Goodbye, New Orleans Zephyrs. Hello, New Orleans Baby Cakes.
The Miami Marlins' Triple-A team, based in New Orleans since moving from Denver in 1993, has been renamed to the Baby Cakes, according to a team release.
The new nickname was selected from a group of seven finalists in a "Name the Team" contest that garnered more than 3,000 submissions.
We're proud to introduce our new identity - the New Orleans Baby Cakes! pic.twitter.com/6kWLXkRmCf
— NOLA Baby Cakes (@cakesbaseball) November 15, 2016
In a nod to the Crescent City, the nickname refers to Mardi Gras king cakes, which have small plastic babies hidden inside. The team's new identity includes many iconic Mardi Gras elements, such as team colors mixing the Zephyrs' dark navy blue with gold, purple and green. The primary logo is a baby wearing a crown, bursting out of a king cake with a baseball bat in hand.
The New Orleans Baby Cakes' first game will be on April 6 against the Memphis Redbirds.
-- Sarah Scrivens