Ottawa Voyageurs
| Ottawa Rapids | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| Location | Ottawa, Ontario |
| Ballpark | Ottawa Baseball Stadium |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Colours | Red, White, Blue |
| Ownership | Can-Am League |
| Manager | Tom Carcione |
| Website | http://canamleague.com/ottawa |
The Ottawa Rapids are a professional baseball team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada under the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball or Can-Am League. The team played in 2008 at Ottawa Baseball Stadium, previously home to the Ottawa Lynx Triple-A minor league franchise.
The team was known as the Ottawa Rapidz during their opening season.
History
The Rapidz were established after the Lynx, an International League team, moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania after the 2007 season to become the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. The Ottawa City Council discussed different possibilities regarding the city-owned stadium and accepted the offer given by Can-Am League president Miles Wolff.
Originally, the team was to be named the Ottawa Rapids, but following their sale to zip.ca, the team name spelling was modified to the Ottawa Rapidz.[1][2] In December 2008, the league displayed a new bilingual logo with the spelling changed back to Rapids (English)/Rapides (French), but cautioned that the name was not yet final.[3]
On 29 September 2008, amid reports of a $1.4 million team debt, Rapidz management notified the Can-Am league that the team would be dissolved and that bankruptcy proceedings were planned. Rapidz management blamed the City of Ottawa for the situation, citing failed negotiations for the future lease of the stadium.[4][5][6]
Despite the first-season bankruptcy, trading of Rapidz players continued in the Can-Am League offseason, with such activity reported as late as 13 October 2008.[7]
The Can-Am League announced on 13 November 2008 that a team would operate in Ottawa for 2009 operated directly by the league while new ownership is sought. Can-Am league commissioner Miles Wolff confirmed this development in Ottawa on 20 November but indicated the 2009 team may operate under a new name. Zip.ca's ownership holds the rights to the Rapidz name. The league also intends to fulfill the stadium lease with the City of Ottawa in 2009.[8][9]
canamleague.com has reported that the team will operate under its original name, the Rapids, for 2009.
Logos and uniforms
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Rapids' original logo, English -
Rapides logo, French -
Rapidz primary
The official colours of the Ottawa Rapidz are red, white, and blue. The primary logo is a wordmark that reads "Ottawa" in red with the word "Rapidz" centered on the underscore in white. With the underscore originating at the beginning of the logo, it ends with a Canadian maple leaf. The entire logo is outlined in blue.
As the Rapidz were to be the "Rapids" when the team originated, the logos and colors were also different. The original colours were black, blue, and silver. The initial logo included the "Rapids" wordmark in black with blue outline with a stylized depiction of a baseball splashing in blue rapids.
2008 season
Roster
| Active (25-man) roster | Coaches | ||||||||
Pitchers
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Infielders
Outfielders
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Coaching Staff
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- ^ "New owner rename-z Ottawa Rapids baseball team". CBC News. 28 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Rapids changed to Rapidz". Ottawa Sun. 26 April 2008.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help); Unknown parameter|oldurl=ignored (help) - ^ http://centretownnewsonline.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=592&Itemid=99
- ^ Campbell, Don (1 October 2008). "City would only go to 5 years, Rapidz say". Retrieved 2008-10-03.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|pbulisher=ignored (help) - ^ "Ottawa Rapidz go under". CBC News. 30 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-03.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Ottawa Rapidz expected to file for bankruptcy". CJOH-TV (CTV Ottawa). 29 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-29.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://canamleague.com/transactions.php
- ^ Campbell, Don (November 14, 2008). "Ottawa's Can-Am 'run' not over yet". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
- ^ "Can-Am baseball league takes over Ottawa Rapidz". CBC News. 20 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-21.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)