The Phoenix Firebirds were a Minor League Baseball team that played in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, from 1958 to 1959, and from 1966 to 1997. Before 1986, the team was known as the Phoenix Giants. The franchise was a member of the Triple-A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

(PCL), and were the top minor league affiliate of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

. The Firebirds were forced to leave Phoenix following the 1997 season, as the new

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

expansion team, the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

would begin play in Phoenix the following year. In a complicated series of events, the owners of the Firebirds moved their team to

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, and became the Tucson Sidewinders, dropping their affiliation with the Giants in favor of the expansion Diamondbacks. The owners of the existing

Tucson Toros The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...

then moved their franchise to

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

, thus ending a 92-year hiatus of PCL baseball in Fresno. The transplanted Toros, renamed the Fresno Grizzlies, became the Giants' new PCL affiliate.

History

The Firebirds were known as the Phoenix Giants until the 1986 season. They were affiliated with the San Francisco Giants for their entire existence, now a rarity in the minor leagues. The Giants still have a spring training facility in the Phoenix area, but in Scottsdale where the Firebirds played from 1992 to 1997. The Giants first came in 1958 but moved to Tacoma,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

after the 1959 season. In 1966 the franchise returned to the Phoenix area until their move to Fresno. The Firebirds played their home games at

Phoenix Municipal Stadium Phoenix Municipal Stadium is a baseball stadium, located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is often referred in short as Phoenix Muni. The stadium was built in 1964 and holds 8,775 people. It is currently the home to the Arizona State Sun Devils baseball pr ...

until moving to Scottsdale Stadium upon its reopening in 1992. Their final regular season game in August 1997 was played at their original ball park and featured ceremonies including "passing the torch" to the

, the major league team which became Phoenix's baseball team. The team made the 1997 PCL playoffs their final year, which extended their existence by a couple weeks. The Firebirds defeated the

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockies ...

3-0 in the first round but lost the championship series 3 games to 1 to the

Edmonton Trappers The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton. T ...

Championships

The Phoenix Giants won two PCL championships in 1959 and 1977. The franchise never won a championship title under the Firebirds name. The franchise's final game was September 11, 1997, a 7-1 loss handing the

the 1997 PCL Championship played at Scottsdale Stadium.

Playoff history

* 1977 ** Championship: Defeated

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

3 games to 2 * 1985 ** Division Series: Defeated

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

3 games to 0 ** Championship: Lost to

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadiu ...

3 games to 0 * 1986 ** Division Series: Lost to Las Vegas Stars 3 games to 2 * 1996 ** Division Series: Defeated Las Vegas Stars 3 games to 0 ** Championship: Lost to

3 games to 1 * 1997 ** Division Series: Defeated

3 games to 0 ** Championship: Lost to

3 games to 1

Alumni

Several Giants alumni like

Willie McCovey Willie Lee McCovey (January 10, 1938 – October 31, 2018), nicknamed "Stretch", "Mac" and "Willie Mac", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1959 to 1980, most notably as a mem ...

Bobby Bonds Bobby Lee Bonds (March 15, 1946 – August 23, 2003) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball from to , primarily with the San Francisco Giants. Noted for his outstanding combination of power hitting and speed, he was the first pl ...

, Matt Williams, Steve Stone, and

Kirt Manwaring Kirt Dean Manwaring (born July 15, 1965) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from through , most prominently as a member of the San Francisco Giants, with whom he played for the majo ...

played in Phoenix. Some of the Phoenix alumni went on to San Francisco, to take part in two of the Giants' National League titles (1962 and 1989).

References

{{Reflist Baseball teams established in 1986 Defunct Pacific Coast League teams Sports in Phoenix, Arizona Sports clubs disestablished in 1997 San Francisco Giants minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Arizona Professional baseball teams in Arizona