If your city once laid claim to the title “Hosiery Capital of the South” and you’re trying to name a minor league baseball team, it would be almost criminally negligent not to seize on that fact. To that end, just moments ago, the Appalachian League’s franchise in Burlington, North Carolina,
Author: Paul Caputo
Paul Caputo is a grown man who collects plastic ice cream helmet sundaes from minor league baseball stadiums because he likes logos that much. Paul is the host of the Baseball By Design podcast and he is the author of the first book published by SportsLogos.net, The Story Behind the Nickname: The Origins of 100 Classic, Contemporary, and Wacky Minor League Baseball Team Names (also available on Kindle). He can be found on Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky at @baseballbydesign, and he maintains the Countdown to Spring Training on Facebook. Paul is a Philadelphia sports fan, but he's not so bad.
Battered Bastards of Baseball Reborn
In the violently shifting landscape of minor league baseball, the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes, one of more than 40 teams to lose its Major League affiliation, have given rise to a new independent league that features, among others, a reboot of an iconic band of misfits and outcasts from the 1970s, the
Negro Leagues’ Portland Rosebuds Rebooted
The Wild Wild West League, a four-team summer wood bat baseball league for high school and college players, was formed in 2020 by the Portland (Oregon) Pickles in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league announced it will continue in 2021, featuring two new teams, the Willamette Wild Bills and
Danville Baseball Team looking for name suggestions
If there’s a silver lining to the reorganization of minor league baseball, which caused more than 40 teams to lose their affiliation with Major League parent clubs, it’s that all 10 teams in the Appalachian League will get unique nicknames. The Appy League, as it’s known to friends and family,
Negro Leagues Kansas City Monarchs reborn as independent team
The longest-running team in the storied history of Negro Leagues has been revived in the form of a team in the independent American Association. The Kansas City T-Bones, who have played in Kansas City, Kansas, since 1993, made the surprise announcement today that in partnership with the Negro Leagues Baseball
Tulsa Drillers add D logo, alternate cap
The Double-A Tulsa Drillers celebrated #NationalHatDay by introducing a new logo and on-field cap. The alternate D logo, which is drawn from the D in the Drillers’ script wordmark, will be paired with the team’s home white and road grays. While the D presumably stands for Drillers, the team is
Gastonia Honey Hunters join Atlantic League
The city of Gastonia, North Carolina, will be home to the Honey Hunters, a new baseball team in the independent Atlantic League beginning this season. Per the team, the nickname “pays homage to the original Honey Hunter, Hunter Ransom – Gaston County’s first freed slave and African American land owner.
St. Paul Saints commemorate affiliation with a twist on a classic
The St. Paul Saints, a franchise that has made a name for itself with unique promotions and a sense of humor, have been an iconic independent minor league baseball team since 1993. Most recently, the team celebrated its 2019 American Association championship with a one-block, three-minute parade that featured players
Hudson Valley Renegades update brand with NY affiliation
Minor league baseball has undergone seismic changes in recent weeks, with Major League Baseball imposing a new order on the system of farm teams that serve as the pipelines for the big league clubs’ players. Teams have changed everything from affiliation status, classification, and parent clubs. One of those teams
Frontier League introduces Ottawa Titans
Baseball’s independent Frontier League will add a 15th team in 2021, the Ottawa Titans, whose logo features a giant baseball player meant to signify the history, strength, and pride in Canada’s capital. Per the team, the “Titans emblem will feature a red super slugger wielding his bat over his shoulder,
Expedition League adds Spuds, Tommyknockers, Sunfish
The collegiate summer level Expedition League, which currently includes teams in the Dakotas, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Manitoba, will debut at least three new teams when it resumes play (fingers crossed!) in 2021. The most recent addition came yesterday with the announcement of the Canyon County Spuds, who will play in
Lakewood rebrands as Jersey Shore BlueClaws
The Lakewood BlueClaws, Single-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, have billed themselves as the Jersey Shore’s team since their inception in 2001. The team made it official yesterday, changing their geographic signifier from Lakewood to Jersey Shore, and unveiling a suite of logos created by Brandiose. The new logos feature