Jacksonville, Florida, has hosted
professional baseball teams since the late 19th century. Six teams of the
Southern League of Colored Base Ballists were based in the city in 1886. An unnamed team played in an early iteration of the
Florida State League in 1892. With only a few interruptions from 1904 to 1961, the city was home to such
Minor League Baseball teams as the
Jays,
Tars, and
Braves, which played predominantly in the original
South Atlantic League ("Sally League"), a predecessor to the modern
Southern League. Jacksonville was also home to the
Red Caps of the
Negro leagues.
International League (1962–1968) The first team from the Sunshine State of
Florida known as the Jacksonville Suns arrived in the city by way of
Havana, Cuba, and
Jersey City, New Jersey. Following the
Cuban Revolution in 1959, the
Havana Sugar Kings of the
Triple-A International League (IL) relocated to become the
Jersey City Jerseys during the 1960 season. The franchise folded after the 1961 campaign and was bought by a local group headed by Samuel W. Wolfson, previously the owner of the Jacksonville Braves. The Suns played their home games at Jacksonville Baseball Park, which was renamed
Sam W. Wolfson Baseball Park after Wolfson's death in 1963. was home to the Suns from 1962 to 2002. As the Triple-A affiliate of the
Cleveland Indians, the Suns ended their first season by winning the 1962 International League pennant with a league-best 94–60 record under
manager Ben Geraghty. In the Governors' Cup playoffs for the
IL championship, they won the semifinals over the
Rochester Red Wings but lost the finals to the
Atlanta Crackers, 4–3.
Shortstop/
second baseman Tony Martínez was selected for the
IL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, and right-hander
Joe Schaffernoth won the
Most Valuable Pitcher Award. In 1964, Jacksonville became the top
farm club of the
St. Louis Cardinals. The team won a second IL pennant that year under manager
Harry Walker with an 89–62 season, but they were eliminated in the postseason semifinals by Rochester. Shortstop
Joe Morgan was selected as the 1964 league MVP. Skipper
Clyde McCullough led the 1968 Suns to win their only IL playoff championship. After defeating the
Toledo Mud Hens, 3–1, in the semifinals, they won the league crown over the
Columbus Jets, 4–0, in the finals. When the
Milwaukee Braves moved to
Atlanta in 1966, the Atlanta Crackers relocated to
Richmond, Virginia. This left Jacksonville as the southernmost team in the league, far away from the nearest clubs in Richmond and
Louisville, Kentucky. After the 1968 season, the team was relocated to
Norfolk, Virginia, as the
Tidewater Tides. Jacksonville became the Double-A affiliate of both the
Milwaukee Brewers and
Montreal Expos for their first Southern League season. They became a Cleveland Indians farm club in 1971 after team was fully owned by Marshall Fox, and then began a much longer affiliation with the
Kansas City Royals in 1972, after being sold to Keith Price and Carl Grant. They won the Eastern Division title but lost the championship finals versus the
Montgomery Rebels, 3–1. Jacksonville returned to the playoffs in 1974 via another Eastern Division title but were again denied a championship by the
Knoxville Sox, 3–2. By 1977, the SL had begun using a split-season schedule wherein the division winners from each half qualified for the postseason. The Suns won 1977's Second Half Eastern Division title, won the division title over the
Savannah Braves, but lost to Montgomery, 2–0, in the finals. Jacksonville made two more appearances in the playoffs with Kansas City but lost in the finals each time. After the 1978 season the team was purchased by Lou Eliopulos. The 1982 team won both halves of the season with a league-best 83–61 record under Manager of the Year
Gene Lamont, The 1983 second-half champion Suns lost in the finals, 3–1, to the
Birmingham Barons.
Outfielder John Morris was selected as the 1983
Southern League MVP.
Starting pitcher Brian Holman won the 1987
Most Outstanding Pitcher Award. Future major league All-Stars
Alex Rodriguez (1994) and
Bret Boone (1991) came through Jacksonville during the Mariners affiliation. The Detroit-affiliated Suns reached the championship finals twice more but lost to the
Mobile BayBears in 1998 and
West Tenn Diamond Jaxx in 2000. Outfielder
Gabe Kapler won the 1998 MVP Award after leading the league in
home runs (28),
hits (176),
runs (113),
doubles (47),
RBI (146),
total bases (319, and
sacrifice flies (11).
Closer Francisco Cordero, the league's
saves leader (27), was 1999's Most Outstanding Pitcher. The 2002 season was the Suns' last year at Wolfson Park. They moved into the newly constructed Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville, later renamed 121 Financial Ballpark, at the start of the 2003 season, The 11,000-seat, US$34-million venue was created as part of the
Better Jacksonville Plan. The 2002 team made a bid to win the championship outright but was swept by Birmingham in the best-of-five finals. Starter
Joel Hanrahan was 2003's Most Outstanding Pitcher. Though the 2006 club was eliminated by the
Montgomery Biscuits in the division series, Shoemaker won his second Manager of the Year Award, and Spike Lundberg was selected as the league's Most Outstanding Pitcher.
Tim Leiper took over managerial duties for the 2010 season. After winning both halves of the season with an 81–59 record, Jacksonville bested Mobile, 3–1, in the division series before knocking off Tennessee, 3–1, for the second-straight year in the championship round.
Tom Koehler won that season's Most Outstanding Pitcher Award.
Justin Nicolino was recognized as the league's Most Outstanding Pitcher. The name combines
shrimping, which is popular on Jacksonville's
St. Johns River, with the sentiment that Jacksonville, Florida's largest city, still has a small-town feel, hinting at the moniker's oxymoronic nature. The 2017 team won a second half title, but they lost the Southern Division to the
Pensacola Blue Wahoos. The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic before being cancelled on June 30. In December 2025, Ken Babby sold the team to
Prospector Baseball Group.
International League (2021–present) Since the move to VyStar Ballpark, the Suns have consistently been at or near the top of their league in attendance. This success led to speculation that the team could return to the Triple-A level in the future. In conjunction with
Major League Baseball's reorganization of the minor leagues after the 2020 season, the Jumbo Shrimp were selected to move up to the Triple-A classification—making them the only active Florida-based team at that level—and continue as affiliates of the Miami Marlins in 2021. They were placed in the 20-team
Triple-A East. Jacksonville began competition in the new league on May 4 with an 11–5 victory over the
Norfolk Tides at then–121 Financial Ballpark. They ended the season in second place in the Southeastern Division with a 69–51 record. No playoffs were held to determine a league champion; instead, the team with the best regular-season record was declared the winner. However, 10 games that had been postponed from the start of the season were reinserted into the schedule as a postseason tournament called the Triple-A Final Stretch in which all 30 Triple-A clubs competed for the highest winning percentage. In 2022, the Triple-A East became known as the International League, the name historically used by the regional circuit prior to the 2021 reorganization. The Jumbo Shrimp qualified for the 2025 postseason with a first-half title win. They defeated the
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, 2–1 in a best-of-three series, to win the
International League championship. The Jumbo Shrimp traveled to
Las Vegas to play the
Las Vegas Aviators in the
Triple-A National Championship Game at
Las Vegas Ballpark on September 27.
Jacob Berry hit a walk-off two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to win the game for Jacksonville, 8–7. ==Season-by-season records==