Minor league baseball team
Orlando Rays
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Previous classes
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- Class AA (1973?2003)
- Class A (1963?1972)
- Class D (1926?1928, 1937?1942, 1946?1961)
- Class C (1921?1924)
- Class D (1919?1920)
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League
| Southern League
(1973?2003)
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Previous leagues
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Previous teams
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League titles
| 11
(1919, 1921, 1923, 1927, 1940, 1946, 1955, 1968, 1981, 1991, 1999)
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Previous names
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- Orlando Rays (1997?2003)
- Orlando Cubs (1993?1996)
- Orlando Sun Rays (1990?1992)
- Orlando Twins (1963?1989)
- Orlando Dodgers (1959?1961)
- Orlando Flyers (1957?1958)
- Orlando Seratomas (1956)
- Orlando C.B.s (1954?1955)
- Orlando Senators (1938?1942, 1946?1953)
- Orlando Gulls (1937)
- Orlando Colts (1926?1928)
- Orlando Bulldogs (1922?1924)
- Orlando Tigers (1921)
- Orlando Caps (1919?1920)
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Previous parks
| Tinker Field
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Several different minor league
baseball
teams have called the city of
Orlando, Florida
home from 1919?2003. Most have played in the
Florida State League
.
The original Orlando franchise played between 1919 and 1924 and was alternately called the
Caps, Tigers
and
Bulldogs
. The
Orlando Colts
played between 1926 and 1928.
The Orlando Gulls began in 1937 but changed their name the following year to the
Orlando Senators
when they became an affiliate of the
Washington Senators
. The Senators remained through 1955 (though the team name and league was shut down from 1943?1945 during World War II and the name was changed to the
Orlando C.B.s
for 1954?1955). They won the FSL championship in 1940, 1946 and 1955
In 1956, they were an affiliate of the
Diablos Rojos del Mexico
of the
Mexican League
and were known as the
Orlando Seratomas
. As an affiliate of the
Detroit Tigers
they were the
Orlando Flyers
in 1957, a name that remained in 1958 when they were affiliated with the
International League
team, the
Toronto Maple Leafs
. They were a
Los Angeles Dodgers
affiliate known as the
Orlando Dodgers
from 1959?1961 when this version of the team was discontinued.
The last incarnation of the franchise began in 1963, when the
Minnesota Twins
(the former Senators) set up a new affiliate called the
Orlando Twins
. The franchise moved up to the Double-A
Southern League
in 1973. The Twins played at
Tinker Field
in downtown Orlando, near the Florida
Citrus Bowl
Stadium. In 1990, the team was renamed the
Orlando Sun Rays
. In 1993, the
Chicago Cubs
became the team's new major-league affiliate, and the team was renamed the
Orlando Cubs
. While still a Chicago Cubs affiliate, the team renamed itself once again in 1997 and became the
Orlando Rays
. The following year, for one season only, the
Seattle Mariners
were the Rays' major-league affiliate. The
Tampa Bay Rays
(then the Devil Rays), an
American League
expansion team in 1998, assumed the Orlando Rays' major-league affiliation the following year.
The Orlando Rays' last season at
Tinker Field
was 1999. From 2000 to 2003, the Orlando Rays played in
Kissimmee, Florida
, in
Champion Stadium
at
Walt Disney World Resort
. Despite the fact that the team played in a state-of-the-art stadium that was built in 1997 and used during spring training by the
Atlanta Braves
, attendance did not meet expectations; after trailing the Southern League in attendance in multiple years, the Rays' owners announced the team would move to
Montgomery, Alabama
in 2004 (terminating their 10-year lease with Disney after four seasons). Rays players who went on to the major-league level include
Carl Crawford
,
Toby Hall
,
Trevor Enders
,
Jorge Cantu
,
Dewon Brazelton
,
Chad Gaudin
,
Matt Diaz
,
Jonny Gomes
, and
Seth McClung
. The team is now known as the
Montgomery Biscuits
.
The
Gulf Coast Braves
also previously played in Orlando.
On June 17, 2016 as part of a charity appeal following the
Orlando nightclub shooting
, the Tampa Bay Rays wore Orlando Rays caps during their game against the
San Francisco Giants
.
[1]
The team also wore Orlando Rays caps in a
spring training
game on February 28, 2023, while playing home games at the Disney World's
ESPN Wide World of Sports
.
[2]
Notable Orlando alumni
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
[1]
External links
[
edit
]
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East Division
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West Division
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Defunct teams
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Teams: 1940-1942
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Teams: 1972
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