneberry was an American Major League Baseball player, best remembered as the starting first baseman for the 1962 New York Mets, a team which set the modern record for most losses in a season with 120....
in 1956 and Steve Boros
Steve Boros
Stephen Boros Jr. was an American infielder, coach, manager, advance scout, and farm system official in Major League Baseball....
in 1960.
Although the team had been a member of the American Association since the league's inception 60 years before, it was a Midwestern circuit, and for the 1963 season, the Bears transferred to the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
. The mid-1960s Bears included such future big-leaguers as César Tovar
César Tovar
César Leonardo Tovar , nicknamed "Pepito" and "Mr. Versatility", was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins , Philadelphia Phillies , Texas Rangers , Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees...
and Ted Uhlaender
Ted Uhlaender
Theodore Otto Uhlaender was a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds from –. He was also the father of Olympic women's skeleton competitor Katie Uhlaender.Signed by the Twins out of Baylor University in 1961, he made his major league...
, but lacked overall success. It also turned out that with the PCL otherwise all but confined to the actual Pacific coast, Denver was now located too far east; in 1969 the franchise returned to the AA.
The Denver Bears had some good teams from the 1970s to the mid-1980s, producing such players as Andre Dawson
Andre Dawson
Andre Nolan Dawson , nicknamed "The Hawk", is an American former center fielder and right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played for four different teams, spending most of his career with the Montreal Expos and Chicago Cubs .An 8-time National League All-Star, he was named the...
, Tim Wallach
Tim Wallach
Timothy Charles Wallach , nicknamed "Eli" in reference to actor Eli Wallach, is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played from to for the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Dodgers, and California Angels. He won three Gold Glove awards for defensive excellence and 2 Silver Slugger...
, Warren Cromartie
Warren Cromartie
Warren Livingston Cromartie is a retired American baseball player.-Baseball career:Warren Cromartie debuted with the Montreal Expos of the Major Leagues on September 6, 1974 after being picked 6th in the 1973 amateur draft...
, Tim Raines
Tim Raines
Timothy Raines , nicknamed "Rock", is a former American professional baseball player. He played as a left fielder in Major League Baseball for six teams from 1979 to 2002 and was best known for his 13 seasons with the Montreal Expos...
, Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles , nicknamed "Puff", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins , Cleveland Indians , New York Yankees , San Diego Padres , Atlanta Braves and Montreal Expos .Nettles was one of the best...
, Terry Francona
Terry Francona
Terry Jon Francona , nicknamed "Tito," is a former Major League Baseball manager and a former player. He was a first baseman and outfielder in the majors from 1981 to 1990. After retiring as a player, he managed several minor league teams in the 1990s before managing the Philadelphia Phillies for...
, Pat Rooney
Pat Rooney (baseball)
Patrick Eugene "Pat" Rooney is a former Major League Baseball player. Rooney played for the Montreal Expos in . He batted and threw right-handed....
, and Bill Gullickson
Bill Gullickson
William Lee Gullickson is a former major league baseball pitcher who played for six different major-league teams, in Canada, the U.S...
. Denver players Richie Scheinblum
Richie Scheinblum
Richard Alan "Richie" Scheinblum is a former professional All Star Major League Baseball player.He played for the Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, California Angels, and St. Louis Cardinals...
, Cliff Johnson, Roger Freed
Roger Freed
Roger Vernon Freed was a Major League Baseball outfielder and pinch hitter. He played all or part of eight seasons between and for five different major league teams.-Orioles:...
, Frank Ortenzio
Frank Ortenzio
Frank Joseph Ortenzio, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nine games for the Kansas City Royals in . He also played two seasons in Japan for the Nankai Hawks....
, and Randy Bass
Randy Bass
is a former American baseball player and current politician. He is less notable for his career in Major League Baseball than for his success in Japan's Hanshin Tigers of Central League, where he had the most spectacular run of any American to ever play in Japan...
were league MVPs. The managing careers of both Billy Martin
Billy Martin
Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin, Jr. was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager. He is best known as the manager of the New York Yankees, a position he held five different times...
and Felipe Alou began with the
Bears. The team won the Association's championship with some regularity, topping the league in 1971, 1976, 1977, 1981, and 1983.
In 1985, the team name was changed to the Denver Zephyrs, after the famous passenger train
Denver Zephyr
The Denver Zephyr was a passenger train operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado...
