The Richmond Flying Squirrels will feature the face of a cat in need of a home on their uniforms during an early-season game this year. The “Caturday” game will benefit the Richmond, Virginia, SPCA, with jerseys featuring one of three longtime SPCA residents: Big Guy, Duke Silver, or Dove. (Happily,
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.
Altoona Curve to play as Allegheny Yinzers for seven games
The Altoona Curve, Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, play in a part of the country with a distinctive mode of speech—a place where rubber bands are “gum bands,” icy roads are described as “slippy,” and something that must be accomplished “needs done.” Perhaps western Pennsylvania’s most important contribution to
Daytona Tortugas to open season with Hangover Night
Baseball fans get pretty antsy around this time of year. The offseason seems like it’s never going to end, the free agent market hasn’t brought us the big splashes we’ve been waiting for, and most of the minor league rebrands that are going to happen have already been unveiled. One
La Crosse Loggers launch latest logos, Louie
The La Crosse Loggers, a Wisconsin-based collegiate summer team in the Northwoods League, unveiled their first rebrand since the team debuted in 2003. The new suite of logos, designed by Tony Horning, includes a primary logo featuring plaid-clad mascot Louie the Logger wielding a log bat set against saw blade
Maine Mariners to take the ice as Wild Blueberries
The ECHL’s Maine Mariners, playing in their first season after relocating from Alaska, will peek into an alternate universe where fans chose a different name for their team later this season. When the Mariners take the ice against the South Carolina Stingrays March 9, they’ll be wearing the identity of
Goodbye Baby Cakes: New Wichita team seeking name ideas
The 2019 baseball season will be the last for the Triple-A New Orleans Baby Cakes, an affiliate of the Miami Marlins. The Baby Cakes (formerly the New Orleans Zephyrs, formerly the Denver Zephyrs, formerly the Denver Bears) will move to Wichita, Kansas, in 2020, where they will play with a
Fremont Moo honor Nebraska cow population
The newest team in the collegiate summer Expedition League puts a new twist on mass-noun sports nicknames like the Heat, Jazz, and Wild. The Fremont Moo will begin play in 2019, celebrating Nebraska’s rich bovine heritage, hoping to become the league’s most popular brand (get it?). “Cattle have an undeniable
Rocket City Trash Pandas break MiLB merchandise records
The Rocket City Trash Pandas won’t play a game until 2020, but already the Double-A Angels affiliate in northern Alabama is breaking Minor League Baseball sales records. The previous record for sales in a three-month period (the standard length of time that MiLB uses to gauge merchandise sales) was $300,000,
Leaked! A first look at the Amarillo Sod Poodles jerseys
The double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles made a splash (or at least a significant dirt tunnel) when they announced their new nickname earlier this offseason, generating a host of responses ranging from bewildered (“What’s a sod poodle?”) to enraged (“Outrageous minor league baseball nicknames make me sad and angry!”) to enamored
Albuquerque Isotopes win “Fun Cup” with Mariachis identity
Thirty-three teams across all levels participated in Minor League Baseball’s Copa de La Diversión (Fun Cup), an effort to increase awareness and promote the game to Spanish-language fans. The league announced today at baseball’s winter meetings in Las Vegas that the Albuquerque Isotopes took the contest’s top prize with their
Las Vegas Aviators officially announced as new name of MiLB team
The Triple-A minor league baseball franchise in Las Vegas is undergoing an offseason of change. They switched parent clubs from the Mets to the A’s; they’re building a new ballpark in Summerlin, 10 miles west of Cashman Field, their home since the franchise’s days as the Las Vegas Stars beginning
Mobile BayBears unveil Farewell Season logo
The franchise currently known as the Double-A Mobile BayBears announced earlier this year that it would be moving 325 miles to the north to Madison, Alabama, to become the Rocket City Trash Pandas in 2020. The new nickname and logos, unveiled September 6 and October 27 respectively, garnered a ton