Every time it seems that the wave of food-based promotional identities in minor league baseball has played itself out, along comes the perfect team with the perfect promotion to draw me back in. Today it’s the Louisville Bats rebranding as the Derby City Mint Juleps who have restored my faith in the local food specialty as temporary baseball team identity.
The nickname and colors, of course, derive from the bourbon-based drink so closely associated with Louisville’s own Kentucky Derby.
Per the team, “The Juleps color scheme celebrates the festivities that have taken place every May in Louisville since 1875. Two shades of mint are complemented with hot pink and purple and rounded out with gold accents and a silver julep cup.”
A cap logo features a silver cup that you’d traditionally serve a mint julep in, with mint sprigs, a straw, and a horseshoe nose. The visual homage to the world’s most famous horse race is completed by the jersey’s argyle sleeves, the same pattern you might see on silks worn by jockeys.
The Bats will play two games as the Mint Juleps, April 13 and 27, then auction off the jerseys May 1–15 to benefit the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund.
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