. Barry Larkin
Barry Larkin
Barry Louis Larkin is a retired Major League Baseball player. Larkin played shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds from 1986 to 2004 and was one of the pivotal players on the 1990 Reds' World Series championship team...
was league MVP while with the Zephyrs, as were Greg Vaughn
Greg Vaughn
Gregory Lamont Vaughn is a former Major League Baseball left fielder and right-handed batter who played for the Milwaukee Brewers , San Diego Padres , Cincinnati Reds , Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Colorado Rockies . He was born in Sacramento, California, where he attended Kennedy High School...
, Jim Olander
Jim Olander
James Bentley Olander is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and currently a baseball scout....
, and Jim Tatum
Jim Tatum
James M. "Big Jim" Tatum was an American football and baseball player and coach. Tatum served as the head football coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , the University of Oklahoma , and the University of Maryland, College Park , compiling a career college football record of...
. ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
broadcaster Orestes Destrade
Orestes Destrade
Orestes Cucuas Destrade , is a former Major League Baseball infielder.-Biography:Destrade was born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, but emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of six. During his youth, he played Khoury League at Flagami Park in Miami. He graduated from Christopher...
also played for the Zephyrs. Under the new nickname, the franchise won the American Association in 1987 and took the 1991 pennant.
The Denver Zephyrs lasted eight seasons. Then in 1993, the Major Leagues arrived in Denver with the Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...
expansion team
Expansion team
An expansion team is a brand new team in a sports league. The term is most commonly used in reference to the North American major professional sports leagues, but is applied to sports leagues worldwide that use a closed franchise system of league membership. The term comes from the expansion of the...
of the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
and it was time to find a new home for the Zephyrs.
New Orleans (1993–present)
Louisiana lawyer/business promoter Robert E. Couhig, Jr.Rob Couhig
Robert Emmet Couhig, Jr., known as Rob Couhig , is an attorney, businessman, entrepreneur, Republican political activist, and a former radio talk show host from New Orleans, Louisiana. His last political foray was into the 2010 New Orleans mayoral election.A former partner of the Adams and Reese...
led the effort to relocate the team to New Orleans. Oddly, the "Zephyr" name was appropriate for New Orleans, too, as the Zephyr Roller Coaster was a popular ride at the Pontchartrain Beach
Pontchartrain Beach
Pontchartrain Beach was an amusement park located in New Orleans, Louisiana, on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. It was founded by Harry J. Batt Sr. and later mananged by his son, Harry J. Batt Jr. It opened in 1928, across Bayou St. John from an existing amusement resort at Old Spanish Fort...
amusement park.
The Zephyrs won the 1998 Pacific Coast League championship and went on to win the Triple-A World Series
Triple-A World Series
The Triple-A World Series is an infrequently held contest featuring the champions of each Triple-A level minor league of Major League Baseball, with the intent of crowning an overall champion of Triple-A Baseball....
against the Buffalo Bisons
Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons are a minor league baseball team based in Buffalo, New York. They currently play in the International League and are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets...
, 3–1. The Zephyrs were also slated to participate in the 2001 championship series with the Tacoma Rainiers
Tacoma Rainiers
The Tacoma Rainiers are a minor league baseball team that plays in the Pacific Coast League , and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners...
, but the season was cancelled in the wake of the September 11 attacks, and the teams were named co-champions.
The Zephyrs finished the 2005 season three days before Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
hit New Orleans, and though Zephyr Field sustained moderate damage, the team was able to open the 2006 season at home, making them the first professional team in New Orleans to do so after the hurricane.
On May 5 and 6, 2006 in a game that became known as the "Music City Marathon," the Zephyrs played 24 innings in Nashville, ultimately defeating the Sounds 5-4 the next day on a Wiki Gonzalez RBI single. The Z’s scored once in the eighth and once in the ninth, and the teams remained tied through 18 innings before curfew was called. The 24 innings matches the longest game in PCL history, set in 1909, and the Z’s set 12 franchise records, including striking out a league-record 29 times.
In 2008, the Zephyrs' season ended three days early due to the approach of Hurricane Gustav
Hurricane Gustav
The name Gustav has been used for five tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean:* 1984's Tropical Storm Gustav - Spent most of its existence as a tropical depression hovering over Bermuda, no major damage was reported....
. When it became apparent that Gustav would hit the Gulf Coast on September 1, the Zephyrs cancelled their games of August 30 through September 1.
On September 22, 2008, the Zephyrs became the AAA affiliate of the Florida Marlins (now the Miami Marlins). In October 2009, the Zephyrs unveiled a new logo. The team's new emblem clearly embraced their "new" hometown. The team employed the "Fleur de Z" as its new look.