The Double-A Arkansas Travelers will play an entire six-game series this summer with an alternate brand that pays tribute to a bird that is hunted during baseball’s winter offseason. The team will play as the Mad Mallards, sporting a duck-themed brand designed by the Little Rock-based firm Eric Rob & Isaac.
Per the team: “A mallard is a common species of wild duck found throughout the state of Arkansas and frequently hunted during the winter months. The male species of the mallard is commonly recognized by its glossy green head and white ring around the neck.”
While the adjective “Mad” might not seem like it should apply to a duck that is most commonly associated with happily accepting bread from humans at parks, they can be kind of nasty. According to the website The Happy Chicken Coop, mallards’ “aggressive behavior includes charging, chasing, ripping out feathers and skin, and noise making. Males may face off with a head-bob, threaten an attacker with an open bill, or press against each other, breast to breast. Males in pairs engage in fierce, acrobatic chasing to protect their territory.”
The Mad Mallards of Little Rock, Arkansas, will be asserting their aggressiveness on the field later this summer August 1–6.
