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The modern-day Pacific Coast League is a massive enterprise consisting of 16 teams stretching from Tacoma and Portland in the Pacific Northwest to New Orleans of the Deep South. These are the teams our hometown nine will face throughout the long season. You must know the enemy!


The Team: New Orleans Zephyrs

The City: Metairie, Louisiana

The Affiliation: New York Mets

The Website: Zephyrsbaseball.com

The Ballpark: Zephyr Field. Built in 1997, the “Shrine on Airline” (yes, the dumbest nickname for a stadium we can recall), appears to be the minor league equivalent of New Comiskey in Chicago: new, shiny and pretty close to soulless. As with most newer minor league stadiums, Zephyr Field features outfield berm seating, the unfortunately named “Da Levee”. In 2005, Zephyr Field was used as FEMA staging area following Hurricane Katrina. Thankfully for New Orleans baseball fans, FEMA managed not to burn the stadium down.

The History: The New Orleans Pelicans were a longtime member of the old Southern Association; one of the crown jewels of Deep South baseball along with such franchises as the Atlanta Crackers, Little Rock Travelers and Nashville Volunteers. The SA collapsed in 1961, either unwilling or simply unable to integrate. In 1977 a new version of the Pelicans played one season in the Superdome, but a lousy stadium lease forced the team to relocate to Springfield, Missouri. In 1993, baseball returned to the Crescent City after the Denver Zephyrs were forced out by the expansion Colorado Rockies.

The Name: After decades as the Bears, the Denver franchise switched to Zephyrs in 1985. The name went with them to New Orleans, missing an opportunity to reclaim a great baseball name and look.

The Prospects: The Zephyrs feature two of the parent Mets' best pitching prospects in Phillip Humber and Mike Pelfrey. In addition, the talented-but-somewhat flakey Lastings Milledge and former Rainier and Mariner Clint Nagoette are on the New Orleans disabled list.

Did You Know? The Zephyrs are the only team in organized baseball with a "Z" on the cap?

Did You Care? Us neither.

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