Ottawa Rapidz

Independent baseball team in Canada
name = Ottawa Rapidz
founded = 2008
disbanded = 2008
city = Ottawa, Ontario

cap
current league = Can-Am League (2008-2008)
past league =
currentname = Ottawa Rapidz (2008-2008)
colours = Red, White, Blue
ballpark = Ottawa Rapidz Stadium
leaguechamps =
divisionchamps =
owner = Rob Hall
manager = Tom Carcione
gm = Shelagh O'Connor
media =
website = http://www.ottawarapidz.com/main.asp?lang=en ottawarapidz.com

The Ottawa Rapidz were a professional baseball team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada under the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball ("Can-Am") league. The team existed for a single season in 2008 and played home games at Ottawa Rapidz Stadium [ [http://ottawarapidz.com/team-ballpark.asp Rapidz Stadium at Ottawa Rapidz] ] , previously home to the Ottawa Lynx.

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. [cite news | url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2008/04/28/ot-ottawa-rapidz-080428.html | publisher=CBC News | accessdate=2008-08-17 | date=28 April 2008 | title=New owner rename-z Ottawa Rapids baseball team] [cite news | publisher="Ottawa Sun" | title=Rapids changed to Rapidz | date=26 April 2008 | oldurl=http://ottawasun.com/Sports/OtherSports/2008/04/26/5391831-sun.html ]

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. [cite news | url=http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/sports/story.html?id=1ecde8e5-ab5e-4f78-80de-648bc63fe9a5 | pbulisher="Ottawa Citizen" | accessdate=2008-10-03 | date=1 October 2008 | title=City would only go to 5 years, Rapidz say | first=Don | last=Campbell ] [cite news | url=http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2008/09/30/ot-rapidz-080930.html?ref=rss | title=Ottawa Rapidz go under | publisher=CBC News | accessdate=2008-10-03 | date=30 September 2008 ] [cite news | url=http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080929/OTT_Rapidz_080929/20080929/?hub=OttawaHome | publisher=CJOH-TV (CTV Ottawa) | accessdate=2008-09-29 | date=29 September 2008 | title=Ottawa Rapidz expected to file for bankruptcy ]

Logos and uniforms

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

tandings and statistics

The Ottawa Rapidz finished last in the Can-Am League, with a 13-34 (0.277) performance in the first half of the 2008 season, followed by an 18-29 (0.383) record in the second half. The Rapidz tied the New Jersey Jackals for last place in the second half-season.

Total attendance of the 46 Rapidz home games was 101,073 for a per-game average of 2197. [ [http://www.canamleague.com/standings.php 2008 standings at Can-Am League] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.ottawarapidz.com/main.asp?lang=en Ottawa Rapidz] (English)
* [http://www.ottawarapidz.com/main.asp?lang=fr Rapidz d'Ottawa] (French)