The Ottawa Voyageurs, previously the Ottawa Rapidz, were a professional

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team based in Ottawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada under the

Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization of ...

or Can-Am League. As a Can-Am team, the team played one season as the Ottawa Rapidz at Ottawa Baseball Stadium (now called

Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Park (French: Parc Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton), also known as RCGT Park (French: Parc RCGT) is a baseball stadium in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with a seating capacity of 10,332. The stadium is located in the city' ...

), previously home to the

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal ...

Triple-A minor league franchise. Originally, the team was to be spelled as the Ottawa Rapids until it was renamed prior to the start of their 2008 opening season. After the initial ownership declared bankruptcy, the Can-Am league assumed ownership of the franchise, but suspended the team's operations in March 2009 prior to what would have been a second season.

History

The Rapids were established after the Lynx, an International League team, moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania after the 2007 season to become the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

. The Ottawa City Council discussed different possibilities regarding the city-owned stadium and accepted the offer given by Can-Am League president Miles Wolff. Following their sale to

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, the team name spelling was modified to the Ottawa Rapidz. 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. 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. 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 was sought. Can-Am league commissioner Miles Wolff confirmed this development in Ottawa, displaying the original bilingual

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...

, with the spelling changed back to Rapids (English)/Rapides (French), but cautioned that the name was not yet final and that the team might operate under a new name. In February 2009, the team was rechristened as the Voyageurs after a name-the-team contest won by Michael Jacobsen. However, the Voyageurs would never take the field as the Can-Am league announced on 30 March 2009 that the team and the

Atlantic City Surf The Atlantic City Surf were a professional minor league baseball team based in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Surf was most recently a member of the Can-Am League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. The Surf played its home games ...

would cease operations. League commissioner Miles Wolff indicated the team lacked financial support and "solid ownership" in order for the franchise to continue. On 3 April 2009, Voyageurs players were made available to the six remaining teams in the league in a dispersal draft.

Logos and uniforms

File:Ottawa Rapids.PNG, Former Rapids logo, ''English'', prior to 2008 season File:Rapides d'Ottawa.PNG, Rapides logo, ''French'', prior to 2008 season File:Ottawa Rapidz.PNG, Rapidz former primary logo, 2008

Standings and statistics

2008 season (Rapidz)

The Ottawa Rapidz finished last in the Can-Am League, with a 13-34 (.277) performance in the first half of the 2008 season, followed by an 18-29 (.383) record in the second half. The Rapidz tied the

New Jersey Jackals The New Jersey Jackals are an American professional baseball team based in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The team was founded in 1998 by Floyd Hall and is owned by Al Dorso, a businessman who also owns the Sussex County Miners, ...

for last place in the second half-season. Total attendance of the 46 Rapidz home games was 147,073 for a per-game average of 3,197.

2009 roster

Game broadcasts

In 2008, local radio broadcasts of 80 Rapidz season games were provided in French by

CJRC-FM CKOF-FM (104.7 MHz) is a French-language commercial radio station in Gatineau, Quebec, serving the National Capital Region including Ottawa. Owned and operated by Cogeco, it broadcasts a talk radio format, calling itself "104,7 FM". Some progr ...

References

External links

Ottawa team information at CanAm League
{{Ontario Sports Yoy Baseball teams established in 2008 Defunct independent baseball league teams Baseball teams disestablished in 2009 2008 establishments in Ontario 2009 disestablishments in Ontario