There’s a lot we don’t know about what affiliated Minor League Baseball will look like in 2021, but we do know what baseball in Beloit, Wisconsin, will NOT look like next year: The Class A Oakland A’s affiliate will ditch the name that it has used since 1995.
The Beloit Snappers announced just moments ago that along with a new stadium and new ownership, the franchise will turn to a name-the-team contest to come up with a new moniker for the 2021 season. (We previously reported on the possibility that the team would change names, but it’s official as of today.) The team will announce five finalists next week and fan voting will begin Friday, September 11.
“When Beloit Baseball moves into its new downtown riverbend stadium in 2021, it will be with a new name. But, the Snappers are going with, too,” said Quint Studer, who will purchase the franchise this fall when the transfer of ownership is approved by Major and Minor League Baseball. “Over the past month, we’ve received over one thousand name suggestions from fans, met with leaders across the community, and held roundtables with season ticket members, employees, and supporters. We found that two-thirds of fans submitting name ideas preferred a new name for the team.”
Beloit’s previous stadium, Pohlman Field, is best known in the world of Minor League Baseball for being the site of that time I led the crowd in singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame on opening day 2014 and also where I won the Beloit Mattress Company between-inning promotional race in 2019. (Okay, maybe it’s just best known to me for those reasons.)
Beloit is not losing the Snappers entirely. Snappy the turtle will still serve as mascot, and the team will wear throwback Snappers uniforms on Snapper Sundays.
